Of all the networks in all the world...

It is almost impossible to offer up-to-date coverage details for all the networks all over the world, so we won't try! For reasonably up-to-date information about coverage all over the world, visit GSM World

In general, coverage is less of a problem when you are roaming, because the chances are that your home network will have roaming agreements with several or all of the networks in the country you're roaming in. As a result, if one network's coverage lets you down, your handset can switch to another network.

Dual-band

If you are planning to go roam a lot, it is well worth having a dual-band handset that will work on both GSM900 and GSM1800.

For use in the USA, you need a GSM1900 handset. Some mobile phones available in the UK are triple-band, and work on GSM1900 as well as the two global GSM frequencies, and there are a few mobile phones that are "twin band" which usually means that they work on GSM900 and GSM1900.

The GSM coverage in the US is not comprehensive, because of the different mobile phone systems used there and because of the sheer size of the country.

Need Global coverage?

Iridium is a satellite phone system that offers global coverage, but it is quite expensive. An Iridium transportable phone costs up to £2,000 and outgoing calls cost £1 per minute.

Globalstar is slightly cheaper but only covers the Americas, Europe, Eastern Europe and Australasia. Coverage is planned for rhe Middle East. It has the advantage that Globalstar handsets can also roam onto any GSM network coverage they find.

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