With voice communications thrown into the mix, mobile users can stay in touch while roaming the property inside or out, and even on the road. The acceptance of the fixed to mobile convergence concept by the telecommunications industry only promises to fuel the fire for the adoption of VoIP over WiFi.

The Challenges of Implementing VoIP over WiFi Networks

As with any emerging technology, there are challenges to overcome. The development of the converged network, i.e. data and voice on the same IP based LAN, while yet to be an established norm, is proving to be beneficial for businesses from both a cost and productivity perspective. Adding the prospect of VoIP over a wireless network brings up a whole new set of issues.

VoIP is a time sensitive technology. Calls must be set up and authenticated, and voice packets must arrive at their destination without interruption and on time. This requires a near continuous network stream, uninterrupted by less sensitive data transmissions. The implementation of quality of service (QoS) techniques on wired LANs assure that these voice packets receive priority, and call quality issues such as latency, jitter, and packet loss have been sufficiently addressed.

Enter the standards based wireless network, a technology in an earlier stage of development, and more challenges occur. While today’s wired network provides plenty of bandwidth for both voice and data to coexist, WLANs provide less bandwidth, and quality of service issues must be revisited. Security measures such as authentication and encryption must be implemented and can add to the problem by increasing the size of the voice packet. Additionally, users on the move will traverse wireless access points where handoffs must be quick and smooth.

The IEEE 802 standards governing wireless technology are evolving rapidly and promise to deal with a broad spectrum of WiFi issues. Increasing the bandwidth available, prioritizing voice packets for QoS, authentication and encryption protocols for security, and enhanced roaming techniques are all being addressed.

Also in development is the wireless technology commonly known as WiMax, providing for the implementation of high bandwidth wireless communications covering distances of up to 30 miles. The evolution of WiMax could prove of great consequence to developing countries, as well as metropolitan LANs.

Security in a VoIP/WiFi Network

Companies wishing to implement wVoIP must take security issues into consideration from the start. As in any IP network, the dangers of hackers, denial of service, highjacking and spam, all lurk in the shadows.

Because a wireless network uses radio frequencies as its transmission media, the security normally provided by a firewall in a wired network is not sufficient, simply because of the physics. Whereas to break into a wired LAN requires hackers to either physically be inside the network or to hack in through the Internet, in a WLAN they can grab network transmissions from the air while parked across the street. The security issues that network managers must consider in a VoWLAN are the privacy of conversations, and the protection of the network infrastructure.

For WiFi networks, security has had a shaky start with the implementation of WEP as its security mechanism. WEP provides for authentication and encryption between the user and the access point, and was found to be easily hacked. The 802.11i standard, adopted as WPA2 (Wireless Protected Access), provides for more robust security by requiring two way authentication between the user and the network, and uses AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) as its encryption engine.

As network managers plan the rollout of a wireless VoIP network, the greatest security threat they face is improper implementation. Building security into the design of the initial deployment can, and should, affect the network topology, as well as material costs. Failure to do so could lead to further expenses in loss of services and network redesigns in the event of compromise.

WiFi, VoIP, and the Cellular Networks

Manufacturers of cellular devices are incorporating WiFi radios into their handsets at an ever increasing rate. New versions of mobile operating systems are coming out complete with a built in VoIP stack, inviting carriers and manufacturers to add VoIP functionality to their devices. Dual and quad band cell phones can choose between the strongest network available, cellular or WiFi, and place a call accordingly.

As cell phones become more like mobile offices, the benefits of a mobile work force become apparent. In the case of the road warrior, the ability to communicate via email, text messaging, video or voice, allows them to stay on the road longer without losing touch. In the age of instant information, mobile office applications allow files to be downloaded, edited, and uploaded, increasing the productivity of the traveler to the point where just about anything that can be done in the office can be done on the road.

A cell phone that can switch between cellular and WiFi networks can significantly reduce telecommunications costs at the corporate office. With WiFi hotspots popping up at hotels, cafes, and corporate LANs across the globe, mobile workers can stay in touch with office and family both on and off the job. With the addition of a VoIP service provider, cheaper VoIP calls can be made from any WiFi network at the push of a button.

Imagine, if you will, a future where one phone, with one phone number, can seamlessly traverse cellular networks, WiFi networks, cable and PSTN landlines. Where roaming and switching between disparate networks occur without interruption or loss of call quality. Fixed to Mobile Convergence is the buzzword of the decade, and the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) architecture is the mechanism that promises to get us there.

The goal of IMS is to provide all the services and applications that the Internet provides, both current, and as of yet unimagined. IP based services such as VoIP, Push to talk cellular (POC), videoconferencing, text messaging, community services, presence information and file sharing, are just some of the possibilities. Designed to work with any fixed, mobile or wireless packet switched network, backwards compatibility for the legacy circuit switched phone system is provided through the use of gateways.

Although still in its infancy, IMS is already being implemented by AT&T as the platform in its newly acquired Cingular cellular network. Interest in investing in a new infrastructure by mobile and fixed operators has been up and down, as they weigh the costs and benefits of the new technology.

As the technology of VoIP over WiFi networks continues to develop, businesses of all sizes can reap the benefits of increased mobility, productivity, and significant cost savings. Standards committees are constantly working on ways to increase security and quality of service, and as fixed mobile convergence gains acceptance in the telecommunications industry, more choices in the services offered and the IP applications available to businesses are sure to follow. What will also be interesting to watch, is how these very bandwidth intensive applications will be priced by the carrier networks, and how it will affect the neutrality of the Internet.

Used in almost any unlocked Quad band GSM phone, the CelTrek SIM offers a unique alternative for current cellular users needing cost effective, reliable and service loaded international roaming.

As a pre-paid

service, with no contracts, or minimum usage requirements, each user can easily buy CelTrek SIM cards, airtime, and GSM phones, check rates and manage their CelTrek account completely from their online web page, www.celtrek.com. With their online rate calculator, users will be able to see before they travel the substantial savings they will have over international cellular phones rentals, calling-cards or roaming with their home carrier cellular phone.

In addition, corporate accounts can manage large fleets of CelTrek loaded phones and airtime, with complete access to usage, location of usage, real time billing and call detailing from their “CelTrek Pro” account, also available at the CelTrek website. CelTrek offers corporate onsite training and 24/7 customer care to all customers to ensure they maximize the savings and service of their CelTrek experience.

CelTrek COO, Jenny Callicott states, “We have created a sensible and user friendly solution for low cost and high service international roaming. Just one CelTrek SIM card enables you to travel the world with all the features you’d expect from your home phone. Advanced voicemail, free incoming SMS/text messages, call waiting, recorded calls, conference calls, and more. Best yet, you’ll never have to search for phone cards or multiple SIMS again while traveling. CelTrek does it all at a price and service you’re going to love.”

To take full advantage of a comprehensive cost saving, a pre-paid Italy SIM card along with your rented Italy cell phone could save you over 80% of your call expenses. When you purchase a pre-paid Italy SIM card, you get a local cell phone number, and all your outgoing calls are charged at local rates. The calls that you receive are all FREE of any charge, no matter where they generate from. Compare this to the fact that when you take your US cell phone on roaming to Italy, you will not only pay for your outgoing call but also for your incoming calls. Since your US cell phone is on roaming through your home service provider, a business agreement has been entered into between your home service provider and the Italian network that you are using while on roaming in Italy. Through this agreement the Italian network provides a US cell phone user. like you, the necessary mobile services and each time you make or receive a call, your home service provider is charged for such service. Not only is that, with you being on roaming, there other charges that your home service provider has to pay to the Italian network provider. This is the reason why you have to pay high charges for your outgoing and incoming calls when you are roaming with your US phone in Italy.

When you rent Italy cell phone, you do not have to pay any roaming charges and with a pre-paid Italy SIM card, you pay for the calls that you make as the locals do and all your incoming calls are absolutely free. At a glance you can appreciate the savings that you have, with Italy cell phone rentals and pre-paid Italy SIM card, which can run up to more than 80% of your communication expenses which you would spend otherwise.

