Ken Grunski: Ok, your standard Verizon phone is a paperweight overseas but they will rent you a phone for $3+/day and about $1.50/min in Ireland.
 
You can buy a phone in Ireland with service for about $99 but the phone will be 'locked' and typically of no use outside of Ireland. Still this is certainly an option. However for a little more money - about $130, you should consider buying an international cell phone here in the U.S. and getting set-up before you leave. There are two big advantages to doing this:
-- You will know your son's phone number before he even leaves (and he can walk and talk straight off the plane)
-- Your son won't have to spend his first few jet-lagged days shopping for a cell phone
Best of all you can also use the phone at other international destinations (including the US -- through Cingular or T-Mobile or SIMpleCall) by simply purchasing another service pack (SIM card).
 
Other advantages are that there are several prepaid roaming options for your sons weekend trips and summer holiday where he may be in a new country every week. WHen your son leves Ireland he will take out the Ireland SIM card from his phone (and give it away if he can) and then he will insert the the explorer prepaid SIM card which works throughout Europe and will give him unlimeted free incoming calls (just like he had in Ireland with the local SIM in Ireland) while he travels. I would not use this card in Ireland because he is there for 6-months and will want a local phone number for his new frineds to reach him on.

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Boston, MA: My daughter is going to study in the South of France for a year - do you suggest buying an international cell phone or using calling cards?

Ken Grunski: Ask your daughter which one she'd prefer and I think we both know the answer. Here are my suggestions: A France cell phone kit would cost about $150 which would include the prepaid service for France, international cell phone and world charger (and english instructions!). This would give your daughter unlimited free incoming calls in France so you could reach her whenever you like. Outgoing calls would cost about $.70/min to the US. She would call you and then say "Hey Mom, call me back!" You can call her back using a calling card for the lowest international rates! Local outgoing calls to her new friends in France would cost about $.35/min and of course when they call her it's free!
 
Phone can subsequently be used in other countries for future trips and can be setup for use in the states.

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Los Angeles, CA: I travel to Europe for business several times a year - specifically Sweden and Norway - and was looking for the best way to keep my cell phone bills under control. Right now I rent an international phone but call costs are too high.

Ken Grunski: Your solution would be to purchase an international cell phone. Make sure the phone is GSM, SIM unlocked and works on at least the 900, 1800 and 1900 frequencies(unfortunately most U.S. network providers won't sell you an unlocked phone so you'll need to go to an international cell phone specialist).
 
Then you can purchase a prepaid SIM card for service. The SIM will snap into the back of your phone (just like lego)and provide service. I suggest a global roaming SIM, such as the Passport or Explorer, which will give you one phone number and coverage in 100+ countries. Other benefits of the service include free incoming calls in about 50 countries and outgoing rates of about $.60/minute. 
Expect to pay around $150-$200 for a prepaid kit which includes the service (SIM), phone, world charger, etc.
 
I suspect between the daily/rental fee for the phone, minimum usage requirements and the rental airtime charges that you are paying now, purchasing a phone kit instead will pay for itself after the first trip.
Purchasing is also entirely usage based with no contract or monthly charges.
 
Another option would be to purchase a SIM card specifically for Sweden and Norway. You would have two phone numbers - local to each country - which is nice when you want a local contact number. But this can get cumbersome if there is a third or 4th country on your itinerary as you juggle SIM cards.

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Washington, D.C.: What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of cell phone use vs. internet based services (like SKYPE) for long distance communication? Our daughter will be in Seville for 6 months and we (and some of her friends who will be both in the states and in some other countries as well) want to be able to keep in touch.

Ken Grunski: Skype, an Internet based phone service would provide the most cost-effective calling solution while a local prepaid cell phone would provide the most convenient calling solution. However rather then being mutually exclusive our ideal solution will actually combine the best elements of each service.
  
The big advantages of Skype and other Internet phone services (Vonage, ATTvantage) is that you often have free calling within the network. As an example any Skype customer can call any other Skype customer in the world at no charge. If you want to call traditional landlines and cell phones you will need to subscribe to SkypeOut. If you want to be accessible outside the Skype network you can subscribe to SkypeIn (about $6/month) which gives you a US number that follows you around the world. Call quality can vary significantly but it is a great bargain provided you have access to an Internet connection. 
 
The big advantage of having a cell phone is of course....well, it's a cell phone. One of my office colleagues is fond of repeating "it's like having a payphone in your back pocket". Basically you purchase prepaid international cell phone service for Spain and you can reach your daughter whenever you like and likewise she can call you or her friends without having to schedule a trip to an Internet cafe. As incoming calls and SMS (text messages) are always FREE (even from the US) you can call your daughter on her cell phone from any Skype phone and get the best of both worlds!!! From a cell phone outgoing local calls are approx. 35 cents/min but calls to the US are about 80 cents/min so we typically advise our clients to call home (or the office) and say "hey, call me back!". You can expect to pay about $150 for the initial setup but the phone can be reused with prepaid service from other countries including the US.

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Williamston, MI: I'm a flight attendant and travel to Europe, Asia and South America. As I don't make a lot of money, is it possible to have a cell phone and/or service that will allow me to keep in touch with family in the U.S. without costing me an arm and a leg?