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In many parts of the
world, mobile phones have become such a part of everyday life
one wonders how we ever managed without them. For
world travelers, mobile phones can offer some incredible
benefits. However, they also present certain challenges,
not the least of which is whether they will even work when
traveling from one place to another.
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Why Mobile
Phones are helpful
Along with
the obvious convenience and quick access to help in
emergencies big and small, mobile phones can be both
economical and essential for travelers trying to stay
connected. An example: it's not uncommon for
mobile calls to be cheaper than local calls made from
some hotel rooms. European hotels in particular
are known for excessive phone tariffs -- three days of
connecting locally at a five-star hotel in Amsterdam
once cost me more than $100! However, Europeans
have no lock on this practice -- I recently stayed at a
hotel in Quito, Ecuador where local calls cost USD$.50
a minute! In contrast, many mobile providers offer
exceptional plans that include generous amounts of air
time, no long distance charges, and in some cases very
reasonable international roaming rates.
In other
situations, a mobile phone may simply be the only way to
get online. This was the case when I stayed at a
lovely historic hotel in Krakow's old town --
unfortunately, the ancient phone lines were too noisy to
allow a modem connection at any speed. However,
thanks to a GSM phone and modem, I could connect with
ease at 9600 bps -- good enough for e-mail.
Checking
e-mail with a GSM mobile phone
and PDA aboard a train in Denmark.
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Why Mobile
Phones can be a challenge
Mobile phone usage
for the traveler can sometimes be a bewildering affair.
This is due to the preponderance of various differing -- and
incompatible -- mobile systems, often delineating entire
continents or regions. The main systems in use are
outlined below. The purpose of this discussion is not to
delve much into the technical aspects of each system -- that
sort of thing can easily be found elsewhere on the web.
Rather, here we'll focus more on where these systems are used
and factors important to travelers.
| GSM -
Global System for Mobiletelephones One of the few
mobile phone standards with a self-explanatory name that
is actually more or less accurate. It's the closest
thing there is to an "international" standard -- GSM
systems are used in nearly 200 countries (with 600
million subscribers) worldwide, from Europe (where the
standard originated) throughout Africa, Asia and
Australia. Coverage in these areas is for the most part
excellent; in some cities the use of picocells
even makes it possible to use phones on moving subway
trains. Though a latecomer to North America, GSM is now
making some substantial gains there, though with a
different flavor than used elsewhere. Originally
utilizing the 900 Mhz spectrum, GSM providers in parts
of Europe, Africa, and Asia later added additional
capacity at 1800 Mhz. In North America, however, GSM
service is currently available only at 1900 Mhz. The
good news for world travelers is that most cell phone
manufacturers offer dual-band (900 and 1900 Mhz) or
tri-band (900, 1800 and 1900 Mhz) phones that will work
in most places GSM systems are found. The bad news is
that a fourth GSM system -- GSM 800, operating at 850
Mhz -- may soon join the fray in the US. I'm only aware
of one "quad-band" (GSM 800, 900, 1800, 1900) phone so
far, but if the standard achieves widespread use I'm
sure we'll see more.
While growing rapidly, in
the US and Canada GSM service can be scarce outside of
larger urban areas. In Latin America, coverage
currently exists only in parts of Argentina, Bolivia,
Chile, El Salvador, Paraguay and Peru (all at GSM 1900)
along with Venezuela (GSM 900) and Brazil (GSM 1800).
Other notable non-GSM countries include South Korea and
Japan. GSM is a feature-rich technology that
includes fax capability and SMS (short messaging
service). Most providers offer e-mail to SMS
gateways, making it possible to receive flight updates
and breaking news alerts over the phone. Many
providers also offer quick connect data services through
ISDN lines, and the latest generation GPRS (Global
Packet Radio Service) promises high-speed "always on"
data connections much faster than the traditional 9600
bps. If you can't tell, I'm a big fan of GSM and
hope that it soon is available everywhere. My
principal mobile phone is a tri-band "world" phone with
service from T-Mobile, one of the largest GSM providers
in the US with roaming agreements with GSM carriers
worldwide .
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Example of
tri-band GSM "World" Phone
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AMPS - Advanced
Mobile Phone System At one time, this system might
well have been "advanced" compared to earlier methods. The
original 800 Mhz analog cellular system introduced in North
America in the early 1980s, now it's pretty much technically
obsolete. However, even though it's been replaced by newer
digital technology, in some rural areas from the US to Australia
to Turkmenistan, it still might be the only mobile signal to be
had. I often carry a pre-paid AMPS phone as a backup for
non GSM-areas. An enhanced version called N-AMPS
(Narrowband AMPS) offers some digital phone-like features such
as text messaging. Most of the US now uses E-AMPS, for
enhanced AMPS. Every country in the Western Hemisphere
has 800 AMPS service, as well as American Samoa, Angola, China,
South Korea, Lebanon, Nauru, Northern Mariana Islands, Solomon
Islands, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Western Samoa.
D-AMPS -
The first digital version of AMPS, also using the 800 Mhz
spectrum. Still used (though not widely) in certain
countries including Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, El Salvador,
Israel, Malaysia, Myanmar, Panama, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan,
and Vietnam.
TACS -
Total Access Communications Service The original
European 900 Mhz analog system launched in 1985 by Vodafone.
