Is the need for an "International" SIM Card ending?

snidely · 12-09-2010, 04:15

And to rub more salt into the wounds of "foreigners" - all U.S. carriers offer unlimited voice for $100 (much less on T-Mobile, Sprint, and some small carriers). So, Kupe could have his unlimited data and unlimited voice for under $170. There are various local and Federal taxes that would add about 10%. And, in U.S. and Canada, cell phones are treated like landlines for incoming calls - no premium to call a cell. Kupe probably would pay only $85 or $90 for unlimited voice if he is on a major company plan.
As a T-Mobile customer - I have no intl. data plan available at all. (I can make those free voice calls over wifi.) It amazes me, still, that if I were to voice roam in countries where TM has a presence - they charge me the same amount to roam on their system as to roam on Vodafone or someone else.

And GramPa - I probably spent too much time just seeing if I could connect via wifi/UMA even if i didn't need to make a call. Of course I may good use of the unlimited Blackberry email wherever we were (until losing cell signal once we got too far up the Amazon). Also liked making use of the GPS on the phone, just for fun.

dg7feq · 12-09-2010, 10:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by snidely

And to rub more salt into the wounds of "foreigners" - all U.S. carriers offer unlimited voice for $100 (much less on T-Mobile, Sprint, and some small carriers). So, Kupe could have his unlimited data and unlimited voice for under $170.

For Roaming or domestic?
Domestic flatrate tariffs are cheap here, only roaming kills you.
I can get the all-net flatrate including data for less than 30euro at Vodafone and o2 at the moment.

Chris

snidely · 13-09-2010, 05:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by dg7feq

For Roaming or domestic?
Domestic flatrate tariffs are cheap here, only roaming kills you.
I can get the all-net flatrate including data for less than 30euro at Vodafone and o2 at the moment.

Chris

As Kupe mentioned, with ATT he could get unlimited data (both domestic and intl) and unlimited domestic voice for less than $170. Seems to me, IF someone is going to be in one country like yours, and can get unlimited data for 30 Euros - that wold be the way to do - IF you didn't have to sign up for a long term plan.
Technical question: Is it possible to make voice calls over a data connection with something like Skype?
One would have to be a big intl. traveler to pay the $67/mo. for domstic and intl. data. If you just wanted domestic data, it would be about $30/mo.

...mike

dg7feq · 13-09-2010, 08:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by snidely

Seems to me, IF someone is going to be in one country like yours, and can get unlimited data for 30 Euros - that wold be the way to do - IF you didn't have to sign up for a long term plan.

These 30 Euro contracts have unlimited data and voice. So no need to do VoIP. But these are contracts with 2 years run time.
Unlimited voice on payg cards cost you about 40 euro (its actually a minute based tariff but capped after 40 euro, so if you only use a few minutes a month you will only pay these minutes).
Unlimited data is exisiting, but technically they throttle down the bandwidth to GPRS if you use more than x GB a month.

Chris

petkow · 13-09-2010, 09:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by snidely

Technical question: Is it possible to make voice calls over a data connection with something like Skype?

Yes. This has been discussed all over this forum many times. VoIP (Skype, SIP etc.) is possible on many networks around the world. Some networks do not officially allow it (but it still works) whereas other networks manage to block it all together. Personally, I have never had significant problems with any network I have tried it on, providing I have a good UMTS signal.

Grampa · 13-09-2010, 19:38

This is a little OT, but has anyone had experience with European versions of those "MiFi" devices like the Virgin Mobile card that was discussed earlier in this thread? If I could pay $40 a month for unlimited (or at least a couple of GB) data, with no contract, I'd be very interested, particularly if I could roam within Europe and/or swap out SIM cards.

petkow · 13-09-2010, 23:32

Though texting and talking whilst roaming with an EU SIM within the EU is getting cheap, data roaming is not. However, there are plenty of great offers for data on local SIMs which you can pick up cheaply and easily as you travel. As you mention, you could just "swap out" your SIM into your MiFI device (or USB Modem). Just like with any other mobile, you just have to make sure your device is unlocked, and operates at the right frequencies. You will also need to program the configuration for data access (APN etc.) of each local SIM that you will insert into your device.

Grampa · 14-09-2010, 01:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by petkow

You will also need to program the configuration for data access (APN etc.) of each local SIM that you will insert into your device.

That's what I'm a little worried about. I was looking at some unlocked Huawei E585 units on EBay selling for around $100, hoping to use one for an upcoming trip to Italy. I won't have the SIM card until I get to Italy, but I won't be taking a computer with me -- only iPhones, which I doubt would connect to the device over USB. The iPhone browser might connect over wifi (assuming the device's web interface does not use Flash). So I would need to set it up in the USA, where I will have a computer but no SIM card, or in Italy, where I will have a SIM card but no computer.

It would also have to be shipped so that it arrives before I leave in a little over a week.

Still, I'm tempted. The data plans look pretty good as long as no roaming is involved.

bartolo5 · 19-10-2010, 23:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by petkow

... However, there are plenty of great offers for data on local SIMs which you can pick up cheaply and easily as you travel.

