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=» Skype ( www.skype.com ) Skype is my default for all phone calls. It allows you to call landlines and mobile phones across the globe for an average of 2—5 cents per minute, or connect with other Skype users worldwide for free. For about 40 euros per year, you can get a U.S. number with your home area code and receive calls that forward to a foreign cell phone. This makes your travel invisible. Lounge on the beach in Rio and answer calls to your “office” in California. Nice. Skype Chat, which comes with the service, is also perfect for sharing sensitive log-in and password information with others, as it’s encrypted. > Vonage (www.vonage.com) and Ooma (www.ooma.com) Vonage offers a small adapter for a monthly fee that connects your broadband modem to a normal phone. Take it on your travels and set it up in your apartment to receive calls to a U.S. number. Ooma has no monthly fees and doesn’t require a landline, but it offers similar hardware you can connect to broadband for a local U.S. number anywhere in the world. > VoIPBuster (www.voipbuster.com) and RebTel (www.rebtel.com) Both VoIPBuster and RebTel can provide “alias” numbers. Enter a friend’s overseas number on their sites, and both will give you a local number in your area code that will forward to your friend. VoIPBuster also acts as a cheaper Skype with free calls to more than 20 countries. International Multi-Band and GSM-Compatible Phones =» My World Phone ( www.myworldphone.com ) I’m partial to Nokia phones. Ensure whichever phone you purchase is “unlocked” —that the SIM card can be swapped out in different countries with different providers. => World Electronics USA ( www.worldelectronicsusa.com ) Good explanation of which GSM frequencies and “bands” function in which countries, which will determine which phone you purchase for travel (and perhaps home). Tools for Off-the-Beaten Path » Satellite Phones ( www.satphonestore.com ) If you will be in the mountains of Nepal or on a remote island and want the peace of mind (or headache) of having a phone nearby, these phones work via satellite instead of towers. Iridium has been HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_013976