Cell phones for students studying abroad????

[maggiew]

My daughter is going to study abroad in London next year from January until the end of May. Our phone contracts are soon to be up (Dec.) and we are looking to switch from Verizon to TMobile.

I am unsure what to do for my daughter studying abroad?? I don't want to pay 5 months of service that she won't really be able to use? I tried to research about international plan, etc. but it is really confusing on cost. Right now I am thinking about having her get a pay-as-you-go phone in London when she gets there and then have her phone number here put on suspension, so she doesn't lose the number. (I read about that but haven't discussed it with the cell phone company yet.) I guess we can skype when we want to talk. and text through google voice?

Any other suggestions? I'm really at a loss on what to do.

Maggie

 

[msimatovich]

My sister studied abroad a year ago and at first she tried taking her hone from here (Verizon) but really had trouble getting it to work. She ended u getting a pre-paid phone in London and using that. She wanted to travel and my parents wanted to make sure she had something to call in emergencies. It certainly was not as good of a deal (not intail expense but not cost efficiant over the time being there) so we texted her alot...much cheaer and SKYPED a whole lot!!!! That was the best we never felt like she was gone so much since we were able to see her.

 

[danceintherain]

I guess it really depends on how much more it costs. When I studied abroad, I took my phone with me, and used it once immediately after I got there to call, then turned it off. I'm not sure what my parents did at that point. They may have suspended the service.
After that, I didn't have a cell phone at all. Most of my roommates had them, but I didn't really see a need for one. Of course, that was over 5 years ago. The ones who did have them had pay-as-you-go plans.
While I was in South Korea, I had a contract, and a number I could use to call the States, but usually I ended up just using Google Chat to "call home."
We cancelled our service before we left, because our contract was up, and we weren't sure that we'd want to be sticking with the same carrier when we got back. When I came back to the States to visit (and now that we're back before I get a permanent service set up) I used a phone I picked up an international phone at the airport.
Honestly, the biggest issue barring me from talking to my family when I've been overseas has been the time change.

I guess the real concern for you is whether or not she cares about keeping her number. Since your contract is up in December and you'll be starting with a new service in January, it might be fine for her to go without a phone for a month, and just get a pay-as-you-go once she gets to London. It depends on her though. Some people can't go 5 minutes without having a cell phone.
It also may be possible for you to find a phone she can use the last month she's here, and then use it while she's over there, but it's probably a more expensive option.
Something else that may be a possibility is that usually when your contract is up with US carriers you can continue your service month-to-month for as long as you want. Most people don't do this, because they want the new phone that comes along with signing a new contract, but if your daughter has to have a phone, and is willing to lose her number, you could possibly add one more month on Verizon before switching to T-mobile.

 

[scrapquitler]

I suggest checking with the organizers if the study abroad program before you do anything. I did a semester in Spain back in the stone ages, but I can tell you that these days, that same program arranges for cellphones as part of the package for all the students in the program. They are probably prepaid no contract phones if some sort, but based on what I read on the website, they do all the work of setting it up for the students. So it might be easiest for your daughter to arrange it that way if its an available option in her program

 

[Sadie22]

We have a family plan with AT&T. DS was going to be traveling in Europe. We checked the AT&T site to make sure his phone was one that would work in Europe and checked to see what international coverage was included with our plan. He was only going to be using the phone for emergencies. (He communicated with us via email.) We could temporarily up the level of international coverage on his phone so it would be less expensive per minute, which we did. When he returned, we changed it back.

 

[ldo]

we have a telestial pac-lite phone for europe trips. It's a per-pay and you don't have to have a credit card tied to it. It is perfect for emergencies and a quick check in. It has a UK # and incoming calls to the phone in many western european countries (UK, France, Italy) are free (just remember that you might get charged A LOT for an outgoing call from your US phone to a cell phone in Europe). Calls are about $1 per minute when using the phone. You can text, leave voicemail, etc.
What we liked was that there is no CC attached to the phone--so if it is lost/stolen, you are only out a small amount of $. You can reload in $10 or so increments--super easy. Phone was about $35 at telestial.com. I ahve used my phone for 3 europe trips.
Also, I think that tracfone calls might be no extra charge to UK cell phones--that would be worth getting a tracfone for $25 to call the telestial phone--calls could be very cheap that way.