When you purchase a pre-paid Italy SIM card, you get an initial talk time credit. This helps you to use your Italy cell phone right away as soon as you reach Italy. For topping up your talk time credit, you can purchase a recharge voucher, which is available in any of the convenience stores in Italy. You get a choice of values for the amount of credit that you would want. These recharge vouchers are available in many denominations and you have the option to purchase the right amount of credit. You need simply to scratch off the hidden PIN in that voucher and then key in that number to have your credit topped up.

Your pre-paid SIM card for Italy is a small printed circuit board, a little smaller than a postage stamp. It goes into a slot at the back of your rented Italy cell phone and forma the main intelligent module, letting you make and receive calls. SIM stands for Subscriber Identity Module, which has an embedded microprocessor with memories. Your pre-paid SIM card holds your unique information, such as, your phone number, your service plan details, the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of your cell phone SIM card, and more security related details, which are transmitted to the nearest tower as soon as you switch on your Italy cell phone. This information is then matched with the database of the network that you are visiting in Italy. On matching the details, your cell phone is ready to make and receive calls.

Your pre-paid Italy SIM card also has an address book, which holds the name and numbers of the people you call frequently. The SIM card also logs your outgoing and incoming calls, including the ones which you fail to respond. These are all logged along with the relevant time and date of the calls made or received.

The number of mobile subscriptions in Italy has surpassed landline installations. As a result, the network coverage is one of the best in the world, where you will not have any ‘dropped calls’ or have difficult to connect. With your pre-paid Italy SIM card your calls will not be hopping from network to network, since you will be calling through one of the Italian networks. When you but a pre-paid Italy SIM card, you pre-pay for your calls and nothing more is charged to you. With all your incoming calls being FREE and your outgoing calls being charged at local rates, your savings, compared to any other option, are very high. You do not pay for roaming charges and you do not receive any bill at the end of the month. There is no contract for you to sign.

If you wish to take your US phone to Italy, there are three considerations to be made. One is that your cell phone needs to be GSM. Two, even if you have a GSM US cell phone it is unlikely that it will work in Italy. Networks in North America. Canada and a few other neighbouring countries work on different GSM frequency bands than that of the Italian networks. US GSM networks operate on 850 MHz and 1900 MHz frequency bands while Italy operates on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands. Unless you have a multi-frequency handset, could be a quad band or tri-band cell GSM phone, you will need a compatible cell phone for your trip to Italy. Italy cell phone rentals from www.italysimcards.com are all Italy network compatible and provides you the cheapest solution for your right cell phone in Italy. Third, if you plan to take your US cell phone and carry your number on roaming to Italy through your home service provider, you will need to pay high roaming charges for your outgoing and incoming calls.

You are now already convinced about the fact that Italy cell phone rentals with pre-paid Italy SIM card can save you unbelievable amounts with respect to your communication expenses. When you rent Italy cell phone and purchase a pre-paid Italy SIM card from www.italysimcards.com you get a full 24 hour support for the package, for 7 days a week, 365 days a year. What better could be the deal with www.italysimcards.com offering Italy cell phone rental at a fraction of a cost than what others offer and a pre-paid Italy SIM card, providing you with an individual saving of up to 80% of your communication costs. You do not pay anything else and since you pre-pay your call charges, you are in absolute control of your expenses.

If you are visiting Italy for the first time, you would perhaps like to know about the country. Italy is a bit larger than the Arizona. It is a long peninsula, shaping like a boat. To its west it has the Tyrrhenian Sea and on the east the Adriatic. The country is encircled by France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia to the north. While the Apennine Mountains forms the backbone of the country, the Alps form the northern border. Italy is a country of beautiful lakes and the largest one is Garda, with Po being its principle river flowing from the Alps, lining the country’s western border and the river crosses Lombard plain to the Adriatic Sea. There are lots of islands which form a part of Italy, the largest being Sicily. When you are in Italy you will be visiting, Florence, Venice, Rome and the other attractions in the country. You will be taking the Gondola down the Grand Canal, planning to visit one of the finest restaurants in Venice for a delicious Italian preparation. You would perhaps think of watching a show before that. In Rome you will visit the great Colosseum and its mammoth size will make you wonder of the ancient display of strength that went on inside, watched by 50,000 spectators around a central elliptical arena.. It is an amphitheatre, and when you stand in the middle of that great arena, you can almost hear the cheer of that crowd. You would need Italy cell phone to book your seats at the theatre and for table reservations in the restaurant that you want to have your dinner.

Where-ever you are in Italy, you cannot be without your cell phone. You have to be in touch with your associates, friends and family back home and need to be available to those who want to get in touch with you, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You need to have a cell phone which is compatible to Italy network conditions with a calling plan which will provide you with a maximum monitory savings. What more could you expect when you go for Italy cell phone rental and a pre-paid Italy SIM card from www.italysimcards.com providing you with optimum savings on your outgoing calls, charged at local rates.

Networks in Italy operate on Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology and all Italy SIM cards are compatible with GSM frequency bands. The cell phone that you are taking to Italy needs to be GSM compatible, operating on the Italian network frequencies. GSM is the second (2G) generation mobile telephony technology and is the first digital system. It replaces the old first generation (1G) analog technology. GSM is used over more than 214 countries and has more than 80% of subscribers out of the total number of mobile users in the world. GSM has a set of four frequency bands, 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 1900 MHz, which are distributed to the different regions in the world. The GSM frequency bands used by the networks in Northern America, Canada and few other countries in the Americas are quite exclusive to the rest of the world and this sets US apart from the rest of the world regions. It is for this reason that US GSM cell phones are unlikely to work in Italy, unless the cell phone is a multi-frequency handset. For convenience of travellers, cell phones now come with the features to respond to multiple bandwidths. The quad band phone responds to all the GSM frequencies and can be taken to any part of the world. The tri-band covers three of the four GSM frequency bandwidths, which are 800MHz, 900MHz and 1800MHz. The dual band on the other hand operates on just two frequency bands – 800MHz and 1900MHz.

Your GSM cell phone must be SIM unlocked before any SIM card can be used with it. SIM locked cell phones can only operate with the SIM card that it is meant for and therefore, your handset has to be SIM unlocked for you to use the pre-paid Italy SIM card. When you enter into a contact with your service provider, there may be a clause that might stipulate that you need to be in service with the provider for a specific period of time. In exchange, the service provider offers a cell phone, absolutely free of any cost and this phone is necessarily SIM locked. This is done to ensure that you use the SIM card that you received from the service provider and none else. At the end of the contract period, your cell phone becomes your property and your service provider assists you to SIM unlock your phone. It is then that you may opt for any other SIM card that you may like to use.

Whether you are taking your own US GSM cell phone, buying one or renting, it is imperative that the cell phone that you are taking with you to Italy is SIM unlocked. All Italy cell phone rentals from www.italysimcards.com are not only SIM unlocked but are also compatible with the network frequency bands in Italy.

Cell phone use overseas.
In 99% of the world the local cellular service standard is called GSM. We use this in the states as well. When combined with a SIM CARD (which usually goes under the battery of the phone) the phone is able to communicate and the SIM CARD also holds the telephone number and memory for pre-paid credit. Rates can be extremely low using this system. For example in 99% of all SIM CARDS incoming calls are free and calls to the states can cost a trifle. Such as, from the UK to the USA 7 cents/minute, from Israel 22 cents, from Australia 27 cents. Yes, USA Dollar cents! There are today even prepaid service providers in the USA offering rates of 10 cents per minute to call anywhere in the US to any type of phone. No contracts, no credit card checks, no bills. Pre-paid always means no minimums no contracts, no obligations. You only pay for the calls made. You’ll need an unlocked GSM tri-band or quadband UNLOCKED phone. You can buy factory unlocked phones and sim cards for more than 170 of the 193 countries on earth from http://www.planetomni.com Tel. # 800-514-2984

