The 2010 FIFA World Cup kick-off on 11 June 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa is still some months away, but for football fans around the world preparations have already started. Over 1.6 million ticket applications have been made to FIFA from fans across 205 countries for the 2010 World Cup, in the first phase of ticket sales.

South African residents made around 30% of the 1.6 million requests for seats & remaining 70% came from the rest of the world, most came from the United States followed by Britain, Germany, Italy and Australia.

One of the most important worry for football fans around the world is how to stay connected affordably while visiting South Africa for 2010 World Cup. Let’s look at some of the options available:

Using a hotel or a pay phone - It would certainly be convenient to connect from your hotel, if the hotel has good phones, and reasonable charges for International calls but that’s seldom the case because hotels often charge a massive mark-up. Using a pay phones in South Africa require a minimum of 80¢ for a local call, it's worth purchasing a telephone card (used in specific pay phones) for international calls - these card pay phones are also often the only ones working.

Using Internet – If you carry your own computer, more and more hotels, resorts, airports, cafes, and retailers are going Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity), becoming "hotspots" that offer free high-speed Wi-Fi access or charge a fee for usage. And, if you are without your own computer, there are plenty of cybercafés in South Africa's urban

areas.

But what if you really need to stay in touch with home and/or have a cell phone while travelling?

Cell Phones - The three letters that define much of the world's wireless capabilities are GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), a big, seamless network that makes for easy cross-border cell phone use. In the USA, T-Mobile and AT&T use this quasi-universal system & in Canada, Microcell and some Rogers’s customers are GSM, and all Europeans and most Asians use GSM. GSM phones function with a removable plastic SIM card, encoded with your phone number and account information. If your cell phone is on a GSM system, and you have a world-capable multiband phone such as many Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, or Samsung models, you can make and receive calls across civilized areas around much of the globe. Just call your wireless operator and ask for "international roaming" to be activated on your account. Unfortunately, per-minute charges can be high - ussually $1.50 in Western Europe and up to $2.50 to $4 in places like South Africa. Let’s look at some handy alternatives:

1) Buy or Rent a phone while in South Africa – Thought his is not economically attractive but once you arrive at your destination, stop by a local cell phone shop, you'll probably pay more than $100 for a phone and $10 for a starter calling card. Unfortunately during such a busy time, this is not a recommended option if you haven't pre-booked.

Also, this sounds simple, but the charges for prepaid are very different to contract - often twice the price.
2) Buy or Rent a phone before you leave home - North Americans can buy or rent one before leaving home from RebelFone (www.RebelFone.com). Now you can travel across South Africa and keep in touch from Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town or any other major cities where FIFA matches are held.

RebelFone’s Cell Phone Rental for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa solutions include free unlimited incoming calls, low rates for national & calls to the USA/Canada, voice mail, and local South African phone number without any contract.
 
RebelFone will also, for free, advise you on whether your existing phone will work in South Africa, simply call toll free 800-375-7163 between 9am and 6pm EST. If your phone is compatible, you can simply get a South Africa SIM Card for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and use it in your own phone.

With RebelFone’s service, you can save as much as 85% off your carrier roaming and with other great benefits, you are sure to stay connected for less and with the best coverage too.

Europe is a dream destination for travellers worldwide, we have always said that one day I will take that dream vacation to Europe. If you're like most travellers, you probably do a lot of things automatically without thinking much about it, you may look for the biggest or the cheapest hotel chain, or you may bring your own cell phone or use payphones to stay in touch and keep those ties back home warm.

Over the last few years payphone use in Europe has been steadily declining and operating at loss, as a traveller this means that first, functional payphones are hard to find and second, rates are increasing. It would certainly be more convenient to connect from your hotel, if the hotel has good phones, and reasonable charges for International calls. But that's rarely the case, especially the reasonable charges part. Many hotels charge 4 to 5 times the normal rate for phone calls.

By this time you might be wondering if carrying a cell phone is the only option you are left with, the option you feared the most because of the high International roaming cost and the limitation of your cell phone being non-compatible to work in Europe. Even though few carriers in North America share same GSM system as used in Europe, their cell phones run on different frequency. There a 4 frequencies used by cell phones, the frequencies are 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 Mhz. Depending on the country only some of the frequencies are used, for example in the Europe only 900 and 1800 are used, while in the United States 850 and 1900 are used.

Using Your Own Phone

Most cell phones manufactured today are either Tri-band or Quad-band, which means they can receive all 3 or 4 frequencies required to work across the Continent. If you have such a phone u may want to consider roaming with your current service provider only if you know you will use it seldom, as this can really have a big dent on your pocket. Call rates can run anywhere from $1 - $3 per minute for all Incoming & Outgoing calls, depending on which Country you travel.

Ironically, what was until recently, one of the most expensive ways to stay in touch in the Europe has now become one of the least expensive, if you're willing to switch gears and break some of these long-time travel habits, you may come out money ahead.

Use a local solution 

As they say “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”.

The most economic way to use your own cell phone, if it has the correct bands (most phones today are), is to swap out the SIM card (the chip in the phone giving you service) and insert a local Europe SIM Card. Chances are you already have a cell phone with required bands but do not realize that you can use them with this SIM by simply asking your carrier for the unlock code.

These cards are not available everywhere in the Europe as they are designed for tourist but you can get them through RebelFone at www.RebelFone.com

Though there are several other SIM cards you can get online or at your arrival in Europe, this solution is offered keeping in mind that visitors to Europe often travel to more than one Country and need low fixed & flat call rates everywhere.

This service is available to any traveller worldwide and can be ordered online with a convenience of getting the SIM before you leave, which means you will have the number to give out to your contacts before your trip.

Don’t have an un-locked cell phone with required bands?

No problem, you can still enjoy the benefits of a Europe SIM card and stay connected at low rates. Gone are those days when un-locked multi band cell phones used to cost a fortune, in fact RebelFone offers low cost SIM & Cell Bundle for Europe. You will own the cell phone that comes with this bundle and since it is un-locked you can use it next time you travel in 200 other Countries worldwide and save even more by just ordering a SIM card then.

Now that you know how to stay in touch & still stay money ahead while in Europe, we say “auf seine Kosten kommen” (“to get one’s money worth” – German).