Blackberry in France (Voice & Data)
 

I have my unlocked BB8900 that Ill be traveling with for 3 weeks in France. I would like to use voice (within France), data, internet, email, and BBM.

In checking this site in the International Cards section, Orange with their MobiCarte seems to offer this possibility.

I have heard from other sources that one must be a French resident to purchase a Mobicarte.

Any advice or input on this situation? Thanks in advance!

Note: This phone also is capable of WiFi voice, or UMA calling.

To buy the card it's usually sufficient to tell the dealer your hotel address

On the Orange/France website, there is no indication that the Mobicarte is available with the data that this site says is available. Does anyone know if there truly is data available on Orange prepaid? What about SFR LaCarte?

According to Orange's website Blackberry Internet Service (BIS) is not available to Mobicartes:Further be aware, that if you already have a running subscription for BIS with some carrier, you won't be able to subscribe to BIS with any other operator in the world. Once you subscribe to BIS with an operator, your device is tied to that operator and you won't be able to get BIS from any other operator unless you cancel BIS with the original operator. Even unlocking won't change anything about this, since this is an issue with Blackberry's servers, that don't allow multiple subscriptions for the same phone.
So if you have a running BIS subscription in the States, your Blackberry will only work for phone calls and SMS-messaging abroad.
We discussed this more detailied earlier at http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/euro...lackberry.html

Thanks, and very interesting, Inquisitor. The only question that arises is that when I changed Blackberrys with TMobile I informed neither TMobile nor BB and just moved my SIM card to the new equipment. So it seems that my BB service is connected to my SIM rather than the equipment, so therefore with a Prepaid France SIM why would it not be enabled?

As a Plan B, I also have a second BB currently inactive that I could use as well; Is there a way to get prepaid BB service in France?

I don't know what exactly happened when you swapped Blackberries, but I'm sure the phone itself is tied to the BIS-subscription by it's IMEI (serial number).
Where did you get your new Blackberry from? If you have purchased it from T-Mobile they could have registered it automatically. Otherwise they perhaps register new and so far unregistered Blackberries automatically if the SIM card belongs to an account with active BIS subscription.

Regarding your second question I don't have an answer. But what I certainly know is, that France is probably the most expensive country in the Western World when it comes to mobile internet access. I would be surprised if any operator offered BIS for prepaid subscribers.

What about plan C, going to Italy instead of France? There you could get prepaid BIS at reasonable rates and they won't try making you eat snails.

We're actually going to Torino for 3 days, but it's in the second half of our trip. however, if I got a BB data sim there, would it work in France?

Lol, the food in France is heavenly, and a lot more than snails! :) I think the food both countries is the best in the world!!

Hi everyone, I'm posting in this old thread because I'm in the exact same situation as the original poster. Can anyone comment on this service: Low-cost Europe cell phones and European SIM cards ? Here's the plan I'm considering, specifically: http://www.callineurope.com/pdf/Price_Pass_France.pdf

I would like to have not only voice and text but also data on my Blackberry Curve 8310 (currently used and registered with AT&T but will be unlocked soon) when I travel to France in a couple weeks, just so I can keep up with email and have some weather, news, and maps. It's not a 3G phone, only EDGE, but I'm more than satisfied with that speed for the basic internet load I'll be using.

I'm worried though, that even with the unlocked phone, and the 100% Blackberry compatible prepaid plan from callineurope.com (runs on SFR in France), that what Inquisitor said about being able to have your Blackberry registered to only one provider at a time will prevent me from utilizing the data service from callineurope.com. Will this be the case? I don't want to plunk down the premium on a Blackberry-specific plan if I can't get any data service just because my Blackberry is still registered here in the US.

If this is indeed the case and you can't use your Blackberry's internet capabilities abroad without cancelling your service back home, then how does callineurope.com get away with selling and marketing a service to tourists that they actually can't even use?!