Updated List of International GSM Cards/Services

flipper9 · 16-08-2009, 16:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by FBlack_111

I don't know how Flipper can make the statement "but their costs are well over USD$1.00/min in many cases.".

With the drop in EU rates, and the new Dual number SIM's , many SIM providers have rates substantially under $1.00 a minute for the most popular and traveled countries. Even Verizon and ATT have lots of locations with minutes under $1.00.

That's from my admittedly cursory look at rates from the list of International GSM Cards on this site. Many posts that talk about these great SIM cards, and then when you look at the rates they are like USD$1.50 or more per minute, some way more. I'd rather use my AT&T card from my personal cellphone, and avoid the hassles of callback dialing, Skype forwarding, lost prepaid credit due to industry instability, and lack of coverage in certain areas where there are no agreements.

I've only found a couple cards that seem to have reasonable rates. The rest seem to charge outlandish costs. Granted, some cards used in Europe give free incoming calls, and that's great. But not everyone travels there.'

Just a request: rather than quoting me or saying "flipper" shouldn't say this or that...could we please just talk about the GSM Services provided out there and discuss them rather than personalizing the discussion? Thanks

flipper9 · 16-08-2009, 17:49

Ekit: for example, is USD$1.29 call-in/USD$1.49 call-out, significant higher than the two cards I mentioned when calling from the Caribbean (Dominican Republic specifically). Plus a USD$0.35 connect fee for each call, either way plus a whopping USD$59 just to purchase the card (and hope to God they don't go out of business or require you to purchase another card). This card does, however, look good if you are traveling to Europe with the free incoming call (though you have to include the connect fee, and the USD$0.19/min charge for calls to your US+1 number, which is a great feature btw). But as a general use card world-wide, it's not as good overall.

highered · 17-08-2009, 03:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by flipper9

Ekit: for example, is USD$1.29 call-in/USD$1.49 call-out, significant higher than the two cards I mentioned when calling from the Caribbean (Dominican Republic specifically). Plus a USD$0.35 connect fee for each call, either way plus a whopping USD$59 just to purchase the card (and hope to God they don't go out of business or require you to purchase another card). This card does, however, look good if you are traveling to Europe with the free incoming call (though you have to include the connect fee, and the USD$0.19/min charge for calls to your US+1 number, which is a great feature btw). But as a general use card world-wide, it's not as good overall.

-There's no connect fee on incoming calls within zone 1.
-You don't have to use the +1 DID.
-The Passport SIM is available for $20+$3 shipping direct from EKit on ebay:
International World SIM card with free Incoming calls! - eBay (item 130287597538 end time Sep-11-09 03:24:46 PDT)

While not every card is the best for any specific situation, this card isn't bad "overall".

On the Passport SIM, Ekit has 67 countries with free incoming.
http://ekit.com/ekit/MobileInfo/Service/ekpassport_dual

Zone distribution
Country, number of countries
1a 67
1b 7
2 28
3 25
4 12
5 5

FBlack_111 · 16-08-2009, 18:09

Flipper:

For people who rarely travel, or make few calls, ATT and Verizon International cell phone rates are fine. For me, My Passport SIM from Ekit works well and it saves me lots of money. Check a few of ATT's cell phone rates and then compare them to most SIM cards.

I am going to Italy, Israel, Egypt, Greece and Turkey in September. My Ekit Passport Sim charges 49 cents a minute plus a 35 cent connection fee to call back to the U.S. from each of these countries. So if I make a 10 minute call back to the U.S from each place I visit, it will cost me a total of $26.25. Those same 10 minute calls using ATT from a cell phone will cost about $85.50.

flipper9 · 16-08-2009, 18:40

Yes; definitely I wouldn't want to use AT&T's card for long trips...but the high outlay for some cards outweighs the savings if you are only making a couple, short calls. A collection of calls that total 25 minutes (at USD$2/min) through AT&T on my trip would still cost less than an eKit SIM itself. Global Roaming or MaxRoam seem to provide even lower costs to the destinations I goto such as the Americas, with little outlay in the beginning. Even buying a SIM in-country might require an outlay of USD$15 just to get the card, then you can realize some savings. Guess it just depends on where you are going, and if you plan to talk a lot. I'm looking for a SIM card that I can use to travel around the Americas, then toss it over to people in my family that travel to other areas of the world: a SIM card that has a balance of good rates world-wide.

Heck even Searoam is a no-brainer compared to AT&T, but definitely not as good as ekit, global roaming, or maxroam.

	(#2)
flipper9 (Offline) Junior Member Amateur Member Posts: 13 Join Date: 15 Aug 2009 Country:	16-08-2009, 17:49 Ekit: for example, is USD$1.29 call-in/USD$1.49 call-out, significant higher than the two cards I mentioned when calling from the Caribbean (Dominican Republic specifically). Plus a USD$0.35 connect fee for each call, either way plus a whopping USD$59 just to purchase the card (and hope to God they don't go out of business or require you to purchase another card). This card does, however, look good if you are traveling to Europe with the free incoming call (though you have to include the connect fee, and the USD$0.19/min charge for calls to your US+1 number, which is a great feature btw). But as a general use card world-wide, it's not as good overall.

	(#4)
FBlack_111 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Fan Posts: 171 Join Date: 27 Feb 2008 Country:	16-08-2009, 18:09 Flipper: For people who rarely travel, or make few calls, ATT and Verizon International cell phone rates are fine. For me, My Passport SIM from Ekit works well and it saves me lots of money. Check a few of ATT's cell phone rates and then compare them to most SIM cards. I am going to Italy, Israel, Egypt, Greece and Turkey in September. My Ekit Passport Sim charges 49 cents a minute plus a 35 cent connection fee to call back to the U.S. from each of these countries. So if I make a 10 minute call back to the U.S from each place I visit, it will cost me a total of $26.25. Those same 10 minute calls using ATT from a cell phone will cost about $85.50.

	(#5)
flipper9 (Offline) Junior Member Amateur Member Posts: 13 Join Date: 15 Aug 2009 Country:	16-08-2009, 18:40 Yes; definitely I wouldn't want to use AT&T's card for long trips...but the high outlay for some cards outweighs the savings if you are only making a couple, short calls. A collection of calls that total 25 minutes (at USD$2/min) through AT&T on my trip would still cost less than an eKit SIM itself. Global Roaming or MaxRoam seem to provide even lower costs to the destinations I goto such as the Americas, with little outlay in the beginning. Even buying a SIM in-country might require an outlay of USD$15 just to get the card, then you can realize some savings. Guess it just depends on where you are going, and if you plan to talk a lot. I'm looking for a SIM card that I can use to travel around the Americas, then toss it over to people in my family that travel to other areas of the world: a SIM card that has a balance of good rates world-wide. Heck even Searoam is a no-brainer compared to AT&T, but definitely not as good as ekit, global roaming, or maxroam. Last edited by flipper9; 16-08-2009 at 18:54..