very new to this and need help

s.r. · **very new to this and need help -** 23-08-2007, 23:43

I'm taking a study abroad trip to spain and I've heard that, in order to save money on calls within Europe, I can have my LG vx5200 unlocked and possibly just buy a SIM card for it (and get a prepaid phone card).
Is it as easy as it sounds? I just have to go to Verizon and get it unlocked and then I can buy a SIM from one of these vendors you list (united mobile, travelsim etc.)?? without having to deal with an actual carrier like vodafone or movistar?
If that is the case, let me know which you recommend or if I'm missing some key details, please help me out
thanks

sr

MATHA531 · 23-08-2007, 23:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by s.r.

I'm taking a study abroad trip to spain and I've heard that, in order to save money on calls within Europe, I can have my LG vx5200 unlocked and possibly just buy a SIM card for it (and get a prepaid phone card).
Is it as easy as it sounds? I just have to go to Verizon and get it unlocked and then I can buy a SIM from one of these vendors you list (united mobile, travelsim etc.)?? without having to deal with an actual carrier like vodafone or movistar?
If that is the case, let me know which you recommend or if I'm missing some key details, please help me out
thanks

sr

In your case, unfortunately, it is not as easy as it sounds if Verizon is your US carrier....you see Verizon uses a completely different technology than is used in Spain and the rest of Europe...thus your verizon phone is probably useless...it doesn't operate with sim cards which is what the European and a couple of American carriers use (although some verizon phones are dual technology but I don't think your phone is) so scratch that idea...nor will you be able to use your verizon service in Spain and the rest of Europe without renting a phone from them and paying asininely high rates.

What you need is an unlocked GSM phone with the frequencies operating on the 900 and 1800 band...such phones are easy to acquire on ebay or at some internet merchants in the USA and then when you arrive in Spain you can just get a sim package of some sort and be all set with all the perks of a Spanish gsm provider (free reception of calls, a Spanish telephone number whatever)...or you can wait till you get to Spain, walk into a mobile (it's called a mobile phone in Europe not a cell phone but it's the same thing) and buy a cheap gsm phone along with a sim package; none of which will be intimidating as it is done every day of the week when visiting various European countries.

There is a lot more you can read up on but that's the basics. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. There will probably be somebody here familiar with Spain and Spanish sims (I'm not) who can help you or make suggestions depending on your exact itinerary and exact needs but the bottom line is verizon is incompatible with European travel.

DRNewcomb · 24-08-2007, 00:05

Be careful that the phone you get has 900 & 1800 MHz. On HoFo I've been advising another Verizon customer who knew that he needed a GSM phone and bought an unlocked Nokia 6030. The problem is that he bought the US model which is 850 & 1900 MHz and won't work in Europe.

s.r. · 24-08-2007, 00:32

haha.. after removing the battery etc., I found no SIM card, so what you're saying is probably correct.
The program coordinator referred me to this site called platform3000 (sounds stupid) that can rent or sell me a sim card. the one thing that I like about it is they offer a "virtual number" for family back home to contact me at. it's a local US number they dial here, which then forwards the call to me in spain, leaving my family to pay only a domestic rate. besides that though, take a look at these rates and let me know if they seem a bit high ?
http://www.piccellwireless.com/lates...&package_id=40

or is that about what i'd pay with travelsim and others?

snidely · 24-08-2007, 15:08

You do NOT want to get a Travelsim or other similar card as you mentioned. If you are going to be in a country for more than a week, get a prepaid for that country. You can get an idea of costs by looking at various descriptions of offering by Spanish carriers on this very web site. You often will find "sales" at reduced prices when you get there.
Incoming will be free for you. Calling a Spain mobile from the U.S. can be as little as 25 cents. Calling out will be much cheaper than using an "international" SIM.
You can find phones on Ebay for $50-$75. Best that you get a QUAD band phone that can be used or sold when you get back here rather than just a 900/1800 GSM phone that can only be used overseas.
Having a Spain number will make it possible for locals in Spain to call you. People aren't going to pay the outrageous rates to dial Estonia or Lichtenstein to call you.

...mike

DRNewcomb · 24-08-2007, 20:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by s.r.

The program coordinator referred me to this site called platform3000 (sounds stupid) that can rent or sell me a sim card.

It looks like they "loan" you a SIM card after you pay 17.50€ and you pay for the usage. I didn't see a weekly or monthly rate. Did I miss it? The rates are not too bad but you can duplicate what they by using a local SIM and a US forwarding service such as VoiceStick.com.

s.r. · 25-08-2007, 05:18

hmm.. all very helpful information, guys. I think I'll go ahead and just purchase a phone (either a used one here, or something new from over there) and go w/ a prepaid card in Spain. I like the sound of having free incoming calls from the states. If all else fails (and depending if I have an internet connection) I'll just be using ichat to stay in contact w/ home.

thanks for the help
sr

Richard10002 · 25-08-2007, 10:52

Get a phone that does internet, and a Yoigo SIM, and you can have unlimited GPRS for 1.39 euros per day. Alternatively, you can put the SIM in a datacard in a laptop/pc and browse just like you do at home, (not quite as quick though ).

s.r. · 25-08-2007, 12:52

hmm.. well i won't be on the internet that much, and i'd rather not pay. i'll mostly be using the free wifi in the computer lab.
that yoigo site looks cool though.. first i've heard of it. 49 Euros for a phone w/ 20 Euros of credit doesn't sound bad. it appears there's no free anything though. it looks like they charge 12 cents establishment and 12 cents/min for all calls, regardless of whether they're incoming or not.
snidely: which carriers do you know of that have free incoming?

