Is the need for an "International" SIM Card ending?
 

1. I understand that users in the EU can now roam on each others networks at reasonable rates.
2. It wasn't too many years ago that users in the U.S. paid a lot of money just to roam outside their local area. You paid a lot for long distance just within the U.S. Now, users in the U.S. can go anywhere within the country and call anywhere within the country FREE. Unlimited cell calling in the U.S. is less than $100. (In the U.S., cell phones work like land lines, no extra charges to call a cell phone.)
I think, sometime in the near future, roaming between countries will be seamless. Many companies already own stakes in several countries (Vodafone, TMobile et al). We can already use 3rd party routing to call from country to country for only a few cents (pesos, sheckels).
3. There is now a service from Sprint in the U.S. where you can get unlimited data via wifi over their 3G network. You get a small "wifi card" (a little bigger than a pack of cigarettes) and can connect up to 5 devices to its wifi signal as long as they are within 10 meters. Seems to me you could make use of that to make voice calls. No contract is required. You can just pay for it for the months you need service. Seems to me visitors from overseas could make good use of this.
4. We just returned from 2 weeks in Argentina, Brazil and Uraguay. We made good use of T-Mobile (U.S.) UMA feature that allows you to make calls just as though you were standing in the U.S. Rogers, Canada has the same feature. (I think a couple countries overseas have this.) With wifi getting almost universal (like all McDonalds<G>), roaming for free is quite easy. Expensive hotels still charge an extra high fee for accessing wifi, but moderate and lower end hotels have it for free. Many restaurants had free wifi.

Bottom line - I felt no need to get prepaid SIMS. I did pay TMobile the 66 cents/day for the 2 weeks to get/send unlimited email via our BlackBerrys. We also made use of the BB free message system to keep in touch if we got separated.

For visitors to the U.S. = look into Sprint's unlimited data service. Also, T-Mobile has unlimited prepaid calling for $40/mo. That, with GoogleVoice would let you call home for 2-3 cents/min. to most first world landlines.

...mike

There was an article in Wednesday's NYTimes about a similar card/service from Virgin Mobile (using the Sprint Network): http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/te...0mobile&st=cse

The cost of the service is $40 per month, with no contract required. I believe there are options for shorter periods. For someone traveling with an iPhone, for example, there are plenty of soft phone options that would allow calling and internet access for the entire family using such a "MiFi" device. Of course, it's another device to carry, battery life is not ideal, receiving calls is tricky when the iPhone is shut off, etc. But it is definitely promising.

I should have said Virgin Mobile - which is owned by Sprint. Seem to be mixed reviews on Howard Forums.

For EU users roaming within the EU, it would probably make sense to just roam. That has certainly put a dent in the number of users using these international sims. The availability of free WiFi make it better for travelers. With Skype, TruPhone, on my iPhone, I will certainly rely less on international sims.

And remember, Ms. Redding (I think that's her name) is on record that her ultimate goal is to totally remove any roaming charges within the eu similar to what happened in the USA.

don't think yet. although roaming has become cheaper providers have raised their price for roaming in non eu countries.

Lower roaming rates means less income so the will find a way to compensate this.
Dataroaming is still to expensive and it will take years before that will become cheaper.

Many of the cards offered here are also used by tourists from the usa or when going to the usa. and the free roaming card have many more free places where they roam.

Places outside the EU will never become cheap when you own say a dutch or german card. Why would they if they are not forced to offer low roaming for non eu countries.

So in the end it all comes down to a personal profile. Do you travel outside the eu, cards are still interesting. Do you travel withoing the eu and do you live in the eu, your local card could become more interesting.
Travel from outside euo into the eu, free roaming cards are still interesting
and so on

Still have an ekit simplecalling callback sim. Need for non-US Caribbean in situations where cheaper than my Digicel sim for international calls back to the US. Think the international sims still serve a purpose for non-European travel and perhaps for occasional travel to Europe.