Italy cell phone rental from www.italysimcards.com not only takes all your worries away but also saves you substantially. You pay a fraction of the cost compared to any other such rentals and no other company would give you such low cost deals. www.italysimcards.com provides you with a global service back-up for 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Most of the companies offer Italy cell phone rentals at a very high rental cost along with heaps of other unexpected charges to go along with it. With www.italysimcards.com there is nothing to be surprised about, for this low cost deal does not have any hidden cost. Italy is a land of romantic places. The beautiful country is one of the most visited places in the world. The cultural heritage of the Italians stands out each place you visit and you also come across the show of the strength of the ancient Roman Empire from the enormous construction of the amphitheatre – the Colosseum. At one time, it had a 50,000 crowd watching the Gladiators fight to death. Each place you visit in Italy, you have to remain connected to the important people in your life and be available too, 24 hours a day. You need to be careful, using a cell phone for Italy, for you may end up paying a very high price and also be unaware of the hidden costs. What best could suit but a cell phone. You would need to save money too while you communicate and Italy cell phone rental from www.italysimcards.com provides you with worry free moments when you communicate with your family back home. When such phone rentals are expensive from any other company offering such deals, Italy cell phone rentals from www.italysimcards.com are considerably low priced, with unparalleled global support.

www.italysimcards.com has more to offer, adding to your cost savings. When you purchase a pre-paid Italy SIM card, you save up to 80% of your communication cost. Here is how. You get a local Italian number when you purchase a pre-paid Italy SIM card. This allows you to call at local charges, where you do not have to pay for roaming. Not only that. All your incoming calls are FREE of any charge, no matter where they generate from. You do not need to enter into any contract and there are no other hidden costs. This pre-paid Italy SIM card allows you to call from anywhere in Italy, whether you are in Florence, appreciating the glorious testimony of its spectacular civilisation or enjoying a trip down the Grand Canal in a Gondola in Venice.

Your pre-paid Italy SIM card (Subscriber Identity Module card) is a small printed circuit board, a size, little smaller than postage stamp. It goes into a slot at the back of your cell phone and forms the intelligent module which lets you make and receive calls along with many other facilities provided by mobile telephony. The SIM card holds your unique security information, such as, your phone number, the SIM card number, your service plan, the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of your SIM card, etc. As you switch on your cell phone, this information is transmitted to the local network.

You do have the option in taking your US cell phone to Italy, carrying your cell phone number with you through your home service provider. But that would have detrimental effect on your budget. Roaming is expensive, simply because that when you are in Italy, roaming with your US cell phone through your home service provider, you are a visitor to the particular network that you are using in Italy. This roaming facility could only be made available to you by your home service provider, because of a certain business agreement that it has entered with the one in Italy. This business agreement has commercial terms and your home service provider has to pay the network operator each time you make or receive a call. In this case, you are using your visited network in Italy. Therefore, your home service provider charges your incoming and outgoing calls at roaming rates, which are more than the usual charges of making and receiving calls. On the other hand, your pre-paid Italy SIM card charges on the calls that you make and that too at local rates and all your incoming calls are free. This is then matched with the data available in the database of the network operator. If all goes well, your cell phone is then connected with the network, when you can start making and receiving calls.

Your pre-paid Italy SIM card also holds an address book, where you can store the phone numbers and the names of the people you frequently call. More-over, your pre-paid SIM card logs your incoming and outgoing calls and also logs those incoming calls which you fail to respond. These are held in the memory of your pre-paid Italy SIM card with the relevant date and time of the calls.

You shall need a GSM compatible cell phone in Italy. Italy is a GSM country and like all the countries in Europe, the networks in Italy operate on Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology. When you rent Italy cell phone, you can be sure that it will be compatible with the networks in Italy, providing you with a worry free service. GSM is the second generation (2G) digital technology replacing the old first generation (1G) analog version. It is being used in over 214 countries in the world, having more than 80% users out of the total mobile telephony subscribers in the world. GSM has four set of frequency bands. These are – 850 MHz, 900 MHz, and 1800 MHz and 1900 MHz, which are distributed to the different regions, with some of the regions using common frequency bands. The networks in North America, Canada and few other countries in the Americas use different GSM frequencies than the rest of the world. This is the reason why, your GSM phone is unlikely to work in Italy, unless you have a multi-frequency band cell phone.

US GSM cell phones operate on 850 MHz and 1900 MHz frequency bands which are entirely different from the network operational frequencies in Italy. Italian networks work on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz frequency bands and your cell phone has to respond to these frequencies. Your rented Italian cell phone is compatible to the Italian network and with a pre-paid Italy SIM card, provides you with unbelievable savings.

For convenience of the international travellers, who frequently go abroad, there are three types of multi-frequency cell phones that are available in the market. The Quad-band phone operate on all GSM frequencies and are therefore compatible with any GSM network frequencies of any country that you visit. There is the Tri-band phone which is compatible with three of the GSM frequency bands and these are 800MHz, 900MHz and 1800MHz. Then you get a Dual band which complies with 800MHz and 1900MHz bandwidths.

Your GSM cell phone that you will be taking with you to Italy needs to be SIM unlocked. With a SIM Locked cell phone, you will not be able to use your pre-paid Italy SIM card. The SIM locked phones work with only the SIM card that is meant for the phone. Why are cell phones SIM locked? One of the reasons being is to ensure that you do not get to use any other SIM card other than the one provided by your service provider. This would mean that you will be using only the service of that particular service provider till end of the contract period, which you have signed. Such a contract with the service provider generally stipulates a definite period of time, during which you will have to use their services. After the contract is over, the service provider assists you to unlock your cell phone, which becomes your property. You are then free to choose any SIM card that you would want.

Italy cell phone rentals from www.italysimcards.com are all SIM unlocked and you shall have no problem in using your pre-paid Italy SIM card with it. This package of a rented Italy cell phone and a pre-paid Italy SIM card, give you the ultimate word in saving. As it is, with the .pre-paid Italy SIM card, you stand to save up to 80% of your communication expenses and when you rent Italy cell phone additionally, the appreciation of your savings will go unbelievably high. None other can give you such savings.

When you visit the various places in Italy, you must take a trip to the regions of Emilia-Romagna or Piedmont. This stunning green region in the northern part of the Italian border, is rich with vineyards, apple orchards and mountain top farms. The food that you get here is farm fresh and the talented young chefs will tell you, how they make their own butter and ricotta from their cows. they will also tell you how they prepare schlutzkrapfen, which is a local ravioli, with garden fresh spinach. You will taste the wine renowned for its pinot grigios, gewÑŒrztraminers and MÑŒller-Thurgaus, being considered as one of the finest among the Italian wines.

No matter where you go in Italy, you will need to use your cell phone, to book a seat at the show you want to watch, to reserve a seat in your favourite restaurant or even talk about a business deal with your associate back home. All these cost money and you would like to stay within the budget that you have set for such phone calls. When you have your pre-paid Italy SIM card with you, you need not worry. Since you pre-pay for your calls and do not pay any other cost, even for your incoming calls, you are quite relaxed to use your phone to call the people you need to talk with. You save more with Italy cell phone rental from www.italysimcards.com

No matter where you go in Italy, you will need to use your cell phone, to book a seat at the show you want to watch, to reserve a seat in your favourite resturant or even talk about a business deal with your associate back home. All these cost money and you would like to stay within the budget that you have set for such phone calls. When you have your pre-paid Italy SIM card with you, you need not worry. Since you pre-pay for your calls and do not pay any other cost, even for your incoming calls, you are quite relaxed to use your phone to call the people you need to talk with.

When you visit Florence, early in the morning you will find the river city opening up to the morning haze. Nothing has adjusted to the morning brightness and you see the distant ghosts of the bridges, water ways, the faded out orange and yellow buildings, all providing a romantic charm in your mind. The crisp city starts living with the morning sun and the hills surrounding the city becomes visible as the Sun comes up. Its a lifetime of an experience.

Cell phone use overseas.
In 99% of the world the local cellular service standard is called GSM. We use this in the states as well. When combined with a SIM CARD (which usually goes under the battery of the phone) the phone is able to communicate and the SIM CARD also holds the telephone number and memory for pre-paid credit. Rates can be extremely low using this system. For example in 99% of all SIM CARDS incoming calls are free and calls to the states can cost a trifle. Such as, from the UK to the USA 7 cents/minute, from Israel 22 cents, from Australia 27 cents. Yes, USA Dollar cents! There are today even prepaid service providers in the USA offering rates of 10 cents per minute to call anywhere in the US to any type of phone. No contracts, no credit card checks, no bills. Pre-paid always means no minimums no contracts, no obligations. You only pay for the calls made. You’ll need an unlocked GSM tri-band or quadband UNLOCKED phone. You can buy factory unlocked phones and sim cards for more than 170 of the 193 countries on earth from http://www.planetomni.com Tel. # 800-514-2984

Hotel telephones are very expensive to use and further, if you are out of your hotel, you are unavailable to those who want to get in touch with you. You had taken your US cell phone with you before, carrying your US number on roaming. But the bill that you received at the end of the month was outrageous. Yet you cannot do away with communicating to people and as you are away from home, you would like to be available to others, 24 hours a day, where-ever you may be in Italy.

