I will be traveling to Europe in the near future, and I want to buy a cell phone that will get 3G data rates there using local SIMs. I may also be traveling to Asia, but that's not for sure. There will be a few months before I leave, so I want to be able to use the phone here in the U.S. before I travel.

I've already determined that CDMA is out of the question, since there is no coverage there except in the Ukraine.

I've also learned that AT&T and T-Mobile have different 3G frequencies. If you use a 3G phone designed for the AT&T on the T-Mobile network you will only get 2G speeds and vice-versa.

So my question is, which of these two carriers uses the same 3G frequency being used in Europe? Does Europe have the same situation as the U.S. where it depends on a combination of which phone you have and which network you're on?

If so, Which one is the most widespread in Europe? I will be traveling very widely in Europe, so I will need to know which frequency is most widely used.
I will be traveling to Europe in the near future, and I want to buy a cell phone that will get 3G data rates there using local SIMs. I may also be traveling to Asia, but that's not for sure. There will be a few months before I leave, so I want to be able to use the phone here in the U.S. before I travel.

I've already determined that CDMA is out of the question, since there is no coverage there except in the Ukraine.

I've also learned that AT&T and T-Mobile have different 3G frequencies. If you use a 3G phone designed for AT&T on the T-Mobile network you will only get 2G speeds and vice-versa.

So my question is, which of these two carriers uses the same 3G frequency being used in Europe? Does Europe have the same situation as the U.S. where it depends on a combination of which phone you have and which network you're on?

If so, Which one is the most widespread in Europe? I will be traveling very widely in Europe, so I will need to know which frequency is most widely used.