Prepaid Sims
 

So, I'm going on tour for a couple of weeks in Europe in May.
I'm going on this tour:
http://www.trafalgar.com/CAN/Displa...peID=-1&_page=1
http://www.trafalgar.com/CAN/Displa...eID=-1&Detail=2
+ staying an extra week in london.

So far, what I have in mind is get a T-Mobile prepaid and use YCW while in London.

My question is, would I be charged roaming + YCW if I used my london T-Mo sim in Italy/France? And what if I bought a prepaid sim card from Italy/France that had a local number, would I be charged long distance for using YCW?

So, if I have additional charges for both of the previous two questions, then I need a backup plan.
So, what other options do I have?
I'm not going to be spending more than a day at each place, so...

I've thought about United-mobile, and the like, but so far I've found them to be pretty expensive.

T-mobile would charge roaming costs for a call to the UK. Calling those UK access numbers from a different SIM in its own country would be an international call.

If you're only a day or two each in some countries, then maybe the effort of getting a different SIM in each place would not be worthwhile compared to accepting some roaming cost, but I suppose it depends on how much use you expect.


Most roaming in Europe is now at a standard tariff set by regulators, but there are cheaper options. If you're in the UK first, then I'd suggest looking at Vodafone Passport, O2 My Europe Extra, and 3.

O2 might be an interesting compromise, using an option called Your Country for international calls. Adding £15 gives 100 free minutes of int'l calls, or £30 200 minutes, then the credit to spend as well.

http://www.o2.co.uk/mobilestariffs/t...go/yourcountry

Then you could use £10 of that to subscribe to My Europe Extra, with free incoming calls, 25p/min outgoing to Europe.

Vodafone's Passport scheme has a connect fee while roaming, 75p for the UK version, mostly €1 for the rest, then calls to the local or roamed country are at the same tariff as at home

3 UK has 25p outgoing, 10p incoming while roaming in Europe, cheaper than most others. Also, if you will make a lot of calls from the UK it has a £15 bundle with up to 3000 minutes of int'l calls.

To use in conjunction with these, you'd also want some kind of calling card method, as Canada- and US-bound calls while roaming will be more expensive than to Europe. I'd suggest maybe DialNow, with access in plenty of countries, and rates from 0.5 eurocents a minute.

You might also use a callback service to gain an advantage from the cheaper or free incoming roaming calls ...

This information is awsome!!!!

I will travel to france in the next monthes and after that I will travel around all europe. I would like to know if I use sfr, bouygues or aothers, with a prepaid sim, when I will be out of France (Italy or German for example) how can i do in order to get the free incoming calls. What plan may I buy? Because I thought that when my family call me, I will lose a lot of credit with these incoming calls.

Besides I would like to know about the internet service, because when I will be in France I will conect my notebook with the cell (GPRS motorolla V360), but when I will be out of france, this conection will cost me a lot because of the roaming I guess.

Thank you very much!!!! The forum is excellent

You cannot have free incoming calls with SFR or Bouygues outside of France. I suggest you to get a Travelsim or United Mobile international simcard...

I have a world Passport SIM from Telestial. EKIT has them too. It costs about 50 cents to call back to the US and free incoming to many European counties. It may not be the cheapest, but those free incoming calls are great. I just give my son a discounted international phone card and he calls me in Europe for about 4 cents a minute. They also have a free 800 number in the US so friends can call you for free and you pay an extra 39 cents.

Thank you both for the reply. About travelsim or united mobile where could I buy it? and how much? About pasport sim for telestial I have the same doubts: ¿where and How much? Because I will be in Paris and I don´t have idea. Thanks again

You can buy these cards on www.united-mobile.com or www.travelsimshop.com
Activatin fee: um+ 29,90 euro (credit 10 euro)
travelsim 29,90 euro (credit 10 euro)

I somehow managed to lose track of this topic...:o

Anyways,
I think I'm gonna do a combo of Yackie Mobile for when I'm moving around and then t-mobile + YCW when I'm in London.

I've just got to read through "http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/yackie-mobile-review-t2832.html" just too see if yackie mobile is a good company.