You need a cell phone which will provide you with economy and savings. www.italysimcards.com offers GSM Italy cell phone rentals at incredibly low rates and when you purchase a pre-paid Italy SIM card, your saving multiplies to more than 80% of the normal costs of calls. You get a local number and you only pay for your outgoing calls and that too at the rates which the locals pay, with all your incoming calls free of cost.

Italy has always fascinated travellers. The attractions could be the crystal clear lakes, and the living past endorsing Italy’s cultural heritage. It could be the beautiful rosy sunsets, the taste of fine Italian wine or the wonderful landscapes of the country, as you travel through Italy. If you like to go skiing, it is the Italian Alps where you should go, which has unequalled scenery, and is one of the renowned winter sports resorts in the world. With your rented Italy cell phone with you, you will be comfortable being in touch with others when-ever you need to. Your GSM Italy cell phone rental provides you with the security and emergency needs as you enjoy the beautiful country of Italy. www.italysimcards.com offers you the cheapest way to your communication needs, which could provide you with unbelievable savings.

Networks in Italy operate on GSM, which is the short form of Global System for Mobile Communications. GSM is a digital technology, the second generation (2G) mobile telephony system, which replaces the old first generation (1G) analog technology. Your cell phone needs to be a GSM handset to be used in Italy. GSM is now used over 214 countries and has more than 80% of subscribers out of the total mobile telephony users in the world. The cheapest way to travel to Italy is with a rented Italy cell phone and a pre-paid Italy SIM card, which together, provide you with unbelievable savings. The matter to note is that your US GSM cell phone is unlikely to work in Italy, unless it is a multi-frequency handset, which would then comply with all or part of the GSM frequencies in the world. Networks in North America, Canada and few other countries in the Americas operate on different frequency bands than that of Europe, with Italy falling under such network frequencies. US GSM networks operate on 850 MHz and 1900 MHz while networks in Italy work on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz. GSM frequency bands.

Your cell phone need to be a compatible GSM handset to be used in Italy. You should either have a quad band or tri-band cell phone to operate in Italy. Quad band cell phones comply with all GSM frequency bands – 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 1900 MHz, while tri-band supports 800MHz, 900MHz and 1800MHz GSM frequency bands. Then you get a Dual band which complies with 800MHz and 1900MHz bandwidths.

Here is a word of caution. Your cell phone has to be SIM unlocked, when you are using a pre-paid Italy SIM card. With a SIM locked cell phone, you will not be able to use any other SIM card, except the one which is meant for that handset. Italy cell phone rentals from www.italysimcards.com are all compatible with Italian network GSM frequencies.

A cell phone is generally SIM locked when you sign a contract with a service provider, with stipulations that you would need to remain with the services of the provider for a specific period of time, which is generally one year. This is usually a post paid connection, where you receive a bill every month. On signing the contract you get to receive a SIM locked phone and a SIM card. This SIM locked phone ensures that you do not use any other SIM card other than the one you received from the service provider. At the end of the contract period, the handset is SIM unlocked by the service provider, which then belongs to you and you may then use any SIM card that you like. All Italy cell phone rentals from www.italysimcards.com are SIM unlocked for you to use the pre-paid Italy SIM card and start to experience the enormous savings on your communication expenses.

If you are a frequent traveller, you may consider buying a multi-frequency cell phone and use the various country specific SIM card along with it for your visits to different countries abroad, or, if you do not travel so frequently, Italy cell phone rental along with a pre-paid Italy SIM card from www.italysimcards.com would get you the cost savings as never before. www.italysimcards.com offers pre-paid SIM cards for various other countries in the world.

Whether you are carrying your own cell phone to Italy, buying one or renting Italy cell phone, there are two things to remember. First, your phone should comply with the network GSM frequencies in Italy, and second, the phone must be SIM unlocked for you use any SIM card of your choice, such as, the pre-paid Italy SIM card.

Italy cell phone rentals from www.italysimcards.com are all Italian network compatible and all you need to do is to purchase a pre-paid Italy SIM card and slip it in your cell phone and you are ready to go. Italy cell phone rentals are delivered to you fully charged and you also get along with it a battery charger compatible with the supply voltages in Italy. Since you pre-pay for your calls when you purchase a pre-paid Italy SIM card, you need not worry about end-of-the-month bills. You are in full control of your expenses when you purchase a pre-paid Italy SIM card, where all your outgoing calls are charged at local rates and you do not pay for your incoming calls, no matter where they generate from. Such a package from www.italysimcards.com would provide you with the features that no other company can provide, supporting you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Your pre-paid Italy SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card is a little smaller than postage stamp and is essentially a printed circuit board, having a microprocessor and memory. The pre-paid SIM card holds your unique information, such as, your cell phone number, your service plan details, the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of your mobile phone and other security details, etc. As you switch on your cell phone, your pre-paid SIM card transmits the information to the nearest tower and this is matched with the records that are held in the database of the service provider in Italy. On matching, your cell phone gets connected to the network and you are then ready to make and receive calls.

Your pre-paid Italy SIM card also has address book, where you can store the names and numbers of the people you frequently call. It also logs the numbers that you call and the ones you receive calls from. Not only have that, your pre-paid Italy SIM card also stores the numbers which you have failed to respond to. All these are logged along with the relevant date and time of the calls.

There is ofcourse that option when you take your US cell phone to Italy, carrying your number through your home service provider. You are then on Roaming in Italy. You have perhaps taken your cell phone on roaming previously in one of your trips abroad and you are quite aware of the expenses involved in making and receiving calls. Roaming charges are always high, since, to provide you with the facility, your home service provider has entered into a business contract with the one in Italy.

When you are away from your geographical area, you are in a different service provider zone and you are considered to be visiting the network of that service provider. This business contract between the two service providers facilitates your roaming status and each time you make or receive a call, your home service provider is charged by the network that you are visiting. This reflects as high incoming and outgoing call charges in your bill. You do not pay roaming charges with a pre-paid Italy SIM card and all your incoming calls are FREE of charge.

Italy – the land of exquisite cuisine and fine wine, providing the traveller with a touch of romance everywhere he visits. That is the reason why Italy is the most visited tourist countries. When you visit Italy, you would need a free and comfortable mind to explore the different places. Italy cell phone rentals provide you with the satisfaction of worry free communication, 24 hours a day.

You would visit places like Venice, Florence, Siena, Milan, Naples, The Amalfi coast, Capri, the Lake Region, Sicily, Sardinia, the Alps and of course Rome. You would also sit at one of that open air restaurants, enjoying your evening meal enjoying the Italian weather while watching the street theatre. You have with you your Italy cell phone with your pre-paid Italy SIM card and while you enjoy yourself, you may like to call your dear ones and be available to the people who want to talk to you.

www.italysimcards.com offers Italy cell phone rentals at much cheaper rate, providing savings in your communication expenditures. www.italysimcards.com also offers pre-paid Italy SIM cards which provide you with further savings additionally. A pre-paid Italy SIM card alone could save you up to 80% of your call expenses. When you purchase a pre-paid Italy SIM card, you get an initial talk time credit along with it. This is made available to you for you to use your Italy cell phone straight away when you reach Italy.

As you travel through Italy, you can recharge your talk time credit by buying a recharge voucher, which is available in any of the convenience store in Italy. These vouchers are available in many denominations and you have the option of buying the amount of talk time credit that you would want. All you need to do is to scratch off the hidden PIN and key it in your cell phone. A pre-paid Italy SIM card allows you to control your expenses, since all your calls are pre-paid. A pre-paid Italy SIM card gets you a local number and you pay for your outgoing calls as the locals do and do not get charged for anything else. All your incoming calls are absolutely FREE.