International SIMs with a generous expiration like eKit can still be a good deal for voice for people who travel to the EU but don't live there. eKit's Home & Roam seems like a good deal even in the UK as calling locally there is a bit reasonable if you don't use it much, also coverage there is good for the rates.

Having one number for the whole trip where you can receive calls & SMS for free can be worth it. I doubt these SIMs will have a decent data deal anytime soon, so one still has to go local for data, but for voice it works nicely. I think these international SIMs make good backup SIMs as companions to local ones when one is travelling.

No one has commented on whether using wifi (much of which you can access for "free") is a viable alternative. I have found it very useful - especially if you make sure you stay in a hotel that doesn't charge you a fortune to access it. More and more hotel chains now seem to offer free wifi.
Many restaurants now post a WiFI logo card in their window. Some are open, some you have to get the security code from them.

...mike

Wifi is great, but it is less good for incoming calls. Many of us carry cell phones largely for emergencies, but you can't count on being in wifi range when an emergency strikes. On my last trip I carried a cheap little phone using OneSimCard, which offers an email-to-sms gateway. That way, non-emergency callers could text me for free, and I could then return the call from my iPhone when I had wifi.

Wifi is nice but not a true alternative. Yes there are free wifi hotspots but do you want to share your login information thru an unsecure wifi ?
My biggest problem with wifi is range. You have to stay within the wifi hotspot, you can't walk away.
Yes there are many free wifi hotspots but still you have to pay for many. The funny thing is the cheaper the hotel the more free wifi you will find. Many 4 and 5 stars hotel will charge you outrages prices for wifi.
Just visited paris and checked some hotel, some charge 10 euro per day, some 5 per hour.

No wifi is a nice addon, but not a technology you wan't to rely on if you want to make calls anywhere everytime.

Well, personally my use of my eKit International Roaming SIM is down a bit since I obtained an unlimited world 3G Data plan for my ATT iPhone. I use Skype over 3G now for much of my routine calling. Friends and family can ring me up anytime, anywhere with Skype.

The only thing I haven't done yet is purchased a Skype-In number to receive non-Skype calls, but I'm considering it. Meanwhile, while I'm abroad, for those who don't have Skype, I have my incoming calls forwarded from my ATT number to my eKit US number. So yes my eKit phone is still part of my overall calling system.

As others have said, relying on Wifi simply won't work in Europe. Whereas free and open hotspots are plentiful in the US, they are still the exception in Europe. And I've found that the pay Wifi services like Boingo and iPass promise much, but deliver very little in Europe.

Kupe

I can't find an unlimited world 3G Data plan from ATT. Could you provide a link? What does it cost? Thanks.

I know a couple people who have it - but can't recall the cost - $65/mo.? For some reason, att keeps this fairly secret - and I gather you have to "know" who to call. You may have to sign a year contract - so if you don't travel a lot - it wouldn't pay. Sprint also offers something similar - but you have to use one of their few, approved phones. I was able to locate Sprint's intl. plan on their web site.
Don't know what Verizon has. T-Mobile has no intl data plan - just the BB unlimited email for 66 cents/day.
No U.S. carrier has any meaningful intl voice plan.
Since Kupe has the att data plan, he should be able to give you the appropriate codes needed to order it.
In my case, I rarely need instant contact. If someone needs to get me right away, they could email (or text) me and I would pay the money to call right away rather than wait til I got back to a wifi location. Unlimited email and calling when wifi is available suits me fine.
...mike

Can confirm what you said about Boingo. Signed up for a month of Boingo Mobile wifi because they claimed service in at least of couple of airports in So. America were were at last month. No go. The one hotel we stayed at that Boingo listed had actually gone to free wifi several months ago.

Grampa-

As Snidely said, ATT does not advertise this plan anywhere that I know of. Here's the stuff you need to know.

1) It is only available to Business customers. But don't worry- if you are on any corporate or professional discount FAN code with ATT, you might already qualify. I qualified by virtue of being on my employer's corporate FAN code for ATT discount.

