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Cellular Phone Forum / General / GSM / March 2004SIM cards: Buy in Europe or in U.S.?
I'll be traveling in Austria and Poland with my unlocked GSM phone. Although SIM cards are available here in the U.S., the same cards are available locally (in Austria and Poland) for much less. That's based upon communication I've had with ERA (in Poland) and t-Mobile (in Austria). Under the circumstances, I'm thinking that it makes much more sense to buy upon arrival rather than buying in advance at a very substantial premium. (I'm an occasional, not heavy, user so not having the phone available immediately upon arrival is not a problem.) Is this correct or am I missing something here? Thanks for your help. > I'll be traveling in Austria and Poland with my unlocked GSM phone. > Although SIM cards are available here in the U.S., the same cards are [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > having the phone available immediately upon arrival is not a problem.) > Is this correct or am I missing something here? Thanks for your help. Roaming on a European networt with your US SIM has the disadvantage of enourmous charges (incoming and outgoing), but you have a US number. In would make much more sense to buy a pepaid SIM here in Europe. For Austria, you can ask your Q in <news:at.telekomm.mobil>, someone might even sell you a prepaid SIM cheaper. (N.B.: Language is German, in priciple, but most people here in Austria have a good working knowledge of English, so most regulars in a.t.m understand if you write in English. >Roaming on a European networt with your US SIM has the disadvantage of >enourmous charges (incoming and outgoing), but you have a US number. In [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >people here in Austria have a good working knowledge of English, so most >regulars in a.t.m understand if you write in English. Charges are high, but you have to compare what you would pay for individual prepaid accounts against what it would cost you to roam. If you're only going to be a few days in each country buying individual accounts in each country may not be the most economical way to go about it. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - remove NONO from .NONOcom to reply >I'll be traveling in Austria and Poland with my unlocked GSM phone. >Although SIM cards are available here in the U.S., the same cards are [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >having the phone available immediately upon arrival is not a problem.) >Is this correct or am I missing something here? Thanks for your help. Your instincts are right. It's cheaper usually to get the SIM when you arrive rather than buy it from a company that sells them in advance. The companies that sell in advance such as Telestial have to make money off their sales so of course there's a markup. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - remove NONO from .NONOcom to reply I talked with the owner of Telestial yesterday. He stated that their mark up was also based on the high cost of support. They are planning to offer a new site in the near future with cheaper rates, but no customer support. You will pay double or more to buy a SIM over here. Stu > >I'll be traveling in Austria and Poland with my unlocked GSM phone. > >Although SIM cards are available here in the U.S., the same cards are [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > remove NONO from .NONOcom to reply > I talked with the owner of Telestial yesterday. He stated that their mark > up was also based on the high cost of support. They are planning to offer a > new site in the near future with cheaper rates, but no customer support. You > will pay double or more to buy a SIM over here. I won't say anything bad about Telestial or CellularAbroad as long as they deliver what they claim to. Their costs and price structures are their buisness, which they should know about, better than I. However, they sould be aware of the "press" they get on Usenet, HoFo and other forums. When their customer shows up in Europe, Asia, etc and sees that the SIM he bought for $70 can be bought in the local shops for $20, they won't be getting a lot of good recomendations and return business. Donald Newcomb DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net >I won't say anything bad about Telestial or CellularAbroad as long as >they deliver what they claim to. Their costs and price structures are [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >$20, they won't be getting a lot of good recomendations and return >business. Well Don, anyone who uses the service needs to know that there is a premium for getting prepaids before they leave. If they know this some people may decide that the convenience is worth the markup that Telestial charges. Of course Telestial and others of the same ilk aren't going to advertise that you can get the same thing when you get to your destination for much lower. Telestial provides a service and of course you pay for the service. For some people price is not all that important just as some business accounts don't mind if their people use a Verizon Airfone even though the cost per minute is really outrageous as compared to regular mobile rates. For the person that absolutely must have coverage everywhere there's Iridium even though the per minute cost is quite high also. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - remove NONO from .NONOcom to reply > Well Don, anyone who uses the service needs to know that there is a > premium for getting prepaids before they leave. If they know this > some people may decide that the convenience is worth the markup that > Telestial charges. And I agree fully. I just sent a friend to CellularAbroad because she had to have a Moroccan SIM in-hand before she arrived. They knocked themselves out getting it to her on time. However, that was a special situation. Had she been traveling differently, I would have certainly recommended she wait until after she got there, simply to avoid the premium. I think these firms have had an initial "honeymoon", where the US customers didn't know about prepaid GSM and thought that they were offering a big bargain. As American travelers become more savy, either through research or experience, they will tend to wait until arrival and shun the premium of pre-travel purchase. If they can deliver the SIMs for, say, no more than a $20 premium, then I think they will stand a better chance.  