A visit to Tuscany would take you through the many world-famous attractions. The visit would introduce you to some of the jewels which are lesser-known. These are Italy’s most skilled cowboys, the beautiful blossomed parks, fresh colourful outdoors and the markets. You will be tempted to take a walk through one of the thousand narrow farm roads, where you can explore your own treasures, while enjoying the Tuscan Sun.

The living cultural heritage of Italy can be seen as you travel through the country. You will see the world’s historic treasures and architecture, providing the country’s cultural glory, giving the Italy the image of a ‘living art gallery’. You will take a leisurely walk down winding streets of any town and you will find the exquisite ancient palaces and splendid architectural buildings lined up at both the sides of the street. There would be hidden court yards within full of beautiful flowers and sculptures. This cultural heritage can be seen anywhere in any of the Italian regions.

The passion that Italians have for food could be seen from the preparation of their favourite dishes and the way they serve them. Sharing food is a social event in Italy, almost a daily ritual and a celebration of a family-get-together. Italians spend hours at a table laden with food, such as, freshly prepared pasta, fresh vegetable preparations, savory roasted meat, etc., while gossiping away and sharing the family news.

Before you travel to Italy do not forget to visit www.italysimcards.com to find out more about the packages they offer for Italy cell phone rentals and pre-paid Italy SIM card. It provides you with the right communication kit for your visit to Italy, with unbelievable savings.

Cell phone use overseas.
In 99% of the world the local cellular service standard is called GSM. We use this in the states as well. When combined with a SIM CARD (which usually goes under the battery of the phone) the phone is able to communicate and the SIM CARD also holds the telephone number and memory for pre-paid credit. Rates can be extremely low using this system. For example in 99% of all SIM CARDS incoming calls are free and calls to the states can cost a trifle. Such as, from the UK to the USA 7 cents/minute, from Israel 22 cents, from Australia 27 cents. Yes, USA Dollar cents! There are today even prepaid service providers in the USA offering rates of 10 cents per minute to call anywhere in the US to any type of phone. No contracts, no credit card checks, no bills. Pre-paid always means no minimums no contracts, no obligations. You only pay for the calls made. You’ll need an unlocked GSM tri-band or quadband UNLOCKED phone. You can buy factory unlocked phones and sim cards for more than 170 of the 193 countries on earth from http://www.planetomni.com Tel. # 800-514-2984

SIM stands for Subscriber Identity Module and your pre-paid Italy SIM card is of a size little smaller than a postage stamp which goes into a slot at the back of your cell phone. It is basically a microprocessor printed circuit board having memories. Your pre-paid Italy SIM card is the intelligent module which lets you make and receive calls, send receive SMS messages and many other mobile telephony features. The SIM card holds all your unique information, such as, the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of your mobile phone, your service plan, your cell phone number, etc., which is automatically transmitted to the local tower of the network. The information contained in your pre-paid Italy SIM card is then validated against the information received and when matched, your cell phone is ready to be used. Your pre-paid Italy SIM card has an address book where you can store the names and phone numbers of the people you often call. SIM cards operate on GSM and as such your cell phone should be GSM compatible. More-over it has to be compatible with the network frequency bands in Italy.

Italy is a GSM country, which means that networks in Italy operate on GSM technology. The cell phone that you carry with you needs to be GSM compatible. Not only that, it has to respond to the network frequencies in Italy. If you have a US GSM cell phone, it might not work in Italy unless it is a multi-frequency band handset. www.italysimcards.com offers Italy cell phone rentals at a much cheaper rate, a fraction of the cost offered by others. Italy cell phone rentals are all GSM compatible, and respond to the Italian network frequency bandwidths.

Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) was first introduced in 1991 and by 1997 more than hundred countries were using GSM technology. Now, GSM is used by over 214 countries, having over 80% of subscribers out of the total cellular phone users in the world. You will need a compatible GSM phone with you when you visit Italy, while using your pre-paid Italy SIM card. An open structure technology, GSM is the second generation (2G) digital mobile telephony system having four set of frequency bands. These are – 850 MHz, 900 MHz, and 1800 MHz and 1900 MHz, which are distributed to the different regions, with some of the regions using common frequency bands. GSM Networks in Italy operate on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz frequency bands. If you have a GSM cell phone with you, it is unlikely that it would work in Italy, unless it responds to multi-frequency bandwidths, where one of the bandwidths will conform to the Italian network. Networks in North America, Canada and few other neighbouring countries operate on 850 MHz and 1900 MHz frequency bands, which are entirely different from the GSM frequencies in Italy.

When in Italy, besides sight seeing, there is ample opportunity to enjoy the specialties of Italian food. There are cultural shows that you would like to watch. In Florence the clubs and pubs are at the center of the city. There are Irish, English, American and even Spanish pubs, where you would perhaps like to have a glass of the best Chianti wine. You would need to reserve a seat at the show that you would like to watch. You would like to dine at the Al Giardinetto, in Venice after a ride through the Grand Canal. You would need to book your place as well as reserve a seat at the show. You would find it quite expensive to do all these from your hotel telephone. Italy cell phone rentals would let you save on your cell phone costs and a pre-paid Italy SIM card could save you up to 80% on your communication costs.

When you rent Italy cell phone, the battery of the Italy cell phone comes fully charged, for you to use it straight away as soon as you reach Italy. When you purchase a pre-paid Italy SIM card, it carries with it a small talk time credit, which lets you make calls as soon as you reach your destination. When-ever you want, you can top up your talk time credit by purchasing a recharge coupons from any convenient store in Italy. There are various denominations of these coupons to choose from, and you can have the right value of the credit that you would want.

It is far economical to rent Italy cell phone for your visit to Italy, and with a pre-paid Italy SIM card you get the benefit of unbelievable savings. When you purchase a pre-paid Italy SIM card, you pre-pay for your calls, recharging your talk time credit time to time by purchasing recharge vouchers. This lets you to be aware of the amount of money that you are spending towards the use of your cell phone. You do not have to sign a contract in purchasing a pre-paid Italy SIM card and you do not get any of those month end bills for the calls that you make.

You shall find it convenient in having a GSM cell phone with you. A rented Italy cell phone would be a very convenient and economical solution for you consider, since if you should carry your US phone on roaming, the bill at the end of the month will be outrageous. Along with Italy cell phone rentals, a pre-paid Italy SIM card would save you more, in fact up to 80% of your call charges. With a pre-paid Italy SIM card, you get a local number and you pay only for your outgoing calls and that too at the rate what the locals pay. More-over, all your incoming calls are FREE, no matter where it generates from. You would need a GSM cell phone to make your calls while you are travelling to the various tourist spots in Italy and what best can you get other than going for Italy cell phone rental along with a pre-paid Italy SIM card, all from www.italysimcards.com

The combination is an outstanding offer from www.italysimcards.com which you cannot miss. The package has been especially created to let you enjoy your visit to Italy and make every moment of your stay in Italy memorable, without worrying about getting in touch with your associates, friends and family back home when-ever you want to. At the same time, you are available to those who want to get in touch with you, no matter where you are in Italy.

www.italysimcards.com offers the best prices for Italy cell phone rentals and pre-paid Italy SIM cards than any other company. Rent Italy cell phone from www.italysimcards.com and get a global support service, 24 hours, 365 days a year. With a pre-paid Italy SIM card, you do not get end-of-the-month bills, since you pre-pay for your calls and you are in full control of the budget that you have set for the purpose.

As you travel through Italy, visiting the famous Coliseum in Rome, having a pleasure trip down the Grand Canal in one of those Gondolas, enjoying the attractions of the protected natural areas and National Parks with those peaceful lakes located high up in the mountains and the prosperous marine life along the coast, or simply enjoying the traditional hospitality of the Italians, at one time, you would need to recharge your pre-paid Italy SIM card for more talk time credit. All you need to do is to walk into any of the convenient stores in the Italian city you are and ask for a recharge voucher. These vouchers are available in many denominations for you to choose the amount of talk time credit that you would want.

You have two options when you travel to Italy with your cell phone. The first being you take your US cell phone with you and also taking your US number along with. You would need to do this through your home service provider, who will provide you with roaming features. When you are in roaming with your cell phone in Italy, you are a visitor to a certain network in that country, since you are now out of your own geographical area. In order that you may roam with your cell phone, your home service provider has entered into a business contract with that one in Italy. Technically, as you receive or make a call from your cell phone, you will be using the local network where-ever you are in Italy. This usage costs more money to you for calls that you make and receive. This is the reason why your call charges are outrageously high when you roam with your cell phone.