 

[maggiew]

I guess it really depends on how much more it costs. When I studied abroad, I took my phone with me, and used it once immediately after I got there to call, then turned it off. I'm not sure what my parents did at that point. They may have suspended the service.
After that, I didn't have a cell phone at all. Most of my roommates had them, but I didn't really see a need for one. Of course, that was over 5 years ago. The ones who did have them had pay-as-you-go plans.
While I was in South Korea, I had a contract, and a number I could use to call the States, but usually I ended up just using Google Chat to "call home."
We cancelled our service before we left, because our contract was up, and we weren't sure that we'd want to be sticking with the same carrier when we got back. When I came back to the States to visit (and now that we're back before I get a permanent service set up) I used a phone I picked up an international phone at the airport.
Honestly, the biggest issue barring me from talking to my family when I've been overseas has been the time change.

I guess the real concern for you is whether or not she cares about keeping her number. Since your contract is up in December and you'll be starting with a new service in January, it might be fine for her to go without a phone for a month, and just get a pay-as-you-go once she gets to London. It depends on her though. Some people can't go 5 minutes without having a cell phone.
It also may be possible for you to find a phone she can use the last month she's here, and then use it while she's over there, but it's probably a more expensive option.
Something else that may be a possibility is that usually when your contract is up with US carriers you can continue your service month-to-month for as long as you want. Most people don't do this, because they want the new phone that comes along with signing a new contract, but if your daughter has to have a phone, and is willing to lose her number, you could possibly add one more month on Verizon before switching to T-mobile.

She could go without her phone for a month, I think. She could just keep in touch with people via facebook, etc. But I believe she would like to keep her phone number. That seems to be the main point. How to keep the number.

I suggest checking with the organizers if the study abroad program before you do anything. I did a semester in Spain back in the stone ages, but I can tell you that these days, that same program arranges for cellphones as part of the package for all the students in the program. They are probably prepaid no contract phones if some sort, but based on what I read on the website, they do all the work of setting it up for the students. So it might be easiest for your daughter to arrange it that way if its an available option in her program

The study abroad people do offer a cell phone rental. But it seems to be a ridiculous price. I'd be willing to pay it, though. However, we are back to the keeping her number issue.

We have a family plan with AT&T. DS was going to be traveling in Europe. We checked the AT&T site to make sure his phone was one that would work in Europe and checked to see what international coverage was included with our plan. He was only going to be using the phone for emergencies. (He communicated with us via email.) We could temporarily up the level of international coverage on his phone so it would be less expensive per minute, which we did. When he returned, we changed it back.

I'm sure she wants a phone while in London. She has already made friends with others in the group who are going and I am sure she will make more friends there. So they will probably want to keep in touch.


I am thinking about getting her a new phone with TMobile when we change lines. Then she could use the phone itself in London but buy a separate SIM card when she gets to London? Will that work? We can just keep her on our Family plan because I believe it is only $5 for the 3 and 4 line. I have to check whether we can have her line be no data service while the other lines have data. I'm not sure if all lines have to be the same.

Maggie

 

[punkin]

DD was abroad last summer. We suspended her phone service on Verizon while she was gone and bought her a prepaid local phone. It was really very inexpensive. She almost never used it to call home (really expensive per minute) but I used it to call her. If she needed to call someone at home, she used Skype. The phone was pretty much for local calls.

 

[maggiew]

DD was abroad last summer. We suspended her phone service on Verizon while she was gone and bought her a prepaid local phone. It was really very inexpensive. She almost never used it to call home (really expensive per minute) but I used it to call her. If she needed to call someone at home, she used Skype. The phone was pretty much for local calls.

Did she buy it abroad or before she left?

Maggie

 

[NotUrsula]

If she would be getting a new phone anyway, buy a GSM tri-band phone that uses a SIM card, and when she leaves just have her buy a new UK pre-paid SIM to use in it while she is there. She can switch it back when she comes home.

 

[punkin]

Did she buy it abroad or before she left?

Maggie

She bought it there (Russia), but there are a whole bunch with removable sim cards being sold on ebay if you want to go that way.

 

[Green Tea]

If she has an iPhone, get the US carrier to unlock it, then buy a prepaid SIM card in England and put that in. No international charges from the home provider.

 

[CTrumble]

Our daughter studied in China last summer. She brought her Verizon iphone (we turned on the international option for China) for her to use for emergencies and to let us know she got there ok. (She turned off the data on the phone.)

There was a minimal charge for texting...I believe 5cents for her to send a text/10 cents to receive or something similiar.

She got a cell phone from the abroad program to use locally with her friends there. It was a pay as you go---they mostly texted each other and was very cheap to fund.

We mostly coordinated our Skype calls through email--but we kept Skype on our computers most of the time for her to contact us whenever she wanted.

She moved around a bit---so, sometimes Skype or her internet (so, no email either) didn't work. Those times she would turn on her Verizon iphone and text to let us know she was ok. She would also text to sometimes coordinate our Skype calls.