SignatureDonald R. Newcomb DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net I agree with you, but I have had people buy from these companies when they needed hand holding, usually mine. Further, many of these individuals won't hold off making calls until they get a prepaid, they'll start calling from the tarmack and "get around" to getting the prepaid two or three days later, that will easily eat up the saving. Speaking of my people on the reimbursement circuit, I've had a real hard time getting these folks to cope with callback services. My wife's boss (a Yank) has been on the ground in Dubai for the last seven months and still hasn't gotten around to getting a prepaid. He has just been using his T-Mobile over there for seven months. He also works in Kuwait and has legacy rates. He was telling me how great it was to roam there because his phone works on both carriers and he has the "best reception in town." Compare the legacy rates for Watanyia (sp) and M-Phone. There is a six dollar a minute difference on some calls! Stu > > Well Don, anyone who uses the service needs to know that there is a > > premium for getting prepaids before they leave. If they know this [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > pre-travel purchase. If they can deliver the SIMs for, say, no more than a > $20 premium, then I think they will stand a better chance. >Speaking of my people on the reimbursement circuit, I've had a real hard >time getting these folks to cope with callback services. My wife's boss (a [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >"best reception in town." Compare the legacy rates for Watanyia (sp) and >M-Phone. There is a six dollar a minute difference on some calls! For some people the cost does not matter. Either "a" company is paying for costs or the people have more money than they know what to do with and don't care either. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - remove NONO from .NONOcom to reply > I'll be traveling in Austria and Poland with my unlocked GSM phone. > Although SIM cards are available here in the U.S., the same cards are [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > having the phone available immediately upon arrival is not a problem.) > Is this correct or am I missing something here? Thanks for your help. You are not missing anything. Companies like Telestial charge a hefty premium. Sometimes you can just buy direct, i.e. the Hop Mobile Hop Abroad card is sold direct for $65, or by Telestial for $99. Telestial marks up the recharge cards, buying direct you get them at face value. But buying local prepaid SIM cards is cheaper than something like Hop Abroad, if you don't mind a new phone number in each country. Some carriers support roaming on prepaid cards (at a high charge). Unless you have some particular need that prevents you from spending a couple of hours buying the SIM after you get there, or you just don't care about the premium that folks like Telestial & CellularAbroad charge, I'd advise waiting until you get there. In most cases you can buy them in the airport. If you plan on using a callback service, the good ones allow you to reprogram your callback target from Internet cafe. SignatureDonald R. Newcomb DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net No rush at all. I'd be pleased to be able to buy upon arrival and save the markup. Everything seemed to indicate that buying in Europe was the smart thing to do. Now I'm wondering where I could buy a SIM card in the Vienna airport. Otherwise, I'll buy one after I arrive at my hotel. I understand they're available at the post office, tobacco shops, and the t-Mobile shops. Should be just fine. Since our first stop in Poland will be Zakopane, I'll be buying the SIM card there at the ERA shop. They have a "starter" promotion for 60 PLN that provides 60 PLN air time. Works for me. I have no problem at all with different phone numbers. To relay the phone numbers, I use my calling card which gets back to the US for between 3 cents and 11 cents per minute, depending upon the country. Shouldn't take long or cost much to pass on the new numbers. Thanks for everyone's help on this. > No rush at all. I'd be pleased to be able to buy upon arrival and > save the markup. Everything seemed to indicate that buying in Europe > was the smart thing to do. Now I'm wondering where I could buy a SIM > card in the Vienna airport. I'm not personally familiar with the Vienna airport. I was speaking from experience with other European airports (e.g. Rome, Amsterdam, etc). Most of these major airports have webistes that promote their shopping, among other things. Here is the shopping site for the Vienna Airport: http://www.viennaairportshopping.at/!english/ SignatureDonald R. Newcomb DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net Many Austrian prepaid having roaming in other parts of Europe. Once you get to Poland, you'll probably be able to use your Austrian SIM for a call or two while you get hooked up with a Polish SIM. Stu > No rush at all. I'd be pleased to be able to buy upon arrival and > save the markup. Everything seemed to indicate that buying in Europe [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Thanks for everyone's help on this. > I'll be traveling in Austria and Poland with my unlocked GSM phone. <snip> > Is this correct or am I missing something here? Thanks for your help. The other information I've seen people give you seems good, I just wanted to give you a heads up on some of the strangeness that is possible. This is primarily from Germany, but other European countries are potentially similar. The cost to call a cellphone is more expensive internationally by around $0.25/minute. Incoming is of course free. Calling 800 numbers is also entirely free of charge for the cellphone owner - however, it's more expensive for the owner of the 800 number. Many 800 numbers don't accept cellphone calls. Many calling cards charge premiums for cellphones - the only one I tried charged a 0.40/minute surcharge. They also provided a local non-800 number that would of course cost you cellular minutes but wouldn't have a surcharge; it would likely be a better deal than using the 800 number. I just mention that because some aspects - especially 800 number behaviour - were quite unexpected to me. gopi. |
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