The second option is that, you rent Italy cell phone when you travel to Italy. Italy cell phone rentals provide you with the right GSM phone that you should have when you are in Italy. Even if you have a GSM cell phone, it does not mean that it will work in Italy, unless you have a tri-band or quad band phone. GSM frequency bands in US and Italy are different. Networks in North America, Canada and few other countries in the Americas, including Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands, operate on 850 MHz and 1900 MHz, which are not compatible with the frequencies used by the networks in Italy. Networks in Italy operate on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz.

Italy cell phone rentals from www.italysimcards.com ensure that you get the correct handset which complies with the Italian networks. More-over, you save further by purchasing a pre-paid Italy SIM card which would save you up to 80% of your communication costs in addition to the savings that you make in Italy cell phone rental. With a pre-paid Italy SIM card you are always in control of your expenses, since you always pre-pay for the calls that you make from your GSM cell phone. With a pre-paid Italy SIM card, all your incoming calls are FREE of charge.

You will be travelling to Naples. The name is more romantically called Napoli by the Italians. It has the third most population amongst the cities in Italy and is in proximity to several tourist sites, such as, Pompeii and the Bay of Naples. It is a vibrant city and you can see the living cultural heritage of Italy when you visit the wonderful historical and artistic treasures. As you walk through the narrow winding streets in Naples, nostalgia crowds your mind. You would need your Italy cell phone here too. Italy provides one of the best coverage of mobile telephony in the world and therefore you do not experience any ‘dropped calls’ where-ever you may be calling. The usage of cell phones in Italy has surpassed the landline installations. Whether you are in Rome, Florence or Venice, your calls will be connected with excellent crystal clear reception, without any break in the call set up. Your pre-paid Italy SIM card along with your Italy cell phone rental would take you far in your savings, with a promise that you will never receive a bill at the end of the month to pay for your calls. You pay for your outgoing calls as the locals do. What best could you have in saving money!

Cell phone use overseas.
In 99% of the world the local cellular service standard is called GSM. We use this in the states as well. When combined with a SIM CARD (which usually goes under the battery of the phone) the phone is able to communicate and the SIM CARD also holds the telephone number and memory for pre-paid credit. Rates can be extremely low using this system. For example in 99% of all SIM CARDS incoming calls are free and calls to the states can cost a trifle. Such as, from the UK to the USA 7 cents/minute, from Israel 22 cents, from Australia 27 cents. Yes, USA Dollar cents! There are today even prepaid service providers in the USA offering rates of 10 cents per minute to call anywhere in the US to any type of phone. No contracts, no credit card checks, no bills. Pre-paid always means no minimums no contracts, no obligations. You only pay for the calls made. You’ll need an unlocked GSM tri-band or quadband UNLOCKED phone. You can buy factory unlocked phones and sim cards for more than 170 of the 193 countries on earth from http://www.planetomni.com Tel. # 800-514-2984

While it is expensive to be in touch with your associates, friends and family back home using your hotel telephone, it is a fact that some of the Villas and apartments do not have a phone and in both the cases a cell phone becomes absolutely necessary. If you are planning to take your US cell phone and carrying your number to Italy and be on roaming through your home service provider, think twice before you do that. You may end up with outrageous bill at the end of the month. Roaming is expensive. There is indeed a way out to avoid the expenses.

There are several ways to have the convenience of a cell phone in Italy and most of these are quite expensive. Italy cell phones rentals from www.italysimcards.com is not only affordable but it provide you with the advantage of the cheapest of all rates available, and make your money take you further in your trip to Italy. The rates offered by www.italysimcards.com are just fractions of what it would cost you to rent Italy cell phone through conventional sources or roam with your own US cell phone through your home service provider.

Further, when you purchase a pre-paid Italy SIM card, this SIM card alone could save you up to 80% of your call expenses. You get a local number with a pre-paid Italy SIM card and all your outgoing calls are charged at local rates. All your incoming calls are FREE of any charges, no matter where they generate from. You do not need to pay for roaming or any other charges. You do not pay any of those monthly bills and you do not need to enter into any contract.

Your pre-paid Italy SIM card is a module which renders your cell phone intelligent. It is this SIM card that lets you call your associates, friends and your family back home and makes you available to the people who want to get in touch with you. A Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card is a printed circuit board which goes into a slot at the back of your Italy cell phone. Your pre-paid Italy SIM card is of a size a little smaller than a postage stamp and has a microprocessor and memory circuitry built-in. It stores all your unique information, such as, your phone number, your service plan, the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of your cell phone SIM card, etc. On switching on your phone, your pre-paid Italy SIM card sends the IMSI to the local network. This IMSI identification is then verified by the network database and a series of verification process takes place by transmitting identification codes to your Italy cell phone and receiving back information from your pre-paid Italy SIM card. When this verification is complete, your Italy cell phone is then connected with the network and you are now ready to make and receive calls. This process is so fast that it is absolutely transparent to you.

Your pre-paid Italy SIM card also holds your address book, where you can store the names and the numbers of the people you frequently call. It also logs the numbers of your incoming and outgoing calls and also those calls which you have failed to respond. These numbers are logged by its relevant date and time.

Roaming is a facility provided by your home service provider, where you can carry your phone and your US number through your home service provider. This becomes expensive since you pay for your outgoing and incoming calls at roaming rates. With a rented Italy cell phone you do not need to be on roaming when you have a pre-paid Italy SIM card. The set up is locally configured where you pay for your calls as the locals do. Since you pre-pay for your calls, you do not need to pay anything else over and above that. Italy cell phone rentals are all compatible with the network frequencies as operated in Italy and you need not worry about the frequency incompatibility.

When you leave your geographical area with your phone, you are considered to be roaming in the area that you are visiting. You are then said to be visiting a different network. In order to provide you with the roaming facility, your home service provider has entered into a business agreement with the network you are visiting. Under the circumstances, your home service provider needs to pay for each call that your make or receive through the network that you are visiting. When you roam in Italy with your US cell phone, you are said to be on International Roaming. This is the reason why you receive an outrageous bill at the end of the month when you have taken your US phone on roaming. Italy cell phone rentals from www.italysimcards.com are affordable and cheaper for the low rates that you pay for renting such a cell phone..

Italy is a GSM country, which means that networks in Italy operate on GSM technology. Even if you have a US GSM cell phone, it is unlikely that it would work in Italy, unless you have a quad or tri-band cell phone. You will need a cell phone which responds to GSM 900 MHz and 1800 MHz frequency bands, which are the ones operated by the Italian network. Networks in North America, Canada and few other neighbouring countries work on different bandwidths, which are 850 MHz and 1900 MHz. Italy cell phone rental provides you with full compliance of the required frequency response in Italy, being compatible with the GSM frequency bands operated by the networks in Italy

When you visit Italy, you will notice that the country has something for everyone, from the busy cities, showcasing the great cultural heritage of the Italians, exhibiting the latest world fashion, to those quaint little peaceful villages in surroundings that brings in tranquility and a sense of calmness. It is the home of pasta, pizza, gelati and vino, where you can enjoy every situation in one of the most romantic country in the world. Walking through the cobblestone backstreets of Rome, you will discover little late night bars, adorned with mix of paintings, antique statues, grandma lamps and mosaics. You will find this to be an apt place where you can rest your feet and sip on a glass of the finest Italian wine and perhaps pick up your cell phone to talk to your family back home. You are not worried about the expenses since, before you left for Italy, you had rented Italy cell phone and purchased a pre-paid Italy cell phone, a package, providing you with double benefit of cost saving. Italy cell phone rentals cost you a fraction of the rates charged by any other. A compatible GSM phone with a pre-paid Italy SIM card provide you with unbelievable savings, including the fact that your pre-paid Italy SIM card could save you up to 80% on your calls that you make, with all your incoming calls coming FREE to you.

