Suggestions for German SIM for data?
 

We will be in Germany for a little over a month and I would like to have a SIM for data as my primary Internet connection. Are there any German operators that have a flat rate? (I will also be in Czech, and many operators there seem to have a flat rate for "unlimited" data.)

Any suggestions for the most cost effective SIM for data in Germany?

Thanks!

Kelly.

Simyo?
 

I am guessing you must be talking PREPAID. SIMYO supposedly just added cheaper DATA to their mix. Our German friends should weigh in on this. That would be my inclination. That market is changing fairly quickly and it is hard to keep up. I am not sure if the big boys (VODA and T-MO) have followed with any reductions. Last I checked, data was quite expensive in DE-land.

Stan

Take a SIMYO SIM-card (on www.simyo.de) or ALDI-TALK (At Aldi supermarkets). The ALDI-Talk card has the advantage that it also works on the 3G UMTS network for higher speeds.

They offer 24ct/MB of GPRS Data.

Cards with flatrate are available only for contracts of 24 month. So thats not an option for short term visitors.

Christian

What's the APN for Aldi Talk? Do I have to configure something else in order to use 3G/GPRS with i.e. Opera Mini or other java programs?

Go with ALDI, or if not, Blau
 

I'd go with ALDI Talk, because ALDI is ubiquitous and the card also offers cheap national calls (14 cents, and 4 cents between ALDI Talk users, if you're travelling in a group), and most importantly for data, UMTS access.

Alternatively, Blau is available at electronic stores like Saturn and Media Markt and has the same data rate (though national and Blau-to-Blau calls are slightly more, at 16 and 6 cents), but no UMTS.

International calls are, unfortunately, a ripoff with both Blau and Aldi Talk (2 euros per minute) and you will want Blauworld for that (9 cents/min to Canada); you can get it at the same places regular Blau SIMs are for sale (however, Blauworld has expensive data, sigh.)

There are no different settings for UMTS; they are the same as GSM, although you will obviously need an UMTS phone. The APN is wap.eplus.de - there's no reall difference in settings between E-Plus offers (which is what Blau, Simyo, ALDI Talk, etc. are).

From http://daten-tarife-vergleich.com:

Konfiguration Eplus WAP

* Primär IP: 212.023.097.009
* Primär Port:Wap1.x 9201/ Wap2.0 8080
* Datenträger: GPRS
* Access Point Name/APN: wap.eplus.de
* Benutzername/User: eplus
* Passwort: wap
* Startseite: http://wap.eplus.de

Konfiguration Eplus GRPS

* Primär IP: 212.023.097.002
* Primär Port: 8080
* Abbruchzeit: 180 Sekunden
* Datenträger: GPRS
* Access Point Name/APN: Internet.eplus.de
* Benutzername/User: eplus
* Passwort: (leer)
* Startseite: http://www.eplus.de

Konfiguration Eplus für Modem oder Laptop Karte

* Netz: E-Plus
* Access Point Name/APN/Zugangsknoten: internet.eplus.de
* Erster DNS/Primary DNS: 212.023.097.002
* Zweiter DNS/Secondary DNS: 212.023.097.003
* Benutzername: eplus
* Kennwort: eplus (leer)
* Einwahlnummer: *99***1# oder *99# oder *98*1#
* IP-Adresse: dynamisch
* IP-Header-Komprimierung: nein
* Protokolltyp: PAP

AT-Befehle für manuelle Modemkonfiguration: AT+CGQREQ=1,2,4,3,9,31 / AT+CGDCONT=1, “IP”, “internet.eplus.de”

APN: internet.eplus.de
username: eplus
password: gprs

The only thing you need to surf on 3G is to choose the 3G-Network on your mobile. No settings required.

Chris

For how long you like to stay in Czech Republic and where do you like to use data?

I'm only going to be in the Czech Republic for two weeks, mostly in Praha. However, the person we are renting an apartment from will rent us a PC Card for Internet access on my laptop for 45 Euro. This will probably be easier than me trying to buy a SIM card and getting it to work correctly with my laptop, although it sounds like the Czech Republic has one of the least expensive and fastest data options!

Thanks!

Kelly.

Great info you have there... very useful, tks!

On the internet.eplus.de Aldi-talk network, which smtp server should I use?

Some networks forbid smtp access to outside servers, to prevent spam... is that the case? If yes, what are the allowed smtp servers?

Tks a lot,
Gustavo

No, you can use any SMTP server. The internet access on these cards is not restricted.

Christian

For the records...

I've just returned from Germany.

Got there last friday, bought an Aldi-Talk GSM card. It didn't work but I was busy through the day and only at night realized I had to fax-in a registration form.

Sent the form on saturday early morning.

By Tue evening when I boarded back to my country the card was still not working. Monday was a holiday which would explain a part of the problem, but the fact is that for me that card was EUR 15 thrown in the trash bin... :(

Gustavo

It would be nice if carriers would realize that tourists sometimes use their services! You can register by phone or on-line, but it is entirely in German. I managed to register on-line.

Even when you top up your balance, you have to understand German - you would think it would be as simple as entering the necessary numbers, but it seems you also have to press 1 a few times in response to questions to make it work.

Fortunately, I was able to ask someone to help me with it. It made me realize that something as simple as using a phone, isn't always that simple.

Sorry that your experience was so poor - now that it has been activated, it works very well. GPRS works fairly well, the UMTS is great where available, and the data is very inexpensive.

Kelly.