Oh---the short phone calls she made were less than $5 a minute. She only did it a few times.

We spent about $75 extra for the summer for her to take the iphone. (So, we kept her on the plan & didn't turn anything off.)

 

[mountdew1]

If you are switching to T-Mobile, if you get a "World Phone" (basically any newer 3G phone) you should be able to have her get a local SIM/plan in the country she is going to. Assuming she is like most American kids, and lives off her cell phone, the international plan that any US provider will offer will be highway robbery. Typically it will cost you $1-$6 per minute to use a US plan while traveling internationally. And then some outrageous cost for data and texts as well. Getting a local SIM will be a fraction of that cost, the only real downside is that she then has a new number while traveling internationally.

You should have a few options regarding her existing number. You will most likely want to port it to T-Mobile so that she can keep it in the future. Then looking into either doing a family plan, so that her number can stay active for a minimal cost, finding the cheapest plan they will sell you for her line, or looking into suspending it. I know with AT&T you can get a 6 month vacation suspend for $9.95 a month or something similar. T-Mobile may have the same.

Depending on the solution you choose, you may be able to get her existing number forwarded to the new number, so it is transparent to current family/friends.

One other option, will she have WiFi access available when in class/dorm? If so, you could simply keep the US plan for emergencies, and have her use Google Voice or Skype to do all her other calls. Cost would be next to nothing, especially compared to the roaming costs.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

If she has an iPhone, get the US carrier to unlock it, then buy a prepaid SIM card in England and put that in. No international charges from the home provider.

Whether or not you can unlock an iPhone depends on the carrier and in some cases, whether or not you have fulfilled your original service obligation.

 

[JB2K]

My daughter is going to study abroad in London next year from January until the end of May. Our phone contracts are soon to be up (Dec.) and we are looking to switch from Verizon to TMobile.

I am unsure what to do for my daughter studying abroad?? I don't want to pay 5 months of service that she won't really be able to use? I tried to research about international plan, etc. but it is really confusing on cost. Right now I am thinking about having her get a pay-as-you-go phone in London when she gets there and then have her phone number here put on suspension, so she doesn't lose the number. (I read about that but haven't discussed it with the cell phone company yet.) I guess we can skype when we want to talk. and text through google voice?

Any other suggestions? I'm really at a loss on what to do.

Maggie

If they are going abroad, they will need to purchase a local carrier's ("local" meaning from that particular country) SIM card to put inside their phone -- if they have an "unlocked" phone from here at home (most commonly, AT&T or T-Mobile), it should work fine -- otherwise, you can buy a new, unlocked Android smartphone ready for worldwide use directly from Google that can be used with any GSM carrier for around the mid-$300's.

 

[maggiew]

I talked with the TMobile store and with the Samsung Galaxy S3, she can unlock the phone and then buy a SIM card in London when she gets there.

We will have to pay for her plan here in the US while she is gone, but since we have a family plan, it really is only $5 extra for her (provided we can remove the data portion. Not sure about that yet.)


I searched about SIM cards in London and it looks like she can get a London SIM card for 10 pounds per month with free texting.

Maggie

 

[johde]

To make calling the U.S. cheaper, you could look into a couple of apps; GrooveIP and Talkatone, they are wifi based telephone apps for smartphones and tablets. She would need to have access to a wifi network but calls to the U.S. would be free. You would port her current cell phone number to Google Voice and these apps use Google talk to ring a special dialer on the phone. You could then get a local prepaid sim for her to make calls in her home away from home country.

 

[thedonduck]

I studied abroad in London a few years ago and my BIL is currently there working on his masters. When I went I just suspended my phone for the 6 months I was there and got a top-up phone from O2 (local phone carrier in London) I mostly used it for texting and the Internet. When I wanted to call people in the US I would send a text letting them know what time and then we would Skype/facetime for free.

My BIL is doing pretty much the same thing. I would NOT pay for international calling plans. They are way too expensive for the little use she will get. Get a pay as you go plan once you get to London and then utilize Skype or other similar programs for calling!

 

[Agent7]

I studied abroad in Costa Rica and used AT&T's international plan and it was super expensive. When I later studied in Scotland I used O2's pay as you go phone and it worked fine for what it was (one time my mom had to call me from the states and it took all 10 pounds of credit in about 1.5 minutes so you could call her if there was a need). If she has a phone with a removable sim card she can get a local one in Europe (iPhones do not have this). I just used skype to talk to people at home. So I say don't go with your current providers plan.

Also I'm not sure about the texting with google voice but don't expect her to have free wifi (if it needs wifi), I found that almost nowhere in Europe did. Some pay as you go plans include wifi access however (but not all, and some may cost more so shop around).