When you purchase a pre-paid Italy SIM card from www.italysimcards.com you get an initial talk time credit along with it. This allows you to use your cell phone right away when you reach Italy. As the credit depletes, you can buy recharge vouchers from any convenience stores in Italy and top up your talk time credit. These recharge vouchers are available in different denominations and you can choose the value of credit that you would want. Since you pre-pay for your calls, you are in full control of your expenses and can remain within the budget that you have set for the purpose.

Your Italy cell phone rental from www.italysimcards.com comes fully charged when delivered to you. You also receive a battery charger which is compliant with the supply voltage in Italy. Rented Italy cell phones are GSM compatible and responds to the network frequencies as operated in Italy. The use of cell phones in Italy has surpassed the total number of landline installations in the country, with the result, that Italy has one of the best mobile coverage in the world. With your rented Italy cell phone, it is highly unlikely that you would experience any ‘dropped call’ or problems in connectivity. Its not only affordability, Italy cell phone rentals from www.italysimcards.com are available at very low rates, and is the only way out from having the luxury to carry your US cell phone to Italy on roaming. By law, you need to be an Italian citizen to buy or rent any cell phone in that country and therefore Italy cell phone rental from www.italysimcards.com provides you with a better economical solution.

All pre-paid Italy SIM cards are GSM compatible, which would mean that you would need a GSM handset to make and receive calls with such a SIM card. Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is the second generation (2G) first digital technology system, which replaces the first generation (1G) analog system. GSM is used in over 214 countries and has more than 80% of subscribers out of the total cell phone users in the world. The introduction of GSM technology has created a standard, which embraces all areas of technology, resulting in world-wide seamless wireless connectivity to and from about anywhere in the planet.

If you are not taking your US cell phone on roaming to Italy, the cell phone that you will be taking with you must be SIM unlocked for you to operate that cell phone with a pre-paid Italy SIM card. All Italy cell phone rentals from www.italysimcards.com are SIM unlocked handsets, providing you with worry-free communication when you are in Italy.

Cell phones are generally SIM locked by service providers, where a contract that you have signed stipulates that you should be using the services of that particular provider for a certain period of time. In this case the phone is made available to you free of cost and it is SIM locked and only operates with the SIM card that you receive from your service provider. In this way the service provider ensures that you will not be using any other SIM card. After the contract period is over, the service provider assists you in unlocking your phone. It is only then you may choose any SIM card that you like for your cell phone.

In order to make your travelling from one country to the other easier, cell phones are available in multi-frequency GSM bandwidths. A quad band phone responds to all the existing GSM frequencies – 850 MHz, 900 MHz, and 1800 MHz and 1900 MHz. The tri-band phone is compatible with 800MHz, 900MHz and 1800MHz GSM frequency bands. The dual band handset operates on just two frequency bands – 800MHz and 1900MHz bandwidths. All Italy cell phone rentals comply with the network frequencies of Italy.

As most countries in the world, Italy has opted for GSM technology in the mobile telephony operation. GSM provides crystal clear connectivity, so much so that at times, it becomes difficult to sense if you are on a cell phone or using a landline. Whether you are in one of those quaint little remote villages, in the midst of the populated cities or relaxing in one of the beaches, GSM Italy cell phone rentals provide you with a clear digital reception. In fact 99.8% of the people in Italy use cell phones, which is more than the number of landlines installed in the country.

It is difficult to judge what could cause the most breathtaking experience that you will have when you visit Rome. It could be, the great Coliseum, an arena where display of strength linked this Eternal City to the might of the once Roman Empire, the top speed of Fiat cars while you are trying to cross major intersections or the bill that you have to pay for your coffee. The Coliseum is an amphitheatre and was taken up for construction at the time Emperor Vespasian and completed by his sons, Titus and Domitian, between AD 72 and AD 90. The Coliseum was built at the Domus Aurea, an area where Nero’s enormous palace existed. This large amphitheatre was built to a capacity of 50,000 spectators, witnessing gladiatorial combats. Standing in the middle of this amphitheatre and looking all around you, you would perhaps hear the cheer of that 50,000 people, as the gladiators fought to death. It is indeed breathtaking.

Italy is full of romance. Everywhere you visit, you are charmed by the invisible presence of the feeling of you having a great time and enchanting moments of your visit. The narrow winding streets, provides that sense of nostalgia of by gone days, as you pass the wonderful ancient historical buildings. It is a life time of an experience.

Cell phone use overseas.
In 99% of the world the local cellular service standard is called GSM. We use this in the states as well. When combined with a SIM CARD (which usually goes under the battery of the phone) the phone is able to communicate and the SIM CARD also holds the telephone number and memory for pre-paid credit. Rates can be extremely low using this system. For example in 99% of all SIM CARDS incoming calls are free and calls to the states can cost a trifle. Such as, from the UK to the USA 7 cents/minute, from Israel 22 cents, from Australia 27 cents. Yes, USA Dollar cents! There are today even prepaid service providers in the USA offering rates of 10 cents per minute to call anywhere in the US to any type of phone. No contracts, no credit card checks, no bills. Pre-paid always means no minimums no contracts, no obligations. You only pay for the calls made. You’ll need an unlocked GSM tri-band or quadband UNLOCKED phone. You can buy factory unlocked phones and sim cards for more than 170 of the 193 countries on earth from http://www.planetomni.com Tel. # 800-514-2984

Italy is the land of gastronomic pleasures. You would be exhausted after a long day’s sight-seeing and would want to relax in a typical Italian cafe with a cup of the famous Italian Coffee. In the evening you might want to watch a show and then dine at one of the exquisite restaurants in Italy. With the proliferation of restaurants in Italian cities, you have a wide choice to select the right spot, where you can have your favourite dishes. With the overwhelming visitors crowding this wonderful country, you will perhaps need to book your seat at the show you would want to watch and also reserve a place for you in that favourite restaurant that you have selected. You have your cell phone with you and your pre-paid Italy SIM card. On purchasing this pre-paid Italy SIM card, you have with you a local Italian number and you pay for your outgoing calls as the locals do. This makes it so easy for you to book that seat in the show you wish to watch and also reserve your seat in that restaurant. In purchasing a pre-paid Italy SIM card, you are technically pre-paying for your calls that you make, and by that you are in full control of the expenses that you incur. With a pre-paid Italy SIM card, you do not pay for roaming and you do not receive any monthly bills at the end of the month. At the same time you are available all the time to the people who want to get in touch with you, with the pre-paid Italy SIM card providing you with the benefit of receiving unlimited incoming calls FREE of any charges. There is no contract for you to sign.

A pre-paid Italy SIM card is a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), which is a little smaller than a postage stamp and forms the mobile communication intelligence, providing you with the facility to make and receive calls from your cell phone and avail other mobile features. Your pre-paid Italy SIM card holds your unique information about you and your phone, such as, your SIM card number, your subscription information, the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of your mobile phone and other security details. When you switch on your phone, the information is transmitted to the nearest network tower in the city that you are in. The network validates the information, completes the security checks and then logs you in. You are now ready to use your pre-paid Italy SIM card for outgoing and incoming calls. The pre-paid Italy SIM card also holds your address book, where you keep the names of the people and their telephone numbers, who you call frequently. It also logs the incoming and outgoing calls and also the ones that you fail to answer. These numbers are logged by the SIM card along with the respective call time and dates.

A pre-paid Italy SIM card saves you much more than any other options that you have in using your cell phone when you are in Italy. The first and fore-most option is ‘Roaming’, which is undoubtedly a costly proposition. When you travel out of your geographical area, you are then under a different network provider and roaming provides you with the facility to use your cell phone in such situations. In using your cell phone outside your geographical area you would be using the services of the network that you are visiting. This becomes possible through a business agreement between your own network provider and the network that you are visiting. Such an agreement involves business deals, and as and when the visited network is utilised, you are charged for your outgoing and incoming calls at roaming rates. This is how your incoming and outgoing calls become expensive when you are on roaming. On the other hand, with a pre-paid Italy SIM card, you do not pay for any roaming charges and also with unlimited free incoming calls and with your outgoing calls being charged at local rates, you can save up to 80% of your communication expenses.

