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...