Everybody knows TV's "Can you hear me now?" guy.  We have all seen the commercial and thought, "How much do you want to bet the guy is not really even talking to anyone on the other end?"  Despite this man's seemingly endless quest to make sure he can be heard from all corners of the globe on his heavily used cell phone, most customers seem more concerned about whether their new or unlocked cell phones will work in certain situations than whether they will work in certain geographical areas.  We have researched and summarized the answers to two of these more realistic questions.

Will Cellular Phones Work On Airplanes Flying At 30,000 Feet?

For the longest time, we were told cell phones had to be turned off and left off while we were on an airplane. There were a variety of reasons for this including that the signal would interfere with the plane's computer and it would cause the plane to crash. Another reason was that cell phones would be unable to receive a signal while the plane was in the air. The final reason is that the electronics of the plane make getting a cell phone connection impossible.

However, we now know that several people took it upon themselves to try their cell phones to say goodbye to their loved ones when they realized they were not going to see them again on September 11th. There were dozens of phones making multiple calls all over the country and while the clarity of the calls are uncertain, many on the ground reported that they were able to stay on the phone for a long time and calls were not dropped from lost service. More food for thought on this concept:  many airlines have telephones built into the seats. With the swipe of your credit card and about $5 per minute you can use their phones!  But how do you get a connection???

Will I have service when I am in the middle of the ocean on a cruise ship?

Anyone who has ever taken a cruise knows that passengers of cruise ships are told a similar story as that told to passengers of airplanes: cell phones will not work while aboard.  While this is not always the case, and while there are even cruise companies that offer global satellite cellular service to passengers, you should always do research about the rates you will be charged if you make a call at sea to the mainland.  Fees for such calls can be outrageously expensive.  It is typically cheaper simply to wait until your ship reaches an island, most of which have normal cellular coverage, and make your call from there.  This may not apply if the island you are visiting belongs to another country, which would typically mean extra connection charges.  Your local or online cell phone retailer should be able to provide you with specifics about International rates.