It comes with 49$ of credit for 49$ including the sim card. That's like a hundred minutes :)

And I just want to make absolutely sure:So, if I get a london t-mobile sim card, would that number be long-distance? (I don't quite understand how the numbering system works in Europe)
What about DialNow? "01617002929"

Because, if it's going to be long-distance, than it might just be easier to just keep on using Yackie-Mobile / United Mobile sim the whole time.

Hey Guys,

I somehow managed to lose track of this thread...

Anyways, I think I'm going to go with Yackie Mobile while touring with T-Mobile + YCW or DialNow while in London.

Anyhow, if I get a T-mobile London #, would using YCW be long distance though if the dial # 07755 22 22 22"? What about for DialNow? "01617002929" If they are long distance, I might get the orange call-abroad prepaid sim card.

...no additional charge to call ycw...it's 3p/minute while on line with them so to speak so the only drawback, not a major one at 3p, is that you pay even if the call is not completed....T Mobile UK has also re-instated the ability to buy one of the £2 bundles for 50 minutes of call time to the USA and Canada for PAYG customers...see the T Mobile UK web site.

So, I'll probably add the int'l bundle and use it for a few days then switch to YCW.

But can you also confirm that DialNow would still be considered like a "local" call?

Thanks

P.S.
Can I add that bundle while i'm in Canada by texting?
And is there a way to check my balance for free?
Is there a way to top up in Canada?

P.S. #2
How do I check how much it costs to use Enlinea?
Like for the country calling from, do I put where I am going to be? Or do I put the country code for the sim I'm using like UK for UM and Iceland for o9 / Yackie Mobile?
Cause if it's the country code, than I might just go for o9 + Enlinea if it's the actual country code as it appears to be the best solution right now.

DialNow uses ordinary landline access numbers. I didn't necessarily intend to suggest it for use within the UK, as you'd still have the cost of the access number at the SIM's standard tariff for it, which is more expensive than some of those int'l tariff options.

When I suggested DialNow, I'd understood that you might be roaming Europe with a UK SIM and maybe Vodafone Passport, O2 My Europe Extra or 3. When roaming they don't have cheap calls to Canada and USA, but calls to UK (Vodafone) or within Europe (O2, 3) are cheaper, hence the suggestion. If you're likely to decide to get a global roaming SIM instead, then I'd overlook DialNow (it might be useful with some single country SIMs though, those with cheap local calls rather than those designed as an mvno for int'l calls)

I don't know if you can add the T-mobile bundle or top-up while abroad; I don't recall anyone saying they managed it, but I'll wait to be corrected. I don't think the UK networks accept foreign credit cards themselves, though a shop here would

Any callback service, or indeed any other phone call, will use the tariff applicable to the destination number, not to where that phone happens to be at the time.

How does Dialnow work? I have a UK SIM. If I call the US with Dialnow, will it ring back and I have to pay the rate my SIM provider charges for incoming calls? Calls out cost me about 50 cents a minute. How is there a savings? Or do I need a special new SIM?

This has left me a bit confused... but I'll try...

Dialnow is not a callback service. You do not need a special SIM. It is just an account based callthrough provider. Think of it like a calling card. You buy some credit with them, dial a local access number (and get charged) to access their switch then dial your destination number. You will therefore pay 2 parties. Firstly your local airtime provider to access the Dialnow access number, and then secondly to Dialnow for placing the call to your destination.

OK.. you have a UK SIM. Who knows what it is, but lets assume you have some cheap deal to call local UK numbers whilst in the UK (let's just say 10p/min... or put it into euros that is about €0.14/min). You therefore dial the UK access number starting 0161. Let's say you want to call US. You then dial the US number. Dialnow charges you €0.05/min+19%tax for this destination. The total cost of the call is therefore around 15 euro cents/min.

Unfortunately I don't know who you pay 50cents a minute to and what cents those are (US cents, Euro cents?)?? Unfortunately I have no idea where you are calling from at that rate. I tust however you can figure it all out and figure out if you make savings. ;-)

cross-posted, but I'll leave it

No, DialNow is a callthrough service, not callback at all (though there is a separate way to use it for that).

