REVIEW: International calling service makes quirky connections

Editor’s Note: Welcome to Yay or Nay, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week we’ll review a new wireless application or service from the user’s point of view, with the goal of highlighting what works and what doesn’t in the mobile content industry. If you wish to submit your application or service for review, please contact us at rcrwebhelp@crain.com.
Application: Telestial’s Passport global service
Running on: Sony Ericsson Z525i
Yay: Relatively inexpensive and no-strings-attached way to pack a mobile phone for international travel.
Nay: Quirky calling steps and sometimes hard-to-understand charges.
We say: Telestial’s Passport service offers a cheap and easy way to yack around the world.
Despite the drudgery that is international travel, at some point most of us have to do it. And unlike traveling across the country, international travel usually entails some tricks to enable the convenience of mobile calling while abroad. If you are a AT&T Mobility or T-Mobile USA customer, the trick is relatively simple: call your carrier and have international calling enabled on your phone. People can still reach you on your standard phone number and you get to pay at least $1 per minute to make or receive calls. Sweet.
If you are a Verizon Wireless or Sprint Nextel customer, it’s a little more complicated. You can either buy one of those few dual-mode devices that will allow you to roam on GSM networks when overseas, or rent a GSM phone that will allow you to keep your number.
However, if you dig enough you can find alternatives. One is Telestial’s Passport global service, which includes a quad-band GSM device and SIM card that provides an international flair to your calling. The package provides users with an international phone number-a U.K. number for traveling to Spain in this instance-that allows for less expensive calling within the country visiting as well as very competitive international rates for calling back home. And in the case of European traveling, the service also adheres to the calling-party-pays mantra in that you only pay for calls you make; incoming calls and text messages are free.
On the positive side, the service worked as advertised with the phone locking onto a local wireless signal. With European countries typically more densely populated than the United States, network coverage is robust in cities and quite extensive in rural areas. Not once while traveling through the hills outside Barcelona did my phone fail to pick up a signal.
The service charges different fees depending on what country you are visiting or calling, with the trip to Spain providing outgoing calls at 50 cents per minute and text messages at 50 cents per sent message. I was also able to add minutes to the service through the phone using a credit card.
On the negative side, the service requires you to dial a number as usual, but instead of being automatically connected to the other line, a prompt on the screen asks you to wait-and then the phone appears to have dropped the call. Moments later the phone rings and you must then hit the answer key to put the call through. Before connecting the call, the service gives you a verbal update of how long you can talk to the requested number. It’s confusing enough to master, but even more difficult to explain to someone who needs to borrow the phone. Thankfully, hanging up is a simple one-button affair.
Overall, the Telestial Passport service worked well and is a good alternative for current GSM customers or those CDMA-packing subscribers looking to stay connected overseas.
UPDATE: A recent venture to Eastern Europe provided us the chance to try out Telestial’s Explorer Roaming SIM card option. The SIM card, which can be purchased from Telestial’s site for $59, is targeted at country hoppers. The service relies on the users supplying their own unlocked GSM device and provides calling rates starting at 45 cents per minute and free incoming calls. Incoming text messages are also free, while outgoing texts are 40 cents per message. Telestial provides several options for recharging the prepaid card and the SIM includes $10 in calling credits. While overall pricing might be a bit higher for someone only visiting one country or infrequent travelers, for those more worldly globetrotters, the Explorer option is a good alternative.