Global Prepaid Overview

[Effendi]

Quick Facts

Country: Estonia
Network Name: Elisa (former Radiolinja)
Prepaid Card Name: Zen
Frequency and Technology: GSM 900/1800
Prepaid Package Cost (Just SIM): EEK 50 (? 3.20) with EEK 50 of credit included
Documents needed: none
Prepaid Package Validity: 6 months plus 1 for receiving/refilling
CSD access: probably yes
GPRS/EDGE access: Yes, GPRS can be activated for EEK 50
UMTS access: No
SIM applications: not that I remember
Manual included: Yes, in Estonian and Russian
Refill amounts: EEK 50, 100 and 250
Availability: at any Elisa shop, gas stations, kiosks...
Competitors: EMT, Tele2, Zorro

More In-Depth Information

Buying:

The Good:
Very cheap and very easy to buy throughout Estonia. I bought my Zen card at a gas station in Valga. Many Estonians speak English too, so there are really no problems. Card is valid for 6+1 months, no documents are needed.

The Bad:
No bad things at all.

Usage:

The Good:
Rates are very similar to the competitors', but Elisa's coverage is perfect (much better than Tele2) and you have "free roaming" in Finland, which is a plus that other prepaid cards don't offer. In any case national calling and messaging is cheap, GPRS is available for data connections. Billing is at 10 seconds increments for national calls. International calls are rather cheap.

The Bad:
International messaging is too expensive, and GPRS is not so cheap too and you have to pay to activate it. International roaming is not active by default and again you have to pay to activate it.

TIPS:
Go for Zen if you want great coverage, cheap rates and if you plan to visit Finland as well

FINAL THOUGHTS:
I think Zen is the best option for Estonia. Rates are a bit more expensive than Tele2, but quality is much better, and you have Finnish free incoming roaming. The only bad thing is the high price for International SMS (when I used it they had the same rate as national ones).