Buying or renting GSM Phone - Cell Phone Rental

When buying or renting a GSM Phone you should know how to to take advantage of the local cell phone rental rates in the country or countries to which you will be traveling. Familiarize yourself with some basics on reachrge or topping up your sim card and instalation.

Simply purchase or rent GSM phones and buy the appropriate pre-paid SIM card for your destination country (or countries) and you have everything you need for maximum savings on overseas cellular communication. The credit-card sized SIM (Subscriber Inline Module) card has a pop-out chip that fits into your GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) phone. Note the golden square on the SIM chip. This goes face-down to make contact with sensors on the phone.

Here's How it Works

The SIM card is the "brain" of the phone. It has a small computer chip embedded into the plastic that stores the cell phone number, settings, messages and other data necessary for the handset to function. The cards also store available call credit information and come with some call credit at the time of purchase. To use, just  insert the SIM card "chip" you purchase into your GSM cell phone and you are ready to make and receive cell phone calls abroad. If you already own an unlocked GSM cell phone, you only need to purchase the appropriate SIM card for the country or countries where you travel. The SIM "chip" fits into a tray where metal sensors make contact with the gold contact surface on the SIM card. Please note that our SIM cards only work with GSM phones that are compatible for use overseas, like our dual-band GSM phones for use in over 190 countries, and our tri-band versions with service in the United States and Canada. Most GSM phones sold in the US will not support our SIM cards.

The Prepaid System

All the SIM cards we sell work on a pre-paid (also known as pay-as-you-go) system. With pre-paid calling, you are always on top of your phone expenses and there are no heart attacks when you receive your phone bill. Your SIM card will come with a base number of call credits—the specific amount will vary from country to country. (Since our goal is getting customers into local phone plans, each country has its own unique providers.) When you have used up this credit or whenever you want to add more to the existing amount, you can "recharge" (also known as "reloading" or "topping-up") the SIM card in your phone by purchasing a recharge voucher card at a local convenience outlet such as a magazine stand, tobacco shop, 7/11-type store or at the corresponding phone store. These are sold in different denominations. Here is a typical recharge voucher card. This is from the Orange UK company and will add 20 pounds of call credit to a Orange UK SIM card installed in your GSM phone. A "Tabacchi" shop. In Italy, these sorts of stores sell recharge voucher cards for pre-paid SIM cards. Always make sure to purchase recharge cards from the same carrier as that providing your phone service. Typical recharge voucher rear view This is the rear view of an Orange France SIM card. The protective coating has been scratched off to reveal the recharge code. The instructions for this card say to dial 224 and then enter the 14-digit recharge code. The card also states how long the recharge will extend the service life of the SIM card as well as till what date the recharge card is valid. { Cellular Abroad }