2) You can only switch to the Unlimited World plan if you already have a Domestic Unlimited plan. ATT stopped accepting new unlimited plans a couple months ago, but if you already have one, you can switch to this one.

3) There is a one-year contract.

4) The plan costs $64.99/month (less any discount per the FAN code above). The good news is that it replaces your existing $30/month Domestic unlimited plan. So net increase is $34.99/month (or less with your discount.)

5) The plan is almost global, but not quite. Here is the list of countries with Data Roaming agreements with ATT. For example, Russia is conspicuously absent.
Roam Zone for Discounted Rate Plans - Wireless from AT&T

Okay, still interested? Gather all your patience and call the ATT International Desk at 877-707-9208. Be very prepared for the first (or second) person you speak to to not have even heard of this plan. Be polite but firm and eventually you will find somebody who's set one up. If it helps, here is the billing code from the monthly invoice. Read that to them and they might be able to search it.

IPH_DOM_INTL_DATA_RZ $64.99
IP_DOM_INTL_UNLIM $0.00

Now, as to the cost/benefit. Yes, this plan is for somebody who spends serious time traveling abroad- a couple weeks a month in my case. Even so, you might not spend $34.99/month using your eKit or TravelSim or whatever.

But this isn't about just calling. Having the full functionality of your iPhone available everywhere in the world without worrying about insane data bills is, well, priceless if you need it. Even better, it's freed me from hauling a laptop except on the longest trips. And yes, having Skype over 3G at your fingertips for free or nearly free calls is fantastic.

I've even offset some of the cost of the plan by virtue of the fact that I no longer Text from abroad- which ATT dings you at .50/outgoing message. Instead I use Skype Chat. Those .50 texts do add up! Oh, and it was simply fun finishing up my work day in my hotel abroad by watching a Netflix streaming movie over 3G the other night!

Really, this is a game-changing plan if it suits your needs. This is how data and voice should be- transparent, everywhere, seamless.

Hope this helps!

Kupe

65$ for unlimited domestic and international data. People here would kill to get such a plan.... wah!

LOL yes, I'm pretty happy with it. But just to be clear, the $65 is just for the Data plan. The total ATT monthly bill also requires a US Domestic voice plan, and of course we have Text messaging plans, etc, etc. So, for example, with 2 iPhones (my wife has only the Domestic US data plan), the total bill is around $190/month.

Just didn't want anyone to think $65 was the whole story! ;)

Cheers!

Kupe

Kupe,

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, I'd miss out on a couple of counts. I retired a few years back, but continued to be listed under my firm's Verizon plan until just this past summer. In June, my wife got an iPhone 3GS (with the unlimited plan), and switched to AT&T. Then in July, I got an iPhone 4 (with the 2GB data limit). So in one move I missed out on both unlimited data and a corporate plan.

I probably don't do enough traveling to justify the added cost, but if I could get the plan, I probably would, just for the liberating feeling of not having to worry about my data usage. I just returned from a trip, and I can't count the number of times I reached for my phone and then realized I couldn't connect.

And to rub more salt into the wounds of "foreigners"<G> - all U.S. carriers offer unlimited voice for $100 (much less on T-Mobile, Sprint, and some small carriers). So, Kupe could have his unlimited data and unlimited voice for under $170. There are various local and Federal taxes that would add about 10%. And, in U.S. and Canada, cell phones are treated like landlines for incoming calls - no premium to call a cell. Kupe probably would pay only $85 or $90 for unlimited voice if he is on a major company plan.
As a T-Mobile customer - I have no intl. data plan available at all. (I can make those free voice calls over wifi.) It amazes me, still, that if I were to voice roam in countries where TM has a presence - they charge me the same amount to roam on their system as to roam on Vodafone or someone else.

And GramPa - I probably spent too much time just seeing if I could connect via wifi/UMA even if i didn't need to make a call. Of course I may good use of the unlimited Blackberry email wherever we were (until losing cell signal once we got too far up the Amazon). Also liked making use of the GPS on the phone, just for fun.