25-08-2007, 16:09

All carriers in spain have free incoming calls. You get a phone number with a mobile phone prefix (6xx in spain) and the caller pays the charge via higher rates for calls to numbers with such a prefix. The only time you have to pay for incoming calls is when you are in another country and roaming there.
As far as I know this is how it works in all of europe.

Yoigo has cheap rates but even with prepaid you have a minimum consumption of 6 euros + VAT per month. Also Yoigo is relatively new and has really bad customer service. Probably it will work ok but if there is a problem, e.g. with the activation of the sim card it can literally take weeks to be solved.

Another cheap option are virtual network operators such as Carrefour movil (http://www.carrefour.es/movil). On the plus side carrefour movil is cheap and the phones in their prepaid packs are not locked the provider. However they provide no 3G or internet services at all and the service isn't much better than at Yoigo.

You could also go for one of the big providers such as orange or vodafone (movistar is quite expensive). The rates for orange or vodafone are quite similar.

	(#1)
s.r. (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 5 Join Date: 23 Aug 2007 Country:	very new to this and need help - 23-08-2007, 23:43 I'm taking a study abroad trip to spain and I've heard that, in order to save money on calls within Europe, I can have my LG vx5200 unlocked and possibly just buy a SIM card for it (and get a prepaid phone card). Is it as easy as it sounds? I just have to go to Verizon and get it unlocked and then I can buy a SIM from one of these vendors you list (united mobile, travelsim etc.)?? without having to deal with an actual carrier like vodafone or movistar? If that is the case, let me know which you recommend or if I'm missing some key details, please help me out thanks sr

	(#3)
DRNewcomb (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Professionist Posts: 1,465 Join Date: 27 Feb 2004 Location: Mississippi, USA Country:	24-08-2007, 00:05 Be careful that the phone you get has 900 & 1800 MHz. On HoFo I've been advising another Verizon customer who knew that he needed a GSM phone and bought an unlocked Nokia 6030. The problem is that he bought the US model which is 850 & 1900 MHz and won't work in Europe.

	(#4)
s.r. (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 5 Join Date: 23 Aug 2007 Country:	24-08-2007, 00:32 haha.. after removing the battery etc., I found no SIM card, so what you're saying is probably correct. The program coordinator referred me to this site called platform3000 (sounds stupid) that can rent or sell me a sim card. the one thing that I like about it is they offer a "virtual number" for family back home to contact me at. it's a local US number they dial here, which then forwards the call to me in spain, leaving my family to pay only a domestic rate. besides that though, take a look at these rates and let me know if they seem a bit high ? http://www.piccellwireless.com/lates...&package_id=40 or is that about what i'd pay with travelsim and others?

	(#5)
snidely (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 451 Join Date: 09 May 2005 Location: Berkeley, California and Miami Country:	24-08-2007, 15:08 You do NOT want to get a Travelsim or other similar card as you mentioned. If you are going to be in a country for more than a week, get a prepaid for that country. You can get an idea of costs by looking at various descriptions of offering by Spanish carriers on this very web site. You often will find "sales" at reduced prices when you get there. Incoming will be free for you. Calling a Spain mobile from the U.S. can be as little as 25 cents. Calling out will be much cheaper than using an "international" SIM. You can find phones on Ebay for $50-$75. Best that you get a QUAD band phone that can be used or sold when you get back here rather than just a 900/1800 GSM phone that can only be used overseas. Having a Spain number will make it possible for locals in Spain to call you. People aren't going to pay the outrageous rates to dial Estonia or Lichtenstein to call you. ...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.

	(#7)
s.r. (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 5 Join Date: 23 Aug 2007 Country:	25-08-2007, 05:18 hmm.. all very helpful information, guys. I think I'll go ahead and just purchase a phone (either a used one here, or something new from over there) and go w/ a prepaid card in Spain. I like the sound of having free incoming calls from the states. If all else fails (and depending if I have an internet connection) I'll just be using ichat to stay in contact w/ home. thanks for the help sr

	(#8)
Richard10002 (Offline) Member Advanced Member Posts: 60 Join Date: 03 Oct 2006 Country:	25-08-2007, 10:52 Get a phone that does internet, and a Yoigo SIM, and you can have unlimited GPRS for 1.39 euros per day. Alternatively, you can put the SIM in a datacard in a laptop/pc and browse just like you do at home, (not quite as quick though ).

	(#9)
s.r. (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 5 Join Date: 23 Aug 2007 Country:	25-08-2007, 12:52 hmm.. well i won't be on the internet that much, and i'd rather not pay. i'll mostly be using the free wifi in the computer lab. that yoigo site looks cool though.. first i've heard of it. 49 Euros for a phone w/ 20 Euros of credit doesn't sound bad. it appears there's no free anything though. it looks like they charge 12 cents establishment and 12 cents/min for all calls, regardless of whether they're incoming or not. snidely: which carriers do you know of that have free incoming?

	(#10)
krabat Guest Posts: n/a	25-08-2007, 16:09 All carriers in spain have free incoming calls. You get a phone number with a mobile phone prefix (6xx in spain) and the caller pays the charge via higher rates for calls to numbers with such a prefix. The only time you have to pay for incoming calls is when you are in another country and roaming there. As far as I know this is how it works in all of europe. Yoigo has cheap rates but even with prepaid you have a minimum consumption of 6 euros + VAT per month. Also Yoigo is relatively new and has really bad customer service. Probably it will work ok but if there is a problem, e.g. with the activation of the sim card it can literally take weeks to be solved. Another cheap option are virtual network operators such as Carrefour movil (http://www.carrefour.es/movil). On the plus side carrefour movil is cheap and the phones in their prepaid packs are not locked the provider. However they provide no 3G or internet services at all and the service isn't much better than at Yoigo. You could also go for one of the big providers such as orange or vodafone (movistar is quite expensive). The rates for orange or vodafone are quite similar.