Advantage of int'l SIMs versus other solutions?

[RTuesday]

Originally Posted by adam917

what are the advantages of an international SIM besides maximum coverage & one number?

Even those advantages are dubious because 1. the roaming can be unreliable and 2. it's usually a number in a location that is expensive to call or for you to forward calls to.

A lot has changed in the past few years and I'd say international SIMs had their market window - and blew it. They've never really become visible on the mass market, 90% of even international travellers have never heard of them.

With both Callkey-based sims and now O9 based going under, it's clear the business model is still very difficult - the target market is expert users who want to pay as little as possible at all times, not exactly a way to make a profit! For example, just about all I used my O9 for was to get the free incoming in Mexico with callback, I made virtually no outbound calls with it.

I now use local prepaid SIMs in my main three countries, and a VOIP account on the (wifi) phone. Plus a couple of UK postpaid (no monthly fee) SIMs for when I'm elsewhere without wifi - higher roaming costs but cheaper than trying to keep global sims active on the off-chance they'll still be in business when I next travel!

For the one-number part of it, I have an IPkall US number, and a UK number, as "find-me" numbers that I forward, via a VOIP account, to whichever country sim I'm currently using (I pay the forwarding part but that's OK, especially as I can pick and choose VOIP rates).

[Grampa]

Originally Posted by RTuesday

For the one-number part of it, I have an IPkall US number, and a UK number, as "find-me" numbers that I forward, via a VOIP account, to whichever country sim I'm currently using (I pay the forwarding part but that's OK, especially as I can pick and choose VOIP rates).

This is where the MAXRoam solution comes in handy, particularly if you already have a MAXRoam account. The card doesn't expire or have minimum usage requirements, you get one free "find-me" number from any of several countries with an area code of your choice (additional numbers are 2 Euro per month), and you can forward those numbers for free calls to anywhere in the world, even to cell phones. None of this requires that you actually use the MAXRoam chip. That's why I was asking about recommendations for local prepaid SIMs.

[Bossman]

Actually, you can only forward maxroam to certain countries. I think they list 45 or so in the dropdown. Still a pretty good option since you can forward to mobiles too.

With the call quality and the okay call costs, this will likely be my primary roaming sim moving forward. The rest, yackie (if they come back from being dead!), UM+, will be backups.

Originally Posted by Grampa

This is where the MAXRoam solution comes in handy, particularly if you already have a MAXRoam account. The card doesn't expire or have minimum usage requirements, you get one free "find-me" number from any of several countries with an area code of your choice (additional numbers are 2 Euro per month), and you can forward those numbers for free calls to anywhere in the world, even to cell phones. None of this requires that you actually use the MAXRoam chip. That's why I was asking about recommendations for local prepaid SIMs.

[Grampa]

Originally Posted by Bossman

Actually, you can only forward maxroam to certain countries. I think they list 45 or so in the dropdown. Still a pretty good option since you can forward to mobiles too.

Sorry for the exaggeration. I tested this out by forwarding the maxroam number to my UM sim, a card with country code 44 (Jersey), and the call quality was very good. Unfortunately, UM charged me about $3 for that test to receive the call in the U.S.

[Bossman]

Not to deviate, but I thought I'd mention a few more positive and negative things about maxroam. They are probably already in the "maxroam review" thread.

- The caller ID that shows when you call someone is the DID. And not the Israeli number. This is a positive in my opinion.
- All calls get charged. A min os 1 min is charged since you get charged as soon as you answer the callback
-I cannot check my balance from the sim menu on the phone. And online, it takes at least a day for the call history to show up. Balance online is updated right away though.
-The missed call sms no longer works for me.

Originally Posted by Grampa

Sorry for the exaggeration. I tested this out by forwarding the maxroam number to my UM sim, a card with country code 44 (Jersey), and the call quality was very good. Unfortunately, UM charged me about $3 for that test to receive the call in the U.S.