Anyone suggest how to get mobile internet in europe?
 

Hi I will be touring Europe in a van. I run an online business and cannot manage without internet access. UK mobile data rates are a joke in the EU.

I do NOT want to rely on internet cafes and picking up the odd wi-fi.

I will be tourinf loads of countries.

Anyone got any suggestions?

Thanks

There really isn't a decent solution to get affordable data rates in all of europe. In various countries you can get good rates with local networks, but then you need an extra SIM for each country. Vodafone offers some kind of packages with included traffic thats good in all vodafone networks. It's still quite expensive though (around 5€/mb).

Virgin UK charges data the same as the UK when roaming. Even then it works out really expensive for anything other than a quick check of emails.

Two-way satellite internet would be very expensive also.

Really whether it's your first choice or not, wi-fi is the (relatively) affordable option. There are various pay networks of hotspots you can subscribe too, depends where you travel, many of them might be in campgrounds (if you're using campgrounds) or motorway service areas.

Plus plenty of free wi-fi in places like MacDonalds: example for Nice, France:
http://www.jiwire.com/search-wifi-ho...ip=&radius=5.0

I use the combination of gprs (Virgin mobile) for a quick check of everything, and then hunt out wi-fi (often free in libraries also) when I have any real work to do.

Thanks guys, some good advice there.

Does look like it will have to be the quick check then find a zone.

RTuesday, interesting regarding Virgin, do you know what they charge per Meg?

Cheers

Five pounds a MB, which can add up fast. I was also looking for a better deal recently http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1882 but other than Swisscom (need to be in CH to get), which is no cheaper when prepaid, there's not much else suitable for multiple countries.

For some areas of Europe you probably can't totally rely on free wi-fi (e.g. near Perpignan) so you'd probably need a subscription to something, or just go to a cybercafe.

the swisscom cards can be ordered pre-registered on ebay. I just ordered one for our company 2 weeks ago. Cost 25 Euro and came with 25 CHF of balance. Recharge can be done by all major credit cards on the swisscom website.

Chris

Some Details on the Vodafone Option I mentioned: You can book "Websessions" that are billed by time rather than volume. 15min for 1.95€, 2h 9.95€, 24h for 14.95. I used it this weekend in germany with a "callya" Prepaid Sim, worked great even with HighSpeed UMTS (3.6mbit). Its valid for most european countries.

World Data option ( http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1500 ) or what else!?

No. Standard rate = 8,35 Euro/MB (CHF 14).
Not very cheap but cheaper than most other cards - and very good coverage.

Chris