In the past when I've used mobile phones abroad, as soon as I've landed in the US or Europe the phone's usually found the local network, and all is okay.

Took my Blackberry Curve to the US a couple of weeks ago, but once there all it would show was "SOS - Emergency Calls Only". I'd turned off the roaming data services so I'd not get any e-mails 'pushed' to me so tried fiddling with that, but to no avail.

As soon as my phone detected the hotels wi-fi service it would jump into life and send me my emails, but still no phone service.

Is there something I should have done, and should do next time, to ensure it works overseas?

How long have you had the phone - is it new and/or on pay as you go?

You're probably not setup for international roaming - best to check with customer services.

It'll work on wifi fine (for data) as that doesn't count in the traditional sense of roaming agreements.