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snidely · 18-07-2006, 05:46

Since the OP is a "newbie", I wouldn't rec. UM. She doesn't even have a cel phone here!
UM's service is NOT standard and would be diff. for a newbie to understand. Using UM would not be good because it can cost people who want to call her mucho dinero.
I would simply rec. she get an unlocked quad band phone off ebay. Some Motorola phones can be had new for $100 or less - I think you can find a good quad band used for $50.
I would not buy from an individual, buy from a business. Lots of individuals don't even know what "unlocked" means. (It means you can use ANY SIM card from any carrier.)

So - buy an unlocked phone, or, temporarily borrow one from a friend. Just make sure it is unlocked and can work on the 900 and 1800 bands used overseas.
Buy a prepaid SIM when you hit France, another when in Italy. The only down side is that you will have to leave a msg on your home phone giving your overseas number.

Another alternative would be to get a Yackie card with a local U.S. number. Incoming calls would be only 24? in those two countries and people would have a local number to call. HOWEVER, Yackie is NOT quite yet ready for prime time.
They might be in a couple weeks. The system itself works perfectly - the support system (web site etc.) is just now getting into gear according to posts here.
IF users get the SIM cards they were promised were shipped today AND the support system is running smoothly - that's the best way to go.
Follow the Yackie thread here in the next couple weeks.

...mike

	(#5)
snidely (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 451 Join Date: 09 May 2005 Location: Berkeley, California and Miami Country:	18-07-2006, 05:46 Since the OP is a "newbie", I wouldn't rec. UM. She doesn't even have a cel phone here! UM's service is NOT standard and would be diff. for a newbie to understand. Using UM would not be good because it can cost people who want to call her mucho dinero. I would simply rec. she get an unlocked quad band phone off ebay. Some Motorola phones can be had new for $100 or less - I think you can find a good quad band used for $50. I would not buy from an individual, buy from a business. Lots of individuals don't even know what "unlocked" means. (It means you can use ANY SIM card from any carrier.) So - buy an unlocked phone, or, temporarily borrow one from a friend. Just make sure it is unlocked and can work on the 900 and 1800 bands used overseas. Buy a prepaid SIM when you hit France, another when in Italy. The only down side is that you will have to leave a msg on your home phone giving your overseas number. Another alternative would be to get a Yackie card with a local U.S. number. Incoming calls would be only 24? in those two countries and people would have a local number to call. HOWEVER, Yackie is NOT quite yet ready for prime time. They might be in a couple weeks. The system itself works perfectly - the support system (web site etc.) is just now getting into gear according to posts here. IF users get the SIM cards they were promised were shipped today AND the support system is running smoothly - that's the best way to go. Follow the Yackie thread here in the next couple weeks. ...mike Make use of T-M's UMA/wifi free calling from any place in the world with access to wifi. I use an LG G6, wife an S7) A/o Oct 20, 2013 no need for intl prepaid as T-Mobile U.S. includes voice roaming at 20¢/min (in and out)., unlimited text (in and out), and unlimited data in 140+ countries. My Plan -[6 lines] U.S. T-Mobile unlimited minutes (incoming and outgoing), unlimited text, fast data on each line. that $145/mo. total! . (In U.S. no surcharge for calling a cell.) If a line exceeds 2G of data in a month, pay $10 more for that line. [That only happens a couple times/year.