Verizon's Global Phone is Not So Global

I've become spoiled.

As much as I travel, I frequently don't leave a hard copy of an itinerary at home. That's because finding me is a easy as calling or emailing on my Blackberry. (I do have my wife's email in my travel profile so an electronic copy of my itinerary is automatically sent home.)

This is my first trip out of the country since getting a Blackberry "Global Phone" from Verizon. I'm in Buenos Aries, Argentina and it turns out that Verizon Wireless has ZERO coverage. It seems they've rationalize no coverage in an entire country using the same logic they use to explain dead zones in the US. Apparently, it's OK to call the service "global" because as tin the US, there are someplaces you can't get service. But since they can say there's coverage in the US even when there isn't, the feel justified saying there's global coverage even what a country one-third the size of the US is dark.

I happen to know a bunch of good folks from Verizon and generally have no issues with the service. But my family depends on being able to find me on my Blackberry when I travel. And of course, collegues depend on it also. But after an hour trying to solve this, the plain fact is global isn't so global.

I can only be philosphical at this point and ask "what did we do before"? I've been traveling long enough to remember travel before instant access. But most of my travel as dad has been with ready access to a mobile phone that worked when I stepped off a plane.

So if anybody remembers what they did "in the old days",please leave a post. And I suppose there are a good number of people who travel today without the convenience of a blackberry or similar device. What do you all do? As I said, I'm spoiled.

Help!

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