International SIM for Italy, Ireland, UK

[weekilter]

Originally Posted by dchmello

My family will be traveling to Italy, Ireland, and the UK at different times this summer. We have two unlocked GSM phones ready to go, mostly for the purpose of communicating when we are separated, but we would also like to be able to call to and from the US as well. I realize that one option is to buy SIM cards in each country as we travel, but for this trip I would like to keep the same phone numbers for the duration of the trip, and if possible I would like to buy them before traveling, so we will have the phone numbers ahead of time.

My number one criterion is call coverage, and I can't seem to find any coverage maps online. We plan to travel to some more remote areas of all three countries. Per minute charges are less critical, since we don't plan to have lengthy conversations.

The ability to send text (SMS) messages between the phones would be nice as well.

I would appreciate this forum's guidance in choosing a provider that will provide good service.

Thanks!

Keep this in mind if you're just going to be in Europe. The EU has mandated that roaming charges within Europe have been made more reasonable than in the past so it's possible you could get a UK SIM and roam with it in other parts of Europe.

As far as getting a SIM prior to your going on a trip you can do that with companies such as Telestial but be warned that you'll pay a really big markup for the privilege of having the number in advance. You can get international SIMs in the UK or in any of the other places you're going but as I said you'll pray a premium if you decide to get a card from a business such as Telestial before you leave.