 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion Groups General General TopicsGSMBluetoothProviders AlltelATT WirelessCingularFidoNextelSprint PCST-MobileVerizonManufacturers EricssonNokiaMotorolaCountry Specific Australian GroupUK GroupRelated Topics PocketPCPalmMore Topics ... |
Cellular Phone Forum / General / GSM / February 2005Int'l Roaming Advice
What is the best prepaid SIM card for international, i.e., European, roaming? I would prefer NOT to use one of the services that requires you to send the phone number to them, then they turn around and ring you back. My son will be studying abroad this fall, and I would like to let him take my European GSM phone with him, but we need an affordable service plan. TIA, Earl "E Jones" <earl_jonesx@usax.net> wrote: > What is the best prepaid SIM card for international, i.e., > European, roaming? I would prefer NOT to use one of the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > European GSM phone with him, but we need an affordable service > plan. It very much depends on the country your son will mainly be staying, since passive calls in the home network are free in Europe, while they are quite expensive when roaming outside the country of the issuing network. M. He will be living and studying in the UK, but probably taking frequent weekend trips to other European countries, since the school runs only a four-day class week, leaving every Friday, Saturday and Sunday available for travel. Does this help in suggesting a solution? - ESJ > > What is the best prepaid SIM card for international, i.e., > > European, roaming? I would prefer NOT to use one of the [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > M. My daughter and I were in UK & Paris last summer and I picked up a Virgin Mobile SIM for about $12 which included 5BP airtime. Roaming from Paris wasn't too expensive. My daughter is going back this spring to study in the UK so I picked up a Nokia 3100 that's a 850/1800/1900 tribander so she can use it here on Cingular/AT&T and Virgin in the UK (Virgin is 1800 exclusively in the UK). As for calling home, I have Vonage phone service and for $5/mo I can get a local London number so calling home will be a local call. Note that Virgin Mobil UK is GSM and Virgin Mobil in the US is CDMA (Sprint). If you are interested I'll find the name of the outfit that sold me the Virgin SIM, they were very good. -Dick  Signature---------------------------------------------------- This mailbox protected from junk email by MailFrontier Desktop from MailFrontier, Inc. http://info.mailfrontier.com > He will be living and studying in the UK, but probably taking frequent > weekend trips to other European countries, since the school runs only a [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] >> >> M. > He will be living and studying in the UK, but probably taking frequent > weekend trips to other European countries, since the school runs only > a > four-day class week, leaving every Friday, Saturday and Sunday > available for > travel. So they won't have any home assignments there? Where were these schools when I was at that age? Rudy Define "best". Donald Newcomb DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net I originally was going to define "best" as meaning "cheapest." I think, though, that I define "best" as being "cheapest, without having to use "callback" dialling." I know that "best" is subjective, and depends on usage patterns, features, etc. So here is the combination of features that would qualify as "best" in this case: Low rates between Europe and the USA. Direct calling, without using "callback" Coverage of Western Euope (don't need Australia, Middle East, Africa, Asia, etc.) SMS and Voicemail > Define "best". > > Donald Newcomb > DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net > I originally was going to define "best" as meaning "cheapest." I think, > though, that I define "best" as being "cheapest, without having to use [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > etc.) > SMS and Voicemail I thought I answered this but it looks like maybe not. What I'd suggest is that he get an Orange prepaid to use in UK and either a Travelfone or Riing to use while roaming. The last two (I believe) do use a "callback" system but most roaming prepaids do. He could get a Mobal for roaming and not have to do the "callback" routine but calls will be much more expensive. I think you can find information about each of these on the Prepaid GSM website (www.prepaidgsm.net) SignatureDonald Newcomb DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net It also depends how long he is going to stay in Europe. If it is for a school year, it would probably be cheaper to get a subscription, especially since he will also probably get a free phone out of it. That way Dad can keep his GEM to use when he comes to visit. I would suggest either Vodafone or Orange since they are present in most European countries, and have reduced roaming rates if you are a subscriber. With a prepaid sim card you get charged full rate, and if the card runs out while you are out of the UK you are out of luck. > What is the best prepaid SIM card for international, i.e., European, > roaming? I would prefer NOT to use one of the services that requires you [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Earl >It also depends how long he is going to stay in Europe. If it is for a >school year, it would probably be cheaper to get a subscription, especially >since he will also probably get a free phone out of it. That way Dad can >keep his GEM to use when he comes to visit. Which will likely not be an option available to him since to get monthly subscription service requires a satisfactory *local* credit score. He might be able to get service by putting down a substantial deposit but barring that he will likely not be able to get monthly subscription service. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I experienced running out of funds in my sim card outside the issuing country in Europe. It's nearly impossible to recharge your sim card outside the issuing country. With a prepaid sim card you > get charged full rate, and if the card runs out while you are out of the > UK you are out of luck. > I experienced running out of funds in my sim card outside the issuing > country in Europe. It's nearly impossible to recharge your sim card outside > the issuing country. This is not always true. Some prepaids can be recharged using top-up cards from the same carrier in another country (e.g Vodafone UK/Italy). Others can be recharged if you purchased top-up cards and brought them with you. Some can be topped-up with a credit card, although often (but not always) it has to be a credit card from the country where the card is based. But your point is well taken, and often true. My Irish Meteor SIM expired because I had no way to apply the top-ups I had, from outside of Ireland. SignatureDonald Newcomb DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net > But your point is well taken, and often true. My Irish Meteor SIM expired > because I had no way to apply the top-ups I had, from outside of Ireland. Ideal situation, of course, would be the ability to top up via a web page. SignatureAre dog biscuits made from collie flour? |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.