T-Mobile UK Web 'n' Walk HSDPA 3G BROADBAND data SIMCARD

[raywright1]

can anyone make sense out of this run-on sentence snippet from the GOSIMCARDS description of it's EBAY item "T-Mobile Web 'n' Walk HSDPA 3G BROADBAND data SIMCARD".

specifically, why are they recommending multiple cards and swapping if there is truly a soft limit of 40MB/day and a fixed price cap of £1? why do you have trick it like this?

i believe other posts on this forum confirm the £1/40MB/day terms of the rental.

in short, i'd like to know if i really need to buy 2+ cards.

lastly, since i have never purchased a prepaid card, can someone explain the "top up" process.

thanks in advance.

the entire original link is here

WE RECOMMEND YOU BUY 2 OR MORE 3G BROADBAND CARDS AND WHEN YOU REACH 40MB SWOP THE SIM CARD TO GET ANOTHER 40MB FOR A £1 WHY PAY £4 PER MB AS YOU CAN GET 40MB FOR £1 AND TOP UP NO MORE THAN £10 PER TIME AND HAVE NO MORE THAN £15 ON PER CARD IF YOU RUN OVER THE 40 MB LIMIT PER DAY YOU WILL NOT GET CAUGHT OUT AS YOU DO NOT HAVE A HIGH CREDIT ON THE SIM CARD AND PLEASE REGISTER FOR ONLINE ACCOUNT ACCESS AS YOU CAN TOPUP AND VIEW YOUR BALANCE ONLINE AND DATA USAGE

TO GET THE 40MB FOR A £1 PER DAY JUST START USING IT YOU DO NOT BUY A BOLT ON OR HAVE TO DO ANYTING TO GET THE 40MB PER DAY

[Motel75]

Makes sense, really. The standard TMO prepaid data rate is capped at £1 a day up to 40 MB, but if you go above that, they start charging you £4 per additional megabyte. So if 40 MB isn't enough, use a second SIM and again pay £1 for up to 40 MB. (And if 80 MB isn't enough... you get the idea.)

In other words, it's a standard UK T-Mobile SIM card (not a specific data SIM). Don't bother with this eBay seller. If you're coming to the UK, they often give away SIM cards for free, or if you buy one in a shop it will be very cheap or include a subsidized phone. Topping up (ie, adding credit to your account) is really easy, you can do it at almost any supermarket and lots of other places, and there are several methods (code from a scratch card, etc.).

[raywright1]

thanks for that helpful reply. the confusion stemmed from other places where i've read that it's a soft limit, implying one could go over that amount for the same price.

i considered ordering prior to departure because i need/want coverage immediately upon arrival. if there is a TMO kiosk (or other good choices) at heathrow terminal 5 then i will wait!

i'm also hoping to keep the same number for future trips by "topping up".

[Motel75]

Apart from T-Mobile shops, there are places everywhere where you can buy SIMs, such as the ubiquitous high street/mall stores Carphone Warehouse, Phones4u, etc., and there's probably something like this at the airport (the biggest in Europe, with lots of shops).

BTW, most British SIMs, including TMO, do not require topping up to keep them active - you just have to perform a billable action at least every 180 days, such as sending a text message or using the browser (or receiving a call when roaming in a foreign country). So if you end up with lots of credit on your phone, you don't have to worry about needlessly adding more just to keep it alive.

[petkow]

Not that they have the best rates, but there is a Vodafone store in Heathrow T5 that will be able to hook you up straight away. Also I think some of the newsagents all over the airport will sell you SIM packs. (Maybe WHSmith?) You can find their numbers on the Heathrow website and it might be worth calling them.

When I last passed through Gatwick airport not too long ago they were handing out free o2 SIM packs at international arrivals. I would guess they maybe do this at Heathrow as well.

Otherwise there really are plenty of places you can get a SIM, or just order a free one and get it sent to your first hotel, or to the place you will be on the first day. If you will be there anytime soon (until the end of June) then order a GiffGaff SIM. The free data offer on that has just been extended for another month.

[inquisitor]

When I was at Heathrow in December 2008 there was a vending machine with prepaid SIMs of different operators on the ground level of terminal 4, where I bought a T-Mobile SIM.
Btw, I have an unregistered but active Three SIM card to give away. I would just charge the shipping costs.

[raywright1]

Originally Posted by inquisitor

I have an unregistered but active ... SIM card

can you explain what it means to be active but unregistered? i'm new to the prepaid world but plan to accumulate a few local cards on my trip and keep them for future use. still not clear on all the finer points.

also related - i remember reading a post somewhere in which the poster was asking a local resident to top up for him. is it not possible to top up over the internet (which i guess implies having some sort of prepaid "account" with the vendor)? EDIT: i found an answer to this latter question in this thread thanks.

[inquisitor]

"Unregistered" means the SIM is not registered on any person, so you can still register it on your name and so be the official owner, which is a legal requirement in many countries. Failure to do so may result in deactivation of your SIM.
"Active" just means the SIM is working. There are countries, where you first need to register in order the SIM to be activated, but my 3 UK SIM is definitely working without being registered.

Afaik 3 UK don't accept foreign credit cards for recharges through their website. However I was able to top up credit with tuyo (USA) and T-Mobile UK with my German AmEx allthough neither my German Visa nor Mastercard were accepted by both - so if you have an AmEx just try it. Otherwise there's still TopUpForLess, who sell recharge codes for most British providers below nominal value(!) and they accept PayPal besides all major credit cards. So these guys are perfect for topping up from abroad, which I've done successfully several times. Just note, that they want new customers to request acceptance as such in advance by eMail.