[Rowena]

My boyfriend is in Paris on a Fulbright for 9 months. He needs to get a mobile to use whilst he is there. He purchased a mobile with SIM for 39 euros and the SIM ran out of credit after a few local calls and texts. He couldn't understand what they were telling him in the store, and I think he got ripped off. Before he purchases another SIM (apparently, this one can't be reloaded; he has to purchase a replacement), he asked me to research his options as he does not have convenient and cheap Internet access at present.

I would think that for 9 months, it might be cheaper to get a one-year contract and lose the last three months than to keep buying expensive SIMS? Anyone with experience with mobiles in France know what option would be best? He will be using the phone for both domestic and international calls and texts, as well as bringing it on trips to visit friends in the UK and Sweden.

Speaking of trips, I am trying to sort out what SIM I need when I visit him. I have a locked Nokia AT&T phone now, but I will be purchasing an unlocked quadband phone before my first visit. If French SIMs are a bad deal, I might as well pay for international roaming on AT&T; however, I don't want to make my European friends call or text an American number when they want to reach me over there. That's not fair to them. I will be going on 2, one-week stays and 2 four-week stays, with a week in Sweden for Xmas in there somewhere. I would like to avoid getting a French and a Swedish SIM for such a short stay, if it wouldn't cost my Swedish friends too much to reach me on a French number. I'd also like to keep the same number, if possible, for all 4 visits. I won't need to phone the U.S. -- I can just use Skype whenever I have to do that.