For Americans Going To Europe Or Overseas

schuster · **Buying in the USA isn't always the best strategy -** 13-07-2007, 02:25

A few weeks ago someone posted an interesting account of his trip to Norway on one of the GSM-related Usenet newsgroups. He has bought a prepaid SIM card in the US from Telestial, only to find on arriving in Norway that the carrier demanded by SMS a local address to register. He was unable to make things work and finally ended up going to a company store owned by that carrier and bought a new prepaid package for which he registered in-store. Telestial is still selling this product with no warnings or disclaimers at their web site.

I've seen some comments on rec.travel.europe that in this age of terrorism, many countries are ending the free ride that lets visitors anonymously activate prepaid cellular accounts. Unless you're sure of the situation you'll face upon arrival, one should be careful about paying the huge premium for the convenience of buying a European SIM card while in the US, since it might not work when you arrive.

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schuster (Offline) Member Official Member Posts: 37 Join Date: 28 Feb 2007 Country:	Buying in the USA isn't always the best strategy - 13-07-2007, 02:25 A few weeks ago someone posted an interesting account of his trip to Norway on one of the GSM-related Usenet newsgroups. He has bought a prepaid SIM card in the US from Telestial, only to find on arriving in Norway that the carrier demanded by SMS a local address to register. He was unable to make things work and finally ended up going to a company store owned by that carrier and bought a new prepaid package for which he registered in-store. Telestial is still selling this product with no warnings or disclaimers at their web site. I've seen some comments on rec.travel.europe that in this age of terrorism, many countries are ending the free ride that lets visitors anonymously activate prepaid cellular accounts. Unless you're sure of the situation you'll face upon arrival, one should be careful about paying the huge premium for the convenience of buying a European SIM card while in the US, since it might not work when you arrive.