Communication is probably one of the most important things you
can establish when you first arrive to Europe. You want
to be able to have the 100% reach back to your family and
friends as much as possible. Fortunately, with today's
technology, you can do just that.
First, I can tell you what I know about
European phone systems compared to American standards.
Home Phones
Home phones are nothing like American phones. The
physical appearances are the same, the plug ins are similar
(both are based off of RJ-11 connections with 2 to 4 wires...
standard is the same). You can bring your American
phone, however, if it is not dual voltage, you'll need a
transformer to convert 220V power to 110V. Anyhow,
phones are cheap and easy to get rid of when you leave Europe,
so no worries.
Plan-wise, there is no real plan.
You pay by the minute. No worries, I'm about to offer a
cure to that and beat the system. Just understand that
you don't want to leave the phone off the hook for any reason,
you are billed for listening to a dial tone.
Another unusual quirk that I'm not used
to is that we get our bill every 2 months. Something to
tend to closely and budget for... well, at least this is
the case in Belgium. I'm uncertain about the other
countries.
Cell Phones
Most cell phone services here will be based off of GSM.
This is where you have to put the little SIM card in the back
of your phone. This is a card you can buy nearly
anywhere to include service stations, electronic boutiques,
etc. They'll issue you a phone number and you have to
pay to "charge" the phone with minutes. The
best method that I've found is to just simply use it as a
"pay as you go" system. As long as you don't
let the minutes run all the way out, you have no
problem. Standard items come with the phones such as
call waiting, text messaging, internet, etc.
Internet
Thus far that I've seen, Europe has an upper hand on the
U.S. of technological leaps and bounds. High speed
internet is nothing to be concerned about--you'll see services
available at 10 Mb/s directly to the household. This is
quite nice compared to all I ever knew about in the States was
5 Mb/s. The bad thing is that most companies that I've
seen will put a cap on how much you can download per
month. The largest cap I've seen that comes with a
standard plan is 30 GB, and that's on a "plus"
package that runs about 59 euros a month. More
"volume" can be purchased in 5 GB increments at 5
euros per 5 GB. For a standard package, you'll have a 10
GB... and if all you do is check mail and surf the net, it's
no problem... 10 GB will work just fine for you--just don't go
crazy downloading music or funny emails with large
attachments. After you reach your max volume cap, you
drop down to dial-up speed until the month changes.
Additionally, you can find wireless
internet cafes (as I would call them) nearly anywhere.
These span from McDonald's to a downtown hot shopping location
like the mall. You can buy time on the wireless nets
incrementally or subscribe monthly/annually. I choose
neither because they are outrageously priced.
On top of all of these wonderful things
(NOT!), I've found out that some ISPs do not have access to .gov
and .mil websites such as the
www.whitehouse.gov or
www.my.af.mil. I have
found that I can still access
www.mypay.gov and www.tsp.gov.
Some have been authorized, but others have not. Good luck. The Apple of My Eye
Here's the biggest kicker I mentioned earlier. If
you are overseas and plan to have 100% reach back to the
states, then here's the gouge. Get Lingo. Lingo is
a voice-over-IP system that uses regular phone and your
high-speed internet to establish REGULAR PHONE SERVICE.
This service does not require a
computer genius to figure out.... heck, it doesn't even
require a computer! It's simple... you can go here
to find out more details, but I'll give you a quick run-down.
Basically, you get another modem to
hook to your DSL modem. Don't worry, your computer can
connect to it as well. You can even buy this Lingo
adapter to enable wireless networking and wired routing or
both. Anyway, the regular adapter was free... no charge
to me. I did have to ship it to my dad, then him send it
here. They didn't send to APOs at the time of this
writing, but according to their staff, they will in the
future. Additionally, the adapter is dual-voltage--works
in the U.S. and European electrical systems! Anyhow,
when I signed up, I got to pick my own number from whatever
city I wanted in the U.S. Ingenious!!! So here I
am now, with a regular phone, with a U.S. number, and I can
talk for an UNLIMITED amount of time for the flat rate of
$22.90 per month (full bill price including tax) and Mom can
call me at not additional charge outside of inter/intrastate
charges. It's just like calling another phone in the
U.S. whether it's your next door neighbor or your aunt and
uncle 4 states away. MAGIC! I can call the U.S., Canada, Virgin Islands, 17
countries in Western Europe, and more! ... all unlimited and
all at no extra charge to me. Yes, it is that
good. No hidden fees or anything. There is no
Lingo coupon code or coupon for it but I can get you a $25
discount if you sign up through GI Euro! Click
here to get started. If you have questions, just
send it here.
For a walk-through of how to sign up, click
here. Enjoy...
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