For Roaming or domestic?
Domestic flatrate tariffs are cheap here, only roaming kills you.
I can get the all-net flatrate including data for less than 30euro at Vodafone and o2 at the moment.

Chris

As Kupe mentioned, with ATT he could get unlimited data (both domestic and intl) and unlimited domestic voice for less than $170. Seems to me, IF someone is going to be in one country like yours, and can get unlimited data for 30 Euros - that wold be the way to do - IF you didn't have to sign up for a long term plan.
Technical question: Is it possible to make voice calls over a data connection with something like Skype?
One would have to be a big intl. traveler to pay the $67/mo. for domstic and intl. data. If you just wanted domestic data, it would be about $30/mo.

...mike

These 30 Euro contracts have unlimited data and voice. So no need to do VoIP. But these are contracts with 2 years run time.
Unlimited voice on payg cards cost you about 40 euro (its actually a minute based tariff but capped after 40 euro, so if you only use a few minutes a month you will only pay these minutes).
Unlimited data is exisiting, but technically they throttle down the bandwidth to GPRS if you use more than x GB a month.

Chris

Yes. This has been discussed all over this forum many times. VoIP (Skype, SIP etc.) is possible on many networks around the world. Some networks do not officially allow it (but it still works) whereas other networks manage to block it all together. Personally, I have never had significant problems with any network I have tried it on, providing I have a good UMTS signal.

This is a little OT, but has anyone had experience with European versions of those "MiFi" devices like the Virgin Mobile card that was discussed earlier in this thread? If I could pay $40 a month for unlimited (or at least a couple of GB) data, with no contract, I'd be very interested, particularly if I could roam within Europe and/or swap out SIM cards.

Though texting and talking whilst roaming with an EU SIM within the EU is getting cheap, data roaming is not. However, there are plenty of great offers for data on local SIMs which you can pick up cheaply and easily as you travel. As you mention, you could just "swap out" your SIM into your MiFI device (or USB Modem). Just like with any other mobile, you just have to make sure your device is unlocked, and operates at the right frequencies. You will also need to program the configuration for data access (APN etc.) of each local SIM that you will insert into your device.

That's what I'm a little worried about. I was looking at some unlocked Huawei E585 units on EBay selling for around $100, hoping to use one for an upcoming trip to Italy. I won't have the SIM card until I get to Italy, but I won't be taking a computer with me -- only iPhones, which I doubt would connect to the device over USB. The iPhone browser might connect over wifi (assuming the device's web interface does not use Flash). So I would need to set it up in the USA, where I will have a computer but no SIM card, or in Italy, where I will have a SIM card but no computer.

It would also have to be shipped so that it arrives before I leave in a little over a week.

Still, I'm tempted. The data plans look pretty good as long as no roaming is involved.

I have the $67 international data plan and have done VOIP over 3G a number of times, but you can't just blindly dial and expect the call to go through. I need to run an echo test, determine that I am on HSPA, and cross my fingers.

I have an iPhone with an exchange server. Domestic data would be over $40 because I'd need qn enterprise plan. The extra money I pay for international can be saved on one trip. In June in South Africa, I went through more than 900 megs. This month in Canada, I went through 600 megs. Much of this was VOIP over 3G. I also use the phone to trigger callbacks to my roaming SIM, to reset call forwards on my VOIP DID, to GPS all over the world, to stream music, and have unlimited Google Voice texts.

IPhone international also works on an iPad, but that is not officially supported. In sum, these plans can pay for themselves. When you are broke, it is somethingnyounthink about cutting, but on whole, I think it is a good plan.

You shouldn't really have too many problems preconfiguring some profiles into your device before your trip. There are plenty of sites that list carrier APN settings. One of them is: Carrier APN Settings - ModMyi - Wiki

I'm not sure those wounds need treatment.

