In last Sunday's Maine Sunday Telegram, I wrote about trekking in Europe, which is an awesome thing to do if you haven't already.

When overseas it's nice to keep in touch with folks at home, of course. And in my "travel tips" I said that US cell technology was not compatable with European cell technology (theirs is more advanced), so don't bother taking your cell phone with you. I touted phone cards as the best communications solution.

Reader Nate from Greenfield MA tells me other wise, so I thought I'd pass on his info to you potential Europe travelers:

In the US, there are two cellular technologies in use, CDMA, which is used by Verizon and Sprint, among others, and GSM, which is used by T-mobile and AT&T/Cingular and many others (http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/
gsminfo/cou_us.shtml ). The GSM standard is the most commonly used standard in the rest of the world, and most GSM phones in use in the US are compatible with the frequencies used in Europe. In the last year, I have used my GSM T-mobile phone in Paris, Congo and the Philippines. Calls were ridiculously expensive using my home service, but possible. If you know that you will be traveling and want to take your existing GSM phone with it's saved numbers, it is possible to get a prepaid GSM card in the destination country, which will allow cheap incountry calling (good for checking reservations, etc) and more affordable calls home. Depending on the phone, you may need to get it unlocked in advance to be assured that it will work with any carrier, anywhere. For more about unlocking, http://www.thetravelinsider.info/
roadwarriorcontent/unlockingfaq.htm

So I guess it can be done. Thanks for the tips Nate.