For many of us, high speed Internet access is more than an addiction – it is a way of life. If you are traveling abroad, you know the anxieties that having the potential to be disconnected from the Internet bring. Without good international Internet access, how are you going to stay in touch with people? Most of us not only depend on the Internet for our personal lives, but for our jobs as well – at least to some degree. High speed access is a necessity, almost on the order of food, clothing, and shelter.
When I went abroad to travel around Eastern Europe, I signed up for international Internet access. I figured that international Internet access was the best way to ensure that I would never be disconnected. After all, I needed to know that anywhere I want, there would be an easy way for me to get in touch with the Internet. Although a lot of companies offer Internet service transferred to your new home, few of them can actually guaranteed truly international Internet access. If you want Internet international access, you have to give up the idea that it will be high speed access. The only way to be able to get service anywhere is to go with a dial up Internet service. Even then, there will be some areas where it doesn't work.
Finding an Internet service provider that would guarantee international Internet access costs a good bit more than I would have expected – it was almost on the order of satellite Internet access. They guaranteed that, anywhere I would go, I would be able to login easily. To me, this seemed worth the expense. Nevertheless, I should have researched my options more carefully.
It turns out that international Internet access is not really necessary for many parts of the world. In Most of Eastern Europe – at least the parts where I was – I could find Wi Fi Internet access with ease. Instead of using slow, clunky Internet dial-up access, I could go to a coffee shop and check my e-mail. Needless to say, the international Internet access was a complete ripoff. Everywhere I went, there was a higher level of high speed Internet available, and it was often free. Before you panic and sign-up for international Internet access, you should take a good look at the countries you're going to. Most, if not all of them, probably offer local services that will suit your needs.
