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MATHA531 · 21-10-2007, 14:34

...as noted the value of roaming in the US is absolutely not to make calls but to be able to keep it alive cheaply....for example UM required one paid activity every 9 months although according to most, it's loosely enforced....calls are very expensive but sending an sms is much cheaper and serves the purpose...as noted where internet is available, a quick download of a ring tone from a free service will also do the trick....with Virgin Mobile as noted it was 9p and voila problem solved....

Mobile World (before the advent of the other cheap services such as Orange Call Abroad) from Carphone Warehouse was a good deal but without roaming ability, the card expired after 60 days originally (I think that has been increased to 90 days) although as I understand it I think, you could call customer service to restore service to the sim card perhaps with a different number and get your credit back.

Then there is what the French providers pull and this is one place perhaps the eu could do some good...if you buy a €15 recharge, for example, one month and then they steal your credit and six months later the sim card expires...no amount of making calls or sending sms keeps it alive and since the only way foreigners can recharge is with recharge slips from the carrier (although SFR can recharge with vodafone slips provided you are in a vodafone country) it is hard to keep the card alive if you desire retaining the number and sim card.

Of course, it must be added, that for Americans travelling to the UK, Virgin Mobile is far from the bargain it used to be. Their price to call North America from the UK was 20p/minute which once upon a time was a good price compared say to Vodafone (which still charges, I believe, £1/minute to call North America) with their local UK rate of 15p/minute for first five minutes of use each day and then dropping to 5p per minute...ever since they instituted the 10p minimum per call that rate is no longer the bargain it once was.....and of course there are now far cheaper alternatives to calling North America from the UK (Mobile World, Orange Call Abroad, and the T Mobile service with YourCall). But for some strange reason, I do try to keep the sim card alive.

	(#7)
MATHA531 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Specialist Posts: 869 Join Date: 15 Oct 2004 Country:	21-10-2007, 14:34 ...as noted the value of roaming in the US is absolutely not to make calls but to be able to keep it alive cheaply....for example UM required one paid activity every 9 months although according to most, it's loosely enforced....calls are very expensive but sending an sms is much cheaper and serves the purpose...as noted where internet is available, a quick download of a ring tone from a free service will also do the trick....with Virgin Mobile as noted it was 9p and voila problem solved.... Mobile World (before the advent of the other cheap services such as Orange Call Abroad) from Carphone Warehouse was a good deal but without roaming ability, the card expired after 60 days originally (I think that has been increased to 90 days) although as I understand it I think, you could call customer service to restore service to the sim card perhaps with a different number and get your credit back. Then there is what the French providers pull and this is one place perhaps the eu could do some good...if you buy a €15 recharge, for example, one month and then they steal your credit and six months later the sim card expires...no amount of making calls or sending sms keeps it alive and since the only way foreigners can recharge is with recharge slips from the carrier (although SFR can recharge with vodafone slips provided you are in a vodafone country) it is hard to keep the card alive if you desire retaining the number and sim card. Of course, it must be added, that for Americans travelling to the UK, Virgin Mobile is far from the bargain it used to be. Their price to call North America from the UK was 20p/minute which once upon a time was a good price compared say to Vodafone (which still charges, I believe, £1/minute to call North America) with their local UK rate of 15p/minute for first five minutes of use each day and then dropping to 5p per minute...ever since they instituted the 10p minimum per call that rate is no longer the bargain it once was.....and of course there are now far cheaper alternatives to calling North America from the UK (Mobile World, Orange Call Abroad, and the T Mobile service with YourCall). But for some strange reason, I do try to keep the sim card alive.