Cellhire featured on MSNBC.com
Financial horror stories are often recounted when travelers are asked about their international cell phone usage. Time and again the costs are high and the usage was minimal at best. Many were either completely unaware of the outrageous rates while others paid a hefty monthly charge to their carrier just to avoid an even larger one when they returned.
Worse still, many travelers are oblivious to other charges they are incurring for something that they often use daily, the internet. And it doesn’t stop there, every e-mail, every map lookup, and every Google search can add-up charges to your hotel bill or phone bill. Many times charges can add up to over $100 per day for data usage.
Sadly these types of stories are all too common and the shocking phone and data bills are just the same. Luckily there is a solution. As mentioned on MSNBC, “A number of companies offer programs that get around the need to deal with your own U.S. or Canadian carrier. You either rent or buy a phone from companies like Cellhire and pay only for the minutes you use. Incoming calls are free in some cases, with outgoing ones generally the same or lower than what your own carrier charges. These services are usually “carrier neutral”, so they roam on whatever local network is the strongest, resulting in better call quality.”
Unfortunately, many U.S. cell phone carriers prefer their customers to remain in the dark about high-cost international cell phone and data charges. Thankfully, you are now armed with the truth and have the option upon your next international trip to come home happy to your phone bill.