To call the USA from the UK, broadly speaking you'd have two options:

There are several mvno providers with cheap direct-dialled international calls, and the main networks also have some SIM options that are equivalent to these, either add-ons or separately branded. Rates are from 4 pence a minute upwards.

The other option is to use a callthrough access just like a calling card, so a local number then the destination will be dialled. Nowadays this isn't as likely to be worthwhile in the UK, as you'd pay for the local landline call at perhaps higher rates than the direct-dialled options in the first category.

An exception to this generalised callthrough description is the Yourcallworld arrangement with T-mobile, where the call comes off the SIM balance at the YCW tariff, and no separate account is needed. Although it's callthrough, it's more like the first group on tariff grounds

Incidentally, anyone who is making calls to Dialnow from a T-Mobile SIM whilst in the UK will be wiser to not dial the UK access code (01617002929) which will get charged at 15p/min. Instead, it makes more sense dialing first via YCW's 07755 to one of the foreign access numbers (e.g. Germany) where the access call will only cost 3p/min. Even calls to the UK work out cheaper through this rather long winded approach!

For people who want to make absolutely loads of int'l calls from the UK, there is an add-on on 3 - £15 buys up to 3000 minutes in a month to 23 countries.

Or another option on 3 has free Skype calls, which could also sidestep the cost to some people calling you. SkypeIn and SkypeOut are not supported on this though, and not all phones

Thanks for the input. I have a Passport SIM from Telestial (EKIT). Calls in are free in most of Europe. Calls out are about 50 cents U.S. per minute. I checked and the Passport costs 50 cents U.S. to call the UK toll free or other access numbers.

Obviously it's cheaper to just call the U.S. directly. I may get a T-Mobile UK SIM and use YCW or iDial365.

I thought Dialnow was a cheaper Callback service. That's essentially how the Passport SIM works but costs about $.50 a minute.. Anyone know of a cheaper callback service that works with Mobile phones?

There are some. I do not know the status of these but search the forums here (or Google) for Enlinea and Callbackworld.

I was thinking of using YCW/DialNow while I'm London for that extra week. It makes sens to me. And so it's what I meant by the uk t-mobile / orange callabroad. It's because of that extra week.

And looking at the price, I'm guessing I'm gonna go for Yackie Mobile and then use enlinea in case that I blow through the 49$ of credit.

Anyways, is there another name for Iceland?
When trying to register, I cannot choose it as a country on Yackie. Or is there any other country that I should pick for Enlinea call back services?

I have tried to contact Enlinea customer service to check on a few issues. They never answered their toll free number. Their rates from Cell phones do not look that cheap.

Since I have a UK mobile #447, it looks like I must use their Papaya Plan. Calls to the U.S. cost $.50. Same as with my Passport SIM provider. So it's easier to just recharge my SIM.

With enlinea (callbackworld also) you enter the country of where the sim is registered in calling from no matter where you're calling from...

Their best rates, right now, are with Iceland (but remember when using O9 or the icelandic number of yackie mobile), it's Iceland special (mobile)...it's listed as 16¢/minute US to call from Iceland special to USA which would be true anywhere in Western Europe except Switzerland where O9 (and Yackie) simply does not work for reasons they have tried to explain but I don't understand (O9 uses a Swiss carrier for many of its roaming connections but this causes the Swixx carrier to think O9 is domestic and doesn't allow anything to register on it in Switzerland or something like that)...Estonia mobiles come in at 29¢ on Enlinea, not too bad..German and French and Italian mobiles aren't too bad either but UK mobiles come in at 50¢¢/minute or threabouts on enlinea (can this be caused by the Jersey and Isle of Man numbers that the billing system cannot differentiate from other UK numbers????)..

So the best deal, right now, once leaving the UK is O9 (or Yackie) with the realization it will not work in Switzerland...also Enlinea does give a US toll free number (it is charged at the going rate for the mobile it is keyed to. in the case of O9, it would be 16¢/minute)...do remember enlinea bills in 6 second intervals but frankly the connections are not all that great...you can most assuredly hear a delay when talking to somebody but then given the price, that has to be expected...

