Back in the year 2000 (if you can remember back that far in technology terms), you could take your mobile phone to the US. That was it. No Canada, no UK, no Europe or anywhere else. Now, 11 years on, NOT being able to take your phone somewhere you wish to travel is a surprise. It’s not the only surprise though, as many who travel abroad with their Bermuda mobile phones find out when the dreaded roaming charges show up on the next bill.The technological marvel that allows the mobile to be used abroad at all is long forgotten. When it does not work, anger is directed back at anyone who will listen, but the worst of all complaints is how darned expensive it is. And there is no doubt that compared to using your phone at home in Bermuda, using it abroad is expensive.So what can you do to reduce the charges?The obvious one is don’t take it abroad. If you do? Don’t turn it on. Not even once. As soon as you alert the overseas network that you are there by turning your phone on, it silently communicates back to Bermuda that you are in that location, ready to receive calls there. Even if you turn the phone back off. And that gets a lot of people. While your phone is off, the visited network still thinks you are there. You have not told it otherwise so all calls placed to your mobile will be delivered to the last known location you were in. And as your phone is off, the visited network will send your call all the way back to Bermuda, so that your unwitting caller can leave you an expensive voicemail, sometimes at dollars per minute. And you won’t know they did until you turn your phone back on. That’s when the voicemail icon will go on to let you know just how many messages you missed while the phone was off. (And you have to pay for them anyway). Remember, the phone will be in the last location until you turn it back on and let it know where you are now, so remember to turn it straight on as soon as you hit the tarmac in Bermuda.Clearly if you are going to use your phone while abroad, be aware. You are not on your home network, and your free minute packages don’t apply. You are on someone else’s network, and they are charging your home provider a premium to let you roam. You in turn, get to pay for it when you get home. If you have data enabled on your phone while travelling be aware again. Your phone is likely to be downloading data you are not even aware of, and you probably don't notice or get billed for it at home, but while away, you get billed for everything, so buyer beware.Change SIM cardsOne of the best tricks to communicating while travelling, is to use a SIM card from the foreign network you are on. Leave your Bermuda card out of your phone before leaving the island, and when you land at your destination, ask for a cellphone shop that carries Pre-Paid Cards. These SIMs allow you to get a pre-purchased amount of voice, text and even data (internet/email/BBM) and a local number. All you need is an unlocked phone to accept the SIM card, pop it in, and let your contacts know what number you will be using while you travel.Use 2G modeIf you have to use your phone while abroad and you are paying the bill, make sure you are in 2G mode, as opposed to the faster 3G mode. 3G just spends your money faster while you are roaming. To add to this, the best device to roam with data turned on is the Blackberry. The proprietary network that RIM has, compresses your data to enable you to use less data and still get the same information delivered to your device whether it be email, BBM, text or Twitter or Facebook updates. Other devices like Android or Apple IOS devices do not compress the data they use, so again you're just spending more money, with out any additional benefit. I always travel with the Blackberry, even if I use other devices while at home. Note, you have to have a Blackberry data plan to take advantage of the compression. To make matters worse, some devices like the iPhone will not display certain content like a flash video, but yet you'll still pay for that data that it downloaded!Use Wifi and SkypeOther options include using free Wifi networks to get on to Skype to place calls to other Skype users, or if you have a Skype Out account, call other telephone numbers at highly discounted rates. You can also choose to turn data roaming off, then retrieve your messages once you get Wifi access on your mobile, often found in Starbucks, hotel lobbies and other large public areas.Like everything, roaming charges are coming down, but it still takes a lot of resources and technology to make roaming work at all, and a lot of those costs are rising. So choosing smart ways to get around those high charges are up to the savvy consumer - you.