Still used in Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain,
Cambodia, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia,
Ghana, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia,
Mauritius, Nigeria, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Sri
Lanka, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and
Yemen. Uses a protocol known as Frequency Division
Multiple Access (FDMA). Variations include ETACS (Extended
TACS), ITACS (International TACS), IETACS (International
Extended TACS, NTACS (Narrowband TACS and JTACS (Japan TACS).
NMT -
An analog rival to AMPS and TACS that uses 450 and 900 Mhz
spectrum. Still used in most parts of Europe and Asia,
including Algeria, Andorra, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bulgaria,
Cambodia, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, the
Faeroes, Finland, France, Greenland, Hungary, Indonesia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Malaysia, Morocco, Norway, Oman, Poland, Romania,
Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden,
Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Now
that GSM is so widespread, some countries are planning to halt
NMT service. In Finland, for example, NMT900 service
was shut down in early 2000; NMT450 service will be discontinued
at the end of 2002.
TDMA - Time
Division Multiple Access The first digital network
widely used in the Americas, this is the system which at one
time was and still is largely the core of major US wireless
networks like AT&T and Cingular. (Of these, however, AT&T
and Cingular are now converting some US bandwidth to GSM 1900.
They may also use the newer GSM 800, which operates at
850Mhz). Outside the US, TDMA networks can be found in
Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil,
Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China (including Hong Kong),
Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guam, Indonesia, Israel,
Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Russia, St.
Maarten, Suriname, Uzbekistan and Venezuela. Some industry
analysts are forecasting that the increasing growth of GSM and
CDMA in the Americas will eventually signal the end of TDMA.
CDMA - Code
Division Multiple Access A rival to TDMA in the
Americas, this standard was developed by QualComm, from which
providers must license its use. CDMA carriers in the US
include Sprint PCS (which oddly enough started as a GSM
carrier), Alltel, and Verizon. There are now CDMA networks
elsewhere in the world, including Argentina, Australia, Canada,
Chile, Hong Kong, El Salvador, Guatemala, Israel, South Korea,
Peru, Russia, Venezuela and Zambia. This offers some
international roaming capability, though nothing like the
near-global coverage available from GSM carriers. In the
purest technical sense, CDMA is more efficient than GSM.
In actual application, GSM has such widespread following and
rich features to keep CDMA from being much of a threat.
However, it's entirely possible that CDMA will contribute to the
eventual demise of TDMA in the Americas, though that time is
likely to be many years away for the US and Canada, and much
longer for Latin America.
iDEN -
(Integrated Dispatch Enhanced Network) iDEN is
essentially a hybrid of TDMA digital cell phone and two-way
radio. Providers are limited (examples are NEXTEL in the US and
Amigo in Israel). Phone equipment is produced exclusively
by Motorola, the company that created the standard by blending
their historic experience with handheld radios with the
expertise in cellular technology. Certain iDEN phones
offer GSM 900 compatibility, making global roaming possible in
many countries without iDEN networks.
PDC - Personal
Digital Cellular Behind GSM and D-AMPS, the world's
mostly widely used digital system, though its use is limited to
Japan.
PHS - Personal
Handyphone System A newer Japanese standard especially
designed for high-speed data transmission up to 32 Kbps.
Some installations may also be found in parts of China, Thailand
and Taiwan.
For more information
about systems and providers in specific countries, I highly
recommend the world cellular reference page at
Teletechnics Mobile Systems.
Satellite
Phones
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Whether
you're posting a breaking news story from the mountains
of Afghanistan or just staying in touch with the office
during a Caribbean cruise, satellite phones can be the
only choice when you absolutely, positively need a phone
in the far reaches of the world. Satellite phones can
be expensive, though Iridium's $1.50 USD charge is
sometimes equaled or surpassed by international mobile
roaming rates for some GSM carriers. However, only
recently have they achieved acceptable speeds for data
transmission.
Since there
needs to be a clear line of sight between the antenna
and satellite, performance can also be affected by poor
weather and use is generally restricted to outdoors
(though they will sometimes work through glass or
canvas). This can also limit the ability to
receive incoming calls, though for applications on boats
and other places an external antenna can greatly enhance
their use. Also, phones like Qualcomm's
GSP1600 (shown at right) offer compatibility with
existing AMPS and CDMA networks to help alleviate some
of these drawbacks while allowing users to stay
connected well beyond the reach of lowly terrestrial
networks. Users of the Thuraya system serving
Europe, North & Central Africa, the Middle East, Central
Asia and the Indian Subcontinent
can also access local GSM networks in those areas.
Also, external antenna connections can help overcome
some of the limitations to indoor usage.
Satellite
phone systems are expensive to build and far less
competitive than conventional mobile systems, so there
are only a few providers to choose from like Iridium,
Globalstar, ICO Global, Ellipso, Inmarsat and the
previously mentioned Thuraya. Great strides have
been made in making these phones increasingly portable,
though briefcase models are still available and just
about all of them need an oversized antenna.
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Satellite
phone
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More to Come
This has been a
general overview of mobile phone systems used around the world.
I will soon add to the information here with specific tips
travelers can use when selecting mobile phone service and
options on how to best stay in touch with mobile service while
connecting internationally. Please come back soon.
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