I have a Spanish friend coming to visit me here in California and he thinks his cell phone will have service here. His service provider is Orange and he doesn't have any special plan that I know of. I am almost 100% positive that he will not have service here...am I wrong?

I do not think that Orange exists in the United States; however, your friend may be able to make calls anyway if he signs up for international roaming service. I have AT&T here in the US, and I was able to use my phone in Spain this summer because I signed up for international roaming before I left. I wanted it mostly for text messaging and in case of an emergency. I think almost all phones made today are able to be used all over the world, but your friend should check to make sure that his phone can actually be used here. I noticed that Orange has a web page dedicated to these questions here .

Coty, American's cell phone usually operate with a different band (frecuency). So, your friend's cell phone should be triband if he wants to use it there.

As for the fares, I have checked the roaming fares Spanish Orange has for the US and, unless he has a special plan or fare, it's really expensive.