Roaming

While roaming, when calling people from your cell phone, don't be surprised if they don't always pick up their phone. Depending on your cell phone carrier and your current location, your phone number may not appear on the recipient's caller ID. Instead their caller ID may just list "Unknown Number" or "000-000-0000", prompting many to not answer your call.


Roaming Can Happen Anytime, Anywhere!

As mentioned in my cell phone tip about reading the manual, it can pay to know your cell phone's features and how it reports information to you - literally! Knowing whether your cell phone is roaming or not can prevent you from making a potentially costly call.
Just because you are in a city that is supposed to be covered by a cell phone's network doesn't mean that "holes" or breaks in coverage can't occur. For example, on a recent trip, my cell phone switched from digital network to analog network to roaming - all while walking between rooms inside a single condo!
Your network status can change even when traveling extremely small distances, so if you want to save money, always check your cell phone's status and icons before making calls.