This post is about how to use your cell phone in China. I’m having more trouble than I thought finding out the procedure but here’s what I think I know so far:
* You must have a GSM phone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_System_for_Mobile_Communications My Treo 650 meets this standard.
* You must have the phone unlocked before the trip. Usually this is done by your provider. In my case this is Sprint
* In some cases you can buy an international calling plan from the providers.
* Cheaper service appears to come via SIM cards you can purchase online or in China. These seem to cost about $30 and include some phone time as well as reductions in per minute costs for international calling. I’m seeing about .18 per minute China to USA which I think is much cheaper than I’ve had with an International Calling plan.
* China Mobile is the big daddy cellular provider in China
Note – I’ll try to revise this and fix mistakes as I figure this out.