Ladies and Gentlemen,

I checked with my cell phone provider (Cingular) and have activated International Roaming. There is no fee, just pay for the minutes you use at the international rates.

I will take my cell phone to London and to Africa so that I can use it as needed.

There is very good coverage in RSA (not much in ZIM except around Harare and Bulawayo).

You have to check the frequency that your phone uses (mine is relatively new and uses one of the two frequencies used overseas). Plus you have to check the frequencies that the cell phone companies use in the country you are visiting.

Regards,

Terry

Terry,
Something I found recently, you can often get better rates calling SA on you cell phone than one gets on a land line. Shop around a bit for the best plans because they all vary quite a bit. I think Verizon has a plan for calls at around $.30/Min. Not bad if you call there often. My home phone charges $3.00/Min plus a $10.00 connection fee!

I also use Cingular and have the international plan on my phone because I travel and call alot. make sure you have a SIMS phone with the right frequencies. Most older (non--SIMS) cellphones won't work in any countries outside of the US.

we had OK reception around triangle in zim too

I have T-Mobile and it is owned by the largest cel provider in Europe. My calls in Europe avg less than .10 a minute and to call to the US was .12.

I also have a phone card issued by BC Telecom that allows me 3 hours of cel phone calling to CZ Rep(minutes excluded) for $5.00Can. I can use it in the US or Can and it is much, much cheaper than any calling plan.

Using the card I have knocked my phone bill to Aus down from around $60.00/month to $8.00.

Terry,

Given your cell phone will likely not work in the safari area, are you going to lease a satellite phone? If so, which one? Thanks.

No satellite phone for me. I go on safari to escape. I'll only use the cell phone for convenience and only sparingly.

Regards,

Terry

How about the novel Idea of leaving the dam things home? When ever I go hunting or fishing the one thing I do not take is a phone. No real need for it in my view. A couple of phone cards in your wallet should be enough. One less thing to have to pack carry and to keep charged.

Gentlemen,

For a number of years, I have refused to carry any form of communications while on a hunt.

But, after starting a family, I decided that I would like to keep in touch with them.

So I carry my cell phone with me - which has international roaming, so works in practically all major cities.

I have also taken both IRIDIUM and THURAYA sat phones.

We have given up on IRIDIUM since THURAYA came along.

There is no comparison between the two.

IRIDIUM communication quality is no where near as good as THURAYA. THURAYA sound as if you are using a cell phone, while IRIDIUM sounds as if you talking to someone through a tunnel. There is no echo on THURAYA, and finally, it is MUCH cheaper to make a call.

Also, at least for us here in the UAE, the convenience of having a sat phone does not prove so expensive with THURAYA as with IRIDIUM.

IRIDIUM requires that you purchase minutes ahead of your travel. THese minutes are time limited, so if you do not use them, they are gone!!

With THURAYA you subscribe to the line, which can be used both as a cell phone and as a sat phone. They charge you a fee of about $12.00 per month, and bill you for all your calls.

They charges are about 60% less than IRIDIUM!

The only catch with THURAYA is that it does not cover all of Africa yet.

Thuraya

Folks,

Most good safari camps now have satelite phones that you can use for just the cost of the minutes. I'm not dragging a phone with me anywhere I don't have to. When I'm on safari I want to be unavailable except in a family emergency.

Regards,

Mark