Is it true that in the countries in Europe you can use any mobile phone with any carrier?

I don’t know about Europe, but in Canada you can use different cell phones with different carriers. I have a Blackberry and use Telus, but my friend has one and uses Rogers. I had no idea that there were exclusivity deals in the US!

@Seelix Interesting. I didn’t realize you are in Canada. I love Canada.

In the UK, the i-phone is limited to one carrier only, but that’s the only one I know of that’s restricted.

Not sure about Europe, but that’s how it is in Singapore and many other parts of the world. When I came to the US I was pretty shocked at how carriers could exclusively claim phones for themselves, because I’d never heard of it happening anywhere else.

I used T-Mobile, while in Italy. but first, i had to notify T-Mobile, before my trip. i am sure the carrier, in Italy, was AT&T. at least, this is what was on my cellphone. no problem.

There is also a technical issue, with two different types of service in the US, GSM and CDMA. Kind of like the difference between FM and AM radios.

AT&T Wireless, and T-Mobile USA use GSM.
Sprint Verizon and Virgin Mobile use CDMA.

Most of the world uses GSM.

@jaytkay That is interesting too. I did not know there is a technical difference.

I have a GSM phone that we use abroad, and change out SIM cards by country.

@BarnacleBill Does that cost a lot of money? Do you have to pay international charges when using the phone in a different country?

No, it was rather inexpensive. It’s like buying a phone number for that country for a short period of time. You can then add extra money to that number. They sell things at tobacco shops, and in vending machines. The phone itself was about $100. I bought one here from T-Mobil, and it was useless overseas, so I bought one in England, and its been used in Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, China and Hong Kong. (Not all those trips were me, unfortunately. I lent it out.)

This is a helpful article that explains phones and SIMs.

It’s all GSM and your phone will search for a new carrier signal when crossing borders. First choice is a subsidiary if available. I got Vodaphone Germany and this carrier is available in many countries. When I fly to London, the display reads Vodaphone UK. Switching carriers is more expensive but still works.

^^^^^ ya i agree.. but once you get your very own mobile unlocked to that country’s network you simply swap any network to your phone whenever necessary…

yup