International Internet Service Providers

E-mail and Internet services are becoming increasingly popular methods of keeping in touch with family, friends, and business contacts around the world. (Hey, it's how you found us!) They offer instant access to remote sources and receivers of information, and allow correspondents to send messages without worrying about whether the counterpart is in the same time zone.

Before you leave your home country you should find out whether your Internet Service Provider (ISP) operates in your destination country, and whether you will be able to use the same accounting in your new location. It may be preferable from a cost perspective to use a local ISP in your destination country, as long as services are comparable.

In some countries additional telephone lines for modem connection can take time to be installed, so prepare yourself and your family members for the possibility of being offline for awhile. In addition, depending on the quality of local telephone service, and the availability of "high speed" or ISDN lines, you may experience slower connection and data transmission time.
Cyber-cafés

A cyber-café, which offers the use of computers to access the Internet and E-mail in a "café setting", can be found in cities all over the world. Travelers, businesspeople, students and tourists, who may not have their own computers with them, or have experienced difficulty getting connected in the foreign environment, can buy Internet access or computer-connectivity time by the hour, while sipping coffee. Cyber-cafes provide a convenient way to check your E-mail. You may need to set up your access codes before you leave home: some E-mail software requires a password for remote access. Always remember to delete your E-mail from the café's computer otherwise anyone can read it. You can surf the Web, print out letters and memos, save data on a floppy disk to take with you, or maybe even play a game.
Using the Web

If you are traveling without your own computer, it is possible to setup E-mail boxes on web browsers, protected by a username and password. You can transmit and receive mail, as well as save and store information. This will eliminate the need to reconfigure the software on someone else's computer, which is often necessary in order to get access to private or corporate E-mail systems.