On prepaid here, you can get unlimited calls texts and internet for £30 a month. Some customers on that network do even better than that.

with fewer minutes, there are some even dafter offers, either prepaid or one-month contract, such as 150 minutes, unlimited texts and internet, £10 a month prepaid, or 100 minutes, 100 texts, 100 MB, £5 on a one month notice contract

the cheapest prepaid data for phone use here will have been free for a year by December this year, 100 megabytes a day fair use, just a £10 starter credit needed - ok, it's a promotion, and was extended, but there all the same

so, yes, a global SIM might not be needed here for someone coming only to here, but I'd still use it for free incoming calls in Europe (and elsewhere if I go), though outgoing calls on it might be watered down by using a local SIM or VoIP and wi-fi

Yes the UK has it good. I don't actually think there is any other country where the cost of mobile telephony is as low as in the UK. I really do miss that aspect of living there, but then the weather really sucks! ;)

....and don't forget the dirt cheap international calls available on most of the UK networks or through third party entities!

With vodafone.ie you get 50 MB per day worldwide for 0.99 € - no promotion!

Vodafone.ie faq:

What about roaming and Mobile Internet?

Vodafone Mobile Internet is the same price when roaming abroad as at home. The service will be accessible from any country where we have a 3G or GPRS roaming agreement.

When you top up, you can make calls for 6 months and receive calls for 12 months.

Once you top up, all previous credit (unless it has expired) then becomes valid. After 12 months, your credit expires.
For example, if you go 9 months without topping up and have €5.00 credit left, you won't be able to make calls. But if you then top up by €10.00, all €15.00 of your credit will be available for making calls over the next 6 months.

the only downside is that you need to use the WAP apn (live.vodafone.com) to use this tariff.
Several services wont work on the WAP gateway.

Chris

I'm using it with NOKIA E60 and JoikuSpot parallel on notebook and iPhone. Services which are working:

WWW,HTTPS,RDP,FTP,SFTP,SMTP,POP3,IMAP,SSH,MSN,SKYP E,SIP,openVPN(UDP und TCP)

So you're saying these devices allow you to enter profiles for several carriers? I see that the site you referenced has APNs for TIM, Wind, and Vodafone in Italy. Since it is a 3 branded device, it probably has 3 already in it. That would cover me for any provider I might want to use. I contacted the vendor, and he also thought it wouldn't be a problem.

I'm not sure, but I believe I should also be able to use it with AT&T back here in the states -- it supports 850, 900, 1800, 1900, and 2100MHz -- but their rates are pretty bad. The DataConnect Pass is $15/day (100MB), $30/week (300MB), or $50/month (1GB).

Do you have a pay as you go card, or is it a contract?

Just a little follow-up on this sub-topic. I bought the Huawei E585 MiFi modem, and it appears to work as advertised. To test it out in the USA, I signed on to a T-Mobile plan that is $40 per month for 5GB of data. I did not consider the overpriced AT&T plans. Unfortunately, T-Mobile operates most of its 3G network on a 1700MHz band, which the device does not support. So I'm using it on 2G, and I won't be reaching 5GB any time soon. The good news is that the T-Mobile plan is pro-rated, so that if I suspend service after a week, I pay $10. It is not a prepaid service; they will send out regular bills. But I should be able to stop it and start it at will.

When I get to Italy, I will probably get a 1GB data add-on from TIM for 15 euros. Although VoIP is certainly a possibility there, most of the calling we expect to do will be between my wife and me when we get separated. :) For that, VoIP over the iPhone is not an option, since only one of us will be carrying the MiFi. So we will bring along a couple of GSM phones and get Italian SIM cards when we arrive. I still have credit on my "international" SIM card, but I can't see having my wife call an Estonian cell phone to tell me where she is, and that she just found a great bargain in a shop.

Grampa - I forget what kind of phones you have. When in So. America last month, we made use of BB's free messaging system between any BBerry in the world the couple times we got separated. Guess we could have used the 67 cents/day for unlimited BB email on each phone.

We have iPhones, and then we will also carry little quad-band Motorola 2G phones. Once my wife realized she could get a real phone without worrying about callbacks, there was no turning back.