So your plan to use Yackie when leaving the UK is probably a good one...most people feel Yackie has been working fine throughout Western Europe...although I wish the Yackie Mobile guy would come back to the forum with the latest news about Yackie but it does seem, for the present, to be stable.

I too have a Telestial SIM, and when I was in Europe in December (river cruise in Switizerland, France, and Germany) my SIM did not work at all. I have a quad band mobile but no matter where I was I got 'No Service'. Fortunately I was in Germany most of the time and had an E-Plus SIM which worked brilliantly, but rest of the time I was stuck roaming on my US t-mobile account which ended up costing me over $200, so I am very leary of depending on Telestial again.

It's weird though, I can't choose Iceland when I'm on the yackie website.

Anyways, forget. I found a better solution. Because in Canada, you cannot distinguish between Cell and Landline. So, i'll probably go with a yackie local Canadian number and have enlinea call me on that number. 0.06 is pretty damn cheap. Unless there's something that I'm not understanding on Yackie's website about ordering a sim card and choosing a "local" number.

As far as Swiss, I'm only passing through. And for call quality: could care less since I'm only going to be calling home and checking up on them and letting them know I'm fine.

Anyways, Thanks so much for your help Matha and everyone else. :D

I used my Passport SIM from Telestial in numerous countries last October. It worked in every country perfectly and even on a cruise ship. I did not get to Switzerland or Germany though. But it worked in Croatia, Greece, Italy, France, Turkey, Monte Carlo, Spain and Portugal.

I used a Samsung Z500 unlocked quad band phone. Did you test it in the U.S before you left? While it's expensive to test by making calls, SMS is cheap to send and free to receive.

If you get called on the assigned local numbers you will pay a surcharge of 29 ct/min for incoming calls.
Iceland is the mobile number of the SIM card. It is automatically assigned, so you can not choose it on the website...

Chris

When was the last time your telestial sim worked? I believe Telestial's older passport sims used to use the +447924 numbers from callkey, and they had some problems last Summer.

Oh ok.
Thanks.

It's what I thought, but I didn't know they would be giving away free DID's.

Bossman:

My UK # is a +447924. I was in those countries from September 24th to October 20, 2007. It worked well and each city gave me a choice of 3 or 4 carriers to choose from.

Those calls to and from my Passport SIM are still logged on line. I checked and it was 65 calls to and from all those countries.

Thanks for the information. Sorry if I made difficult the topic it wasn´t my intention. Thank you very much again

Sorry. I have a motorola v360. When I configure the bands in it, they appear all of them (850/1900/900/1800). When I bought it, the seller told me that it was quad band because of the software. But the specification in internet said that it has only 3 bands. Do you know if telestial works with a v360?. Any experience?. Or at least I would like to know if it works with 3 bands in some countries. Thank you very much again

Which 3 bands?

900/1800/1900 Thanks

Europe/asia/Africa uses 900/1800 and 850/1900 is used in North/South America. So, you are However, since under the phone's config it shows all 4 bands, it as been enabled for all 4. I think these phones were sold as triband. On the phone's hardware itself all 4 bands are there. it's just that the 4th band is hidden. However, it has been enabled on your particular phone. So, nothing for you to worry about.

Thank you very much!!!!!!!!!!!! It´s the information I need to find!!!!!!!!

v360 is indeed a quad-band model. Sometimes they were described as "tri-band" by people who didn't know any better (a common phenomenon). OTOH, T-Mobile in the US used to disable 850 MHz on some Motorola quad-band models (I don't remember if it was the 360 they sold, but it was this series). If this is the case, it can be easily re-enabled by seem editing.

That is exactly what the sellers told me. Thank you very much

Hello
I have a doubt about Vodafone Passport. Could I buy it in Greece? Does the passport work with a prepaid system? Because If I buy the service I wouldn´t like to make a contract with a mensual bill. Do you know anything about the service price or rates in Greece? Thank you very much

Passport is an option of Vodafone, so it's easy to activate it. It works with a prepaid sim.
Passport works abroad not in your country:p
Incoming calls---> 1 euro/30 minutes
Outgoingo calls--> 1 euro+ your tarif/every call