Italy is a GSM country, compatible to your pre-paid Italy SIM card. This means that the country uses Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology for their mobile operation. When you purchase a pre-paid Italy SIM card, you would need a GSM handset with you when you travel to Italy. As most of the European countries, networks in Italy operate on GSM, with the networks operating on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz. GSM is an open structure second generation (2G) mobile technology and is the first digital technology developed for mobile communication. GSM is used in over 214 countries and has 80% subscription amongst the total mobile users in the world. There are four frequency bands offered by GSM and these are, 850 MHz, 900 MHz, and 1800 MHz and 1900 MHz, which are distributed to the different regions, with some of the regions using common frequency bands. Within these four frequency bands, North America, Canada and some of the countries in Americas use 850MHz and 1900MHz, which are exclusive to this part of the world. GSM offers the advantage of letting you remain in touch with the world from about anywhere in this planet.

When you visit Italy with your pre-paid Italy SIM card, you would need a GSM cell phone, since networks in Italy operate on GSM technology. If you have a GSM phone, it is highly unlikely that it would work in Italy with your pre-paid Italy SIM card, unless it is supports multi-frequency bandwidth, which includes 900 MHz and 1800 MHz. North America, Canada and few other neighbouring countries work entirely on different frequency bands. These bandwidths are – 850MHZ and 1900MHZ, as compared to the ones in Italy, which uses 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bandwidth.

To facilitate use of GSM cell phones in different parts of the world, handsets are available in multi-frequency bands. The Quad-band GSM phones, operate on all the GSM frequencies and there-by is suitable for use the world over. The Tri-band works on 800MHz, 900MHz and 1800MHz frequency bands, and operates in most part of the GSM region. There is the Dual-band, having compatibility with two of the GSM frequency bands – 800MHz and 1900MHz.

If you happen to be travelling abroad quite frequently, it will be economical for you to buy an appropriate GSM cell phone which will operate in the frequency bands of the several countries that you visit. Otherwise, you have the option to go for Italy cell phone rental for your visit to Italy, which can be used with your pre-paid Italy SIM card. For more information on buying or opting for Italy cell phone rentals, visit www.italysimcards.com

The GSM phone that you are taking with you on your visit to Italy, should be SIM unlocked, as otherwise, you will not be able to use your pre-paid Italy SIM card or any other SIM card for that matter. A SIM locked cell phone will only work with the SIM card which is meant for the phone. When you sign a contract with a service provider, a clause in that contract might stipulate a period of time during which you will be required to use the services of the provider. In return, you shall receive a cell phone, absolutely free of charge along with the SIM card. This handset that you will be receiving would be SIM locked and will only work with the SIM card provided by your service provider. At the end of the contracting period, your phone will be SIM unlocked by the service provider, when you will be free to use your cell phone with any SIM card of your choice.

Therefore, whether you are taking your own GSM phone, buying or renting one for your visit to Italy, there are two important aspects to be careful about. Firstly, you need to be sure that the cell phone is SIM unlocked as otherwise it would not work with your pre-paid Italy SIM card, and secondly, your GSM cell phone has to be compatible with the frequency bands as operated by the Italian networks. Rented Italy cell phones are all compatible with the Italian network GSM frequency bands.

Rome is the capital city of Italy. Rome grew from a small city to a vast empire. Romans built monuments through-out the Mediterranean and beyond, symbolising the physical connection between the land controlled by Rome and Rome itself. It was called the capital of the civilised world. These structures built by the Romans signified the strength and power of Rome. The Coliseum in Rome is perhaps the most enduring symbol of Italy. A giant amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, the Coliseum was originally capable of seating 45,000-50,000 spectators and it is where the gladiators used to fight in bloody contests to provide public spectacles. It is estimated the Coliseum was started to be constructed between 70 and 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian. This amphitheatre, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire, was completed in 80 AD under Titus, and further modification took place during Domitian’s reign.

The Coliseum is now in ruined condition and attracts practically every tourist visiting Italy. The amphitheatre was heavily damaged by earthquakes and stone-robbers and has long been the iconic symbol of the Roman Empire. It is one of the finest surviving examples of ancient Roman architecture. The ruins of the Coliseum have still its connection with the Roman Catholic Church, and on each Good Friday, the pope leads a torch lit “Way of the Cross” procession to this amphitheatre.

Your visit to Rome would be incomplete without a visit to the Trevi Fountain. There are great many histories behind this well known fountain, having vivid significance of its decorative architecture. You will get to hear how a local barber had his influence in the design of the fountain. It is estimated that the Trevi Fountain was built between 1732 and 1762 and the project is said to be of one Nicola Salvi. As you approach the Piazza, you can already hear the Fountain’s movement from the nearby streets – a movement which exalts Nature’s constant flow in an incessant play of dynamic effects.

A city within Rome – the Vatican City is situated on the west bank of the river Tiber and is an independent state. The Vatican City is known for its magnificent St Peter’s Basilica, which is reached through the 17th century creation of St. Peter’s Square. St. Peter’s Square was conceived by Bernini and is enclosed two semi-circular colonnades, with an Egyptian obelisk displayed at its center. The Vatican City has impressive buildings packed into a small area, which include St Peter’s Basilica. The city has museums and art galleries, which feature the art collections of the Popes. Much of the resident population is priests and Nuns from different nationalities.

Italy is best seen during spring, in the months of April-May and in autumn during October-November. At this time Italy is full of colour with beautiful sceneries all around, and the temperatures are pleasant. If you are visiting Italy, you should avoid visiting the country in August, because at this time most of the Italians take vacations and you may find that most of the shops and businesses closed.

Cell phone use overseas.
In 99% of the world the local cellular service standard is called GSM. We use this in the states as well. When combined with a SIM CARD (which usually goes under the battery of the phone) the phone is able to communicate and the SIM CARD also holds the telephone number and memory for pre-paid credit. Rates can be extremely low using this system. For example in 99% of all SIM CARDS incoming calls are free and calls to the states can cost a trifle. Such as, from the UK to the USA 7 cents/minute, from Israel 22 cents, from Australia 27 cents. Yes, USA Dollar cents! There are today even prepaid service providers in the USA offering rates of 10 cents per minute to call anywhere in the US to any type of phone. No contracts, no credit card checks, no bills. Pre-paid always means no minimums no contracts, no obligations. You only pay for the calls made. You’ll need an unlocked GSM tri-band or quadband UNLOCKED phone. You can buy factory unlocked phones and sim cards for more than 170 of the 193 countries on earth from http://www.planetomni.com Tel. # 800-514-2984

Timing is everything

You’ll notice while browsing for a cell phone plan that you run

across time frames. Many plans will say they offer “Free anytime minutes”, or “Weekends Free”, but pay close attention to the times they offer. Many plans with offer a per minute rate as well, which may vary depending on the exact time the call is made. Pre-paid is sometimes the way to go, no plan, no commitment, but still they charge sometimes by the minute. Plans will also range from when their “Nighttime, and Weekend” minutes begin, some may start at 7:00pm Friday and end 7:00am Monday morning, it’s all in the contract.

The “What If’s”

Now how many times have you let’s say “dropped it in the toilet”, now that’s where insurance comes into play. Within most cell phone plans comes an insurance portion, this usually calls for you to pay a small fee every month for the comfort of knowing if you lose or break your cell phone it will be replaced. Plans vary when it comes to the insurance clause, they may only protect you for the first year of owning the phone, or they may only cover a small amount of a new phone, it differs based on company. Try and get the best coverage and the easiest to understand, and always keep up to date with it, if it happens to expire you’re out of luck if something happens.

Commitment

Most cell phone providers allow a customer to have a contract, which is made up of a cell phone plan really. A contract simply says, “You have to keep your cell phone with us for this long”, the time frame tends to vary on this. Sometimes there are advantages to having a contract, they may offer special deals, or cheaper prices for added lines. Know this, that if you decide to not stick with that company and want to end your contract, you may end up paying a hefty fee to get out of it. Carefully read over the agreement before signing any contract.

No signal? Where am I?

Many companies now offer no roaming charges, and don’t charge for dropped calls. Within a cell phone plan it will either state that you are covered for dropped calls and receive those minutes back, or they won’t be deducted from your overall. A plan may also include a no roaming charge, which would affect those travelers among us, or those who sometimes travel outside our calling area. Keep in mind that not every cell phone provider allows these options, so if you’re not sure, be sure to ask.

For More Information on Cell Phone Plan Please Visit Cell Phones Central