I beg to differ. Unless you plan ahead and do your research about what SIMs to get, what APNs to use and what tariffs are available on prepaid for data it's going to be difficult to get that info once you are on the country because most sales people at the stores have no clue about any of this and of course you won't have internet to research anything because that's what you are trying to get.

I was recently in France, tried to get SFR iPhone prepaid plan, 10 euro for a week of unlimited data (great deal) and getting it to work it was a total ordeal. The SFR store I went did something wrong and didn't activate the plan properly, I tried to add it manually through the phone and their automated service but SFR doesn't accept non french credit cards there (lame). Had to back to the store, have the guy call customer service and they did fix it, but they told me it would take two days for it to start working.. and it did take two days for it to start working. Another major problem was finding what APN to use; the guy at the stored configured every setting of my iPhone by hand from the instructions that he was given on the phone. Still, they configured wrong apn.. after some research on a free wifi hotspot I was able to figure out that the right apn was 'sl2fr' ..

In Italy not too long ago I had a similar story, had to walk a lot through Milan to find a TIM store, and then they didn't speak english so communication to have them add the right plan was shaky. They didn't accept credit cards in the store so I had to run to an ATM to pay them with cash because the store was closing soon.. I had researched the APN and this one just worked right off but the guys at the store had no clue about it.

In the USA there is simply no decent option for prepaid SIM data that I know of.

If you frequently visit a few countries and you've got the hang of what's the situation of prepaid data in each one of them then yes, local SIMs are a great way to go for data, cheap and they work. But what we really need, is some international deal that give good data prices in many countries... I'm putting my hopes on Truphone Local Anywhere SIMs although currently their data rates suck, but they say they are going to improved them soon.

andy · 14-09-2010, 12:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by snidely

And to rub more salt into the wounds of "foreigners" - all U.S. carriers offer unlimited voice for $100 (much less on T-Mobile, Sprint, and some small carriers).

I'm not sure those wounds need treatment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by snidely

Seems to me, IF someone is going to be in one country like yours, and can get unlimited data for 30 Euros - that wold be the way to do - IF you didn't have to sign up for a long term plan.

On prepaid here, you can get unlimited calls texts and internet for £30 a month. Some customers on that network do even better than that.

with fewer minutes, there are some even dafter offers, either prepaid or one-month contract, such as 150 minutes, unlimited texts and internet, £10 a month prepaid, or 100 minutes, 100 texts, 100 MB, £5 on a one month notice contract

the cheapest prepaid data for phone use here will have been free for a year by December this year, 100 megabytes a day fair use, just a £10 starter credit needed - ok, it's a promotion, and was extended, but there all the same

so, yes, a global SIM might not be needed here for someone coming only to here, but I'd still use it for free incoming calls in Europe (and elsewhere if I go), though outgoing calls on it might be watered down by using a local SIM or VoIP and wi-fi

	(#1)
snidely (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 451 Join Date: 09 May 2005 Location: Berkeley, California and Miami Country:	12-09-2010, 04:15 And to rub more salt into the wounds of "foreigners" - all U.S. carriers offer unlimited voice for $100 (much less on T-Mobile, Sprint, and some small carriers). So, Kupe could have his unlimited data and unlimited voice for under $170. There are various local and Federal taxes that would add about 10%. And, in U.S. and Canada, cell phones are treated like landlines for incoming calls - no premium to call a cell. Kupe probably would pay only $85 or $90 for unlimited voice if he is on a major company plan. As a T-Mobile customer - I have no intl. data plan available at all. (I can make those free voice calls over wifi.) It amazes me, still, that if I were to voice roam in countries where TM has a presence - they charge me the same amount to roam on their system as to roam on Vodafone or someone else. And GramPa - I probably spent too much time just seeing if I could connect via wifi/UMA even if i didn't need to make a call. Of course I may good use of the unlimited Blackberry email wherever we were (until losing cell signal once we got too far up the Amazon). Also liked making use of the GPS on the phone, just for fun. 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.

	(#6)
Grampa (Offline) Member Advanced Member Posts: 97 Join Date: 01 Oct 2007 Country:	13-09-2010, 19:38 This is a little OT, but has anyone had experience with European versions of those "MiFi" devices like the Virgin Mobile card that was discussed earlier in this thread? If I could pay $40 a month for unlimited (or at least a couple of GB) data, with no contract, I'd be very interested, particularly if I could roam within Europe and/or swap out SIM cards.

	(#7)
petkow (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Pioneer Posts: 696 Join Date: 01 Aug 2006 Location: Madrid Country:	13-09-2010, 23:32 Though texting and talking whilst roaming with an EU SIM within the EU is getting cheap, data roaming is not. However, there are plenty of great offers for data on local SIMs which you can pick up cheaply and easily as you travel. As you mention, you could just "swap out" your SIM into your MiFI device (or USB Modem). Just like with any other mobile, you just have to make sure your device is unlocked, and operates at the right frequencies. You will also need to program the configuration for data access (APN etc.) of each local SIM that you will insert into your device.