Greece HSPA (prepaid and postpaid offers)

[DaveRo]

My experience last year is that the scratch cards are becoming obsolete, though some kiosks (periptero) still had some. Look for a 'payzone' sign at newsagents and similar shops. They sell you a recharge for whatever value you like and give you a paper receipt with the 16-digit number. You send the number by SMS when you want to use it - the details are printed on the receipt (in Greek, of course). I've done this with Wind and Cosmote.

Sometimes the credit you get is less than the amount you pay. Maybe it depends where you buy them - commission?

[jdoug]

Originally Posted by Evan

A quick suggestion could be the "COSMOTE Internet On The Go me karta" plan .

Is this plan good for iPhone?

I'm looking for a data plan for an iPhone 3GS for 10 days. Voice would be a plus but I don't really need it. I would like to not have to worry about how much data I use.

Since SMS requires special application (I assume we're talking PC) then I guess no SMS support for iPhone?

[dognaldo]

For Cosmote, there is a Germanos store at the Arrivals Level of the airport. Wind doesn't have an airport store but if you plan to be in Athens for 1 week, you can look for shops in the center of Athens.[/QUOTE]



Thanks for your reply.
I will departure to islands on the same day of arrival. I arrive at Athens
airport 13:00 and go to port of Piraeus for embarkation 23:00.

I have two options; buy a COSMOTE sim at Germano store (airport) and request an immediate register or search a Wind store near metro station in Athens center.

In the port of Piraeus is there any WIND store?

In your opinion what is the best alternative; WIND Mobile Broadband karta me or COSMOTE Internet On The Go karta me ?

Thanks,

[Evan]

Originally Posted by OldBawley

Rhodes town. Wind shop. Friendly salesman. Want to buy a prepaid broadband stick and a 30 days start. Sailing the small islands of the Dodecanese, i now it wil be inpossible to find the Airtime Renewal Scratch Cards, so i decide to take two 30 € cards with me, in order to charge up on the way. The salesman explanes that ading a new card only charges the data amount, NOT the days.
he schows it to me on his ( Greek ) monitor. So only activate new scratch card after the other is expired.
Problem no cards availeble on Rhodes, kiosk vendor explains that those cards are not available. Greeks charge with some kiosk electronic thingy. Not possible in a deserted bay on a small island.
Cosmothe and vodaphone : Only charge up in store. No store.

If I understood correctly you wanted to get the Plan #5 of WIND (WIND Mobile Broadband me karta). I suppose that this plan works with *special* data-only SIM Cards and internet-only vouchers/cards.

Alternatively, you could get the Plan #4 (WIND ADSM Non-Stop) that works with *normal* SIM cards and *common* scratch cards or vouchers. By "common" I mean cards/vouchers that you can buy almost everywhere.

Originally Posted by DaveRo

My experience last year is that the scratch cards are becoming obsolete, though some kiosks (periptero) still had some. Look for a 'payzone' sign at newsagents and similar shops. They sell you a recharge for whatever value you like and give you a paper receipt with the 16-digit number. You send the number by SMS when you want to use it - the details are printed on the receipt (in Greek, of course). I've done this with Wind and Cosmote.

Sometimes the credit you get is less than the amount you pay. Maybe it depends where you buy them - commission?

I guess that OldBawley's problem is different. The *special* data-only SIM cards and Plans are annoyingly *special* also when it comes to their recharging procedures. You cannot recharge/extend them with the normal scratch cards or e-vouchers that are available everywhere. You can recharge or extend them (depending on the operator) only with special data-vouchers and/or only on the operators' stores. This applies only to the "Internet on the Computer" Plans, Cosmote #2, Vodafone #4 and Wind #5. All the rest data plans are just addons to the normal voice/data SIM cards.

For example, here is how the Vodafone data-only scratch card looks like:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Greece-Vodafon...item3caef658d3

And here how the Vodafone *common* scratch card looks like:
http://www.vodafone.gr/portal/client...uest_locale=en

Also it's true that you get less credit than the amount you pay, but that's not a commission, it's the recently introduced tax for the prepaid mobile. Since 2010 there is a 12% tax deducted, so if for example you purchase a 10 card, you will get 8.93€ credit.

Originally Posted by dognaldo

I have two options; buy a COSMOTE sim at Germano store (airport) and request an immediate register or search a Wind store near metro station in Athens center.

In the port of Piraeus is there any WIND store?

No need to stop in Athens centre if you are heading to Piraeus. There are many stores of all three operators in Piraeus. Check my signature for direct links to the stores finder pages.

Originally Posted by dognaldo

In your opinion what is the best alternative; WIND Mobile Broadband karta me or COSMOTE Internet On The Go karta me ?

I cannot really say, since it always depends on which one has the best coverage on the location you're going to. You can check the first link on my signature for information and tips.

Regarding the plans you mention, keep in mind that both plans (and the Vodafone KartoInternet) need a special data-only SIM and special internet-only vouchers for recharging. You can read more info on my reply to DaveRo above. So if you're planning to go somewhere remote, you need to recharge/extend your data plan in advance.

Alternatively, for internet on you computer, you could consider the WIND ADSM Non-Stop, which can be used as an addon on *normal* SIMs with *common* scratch cards/vouchers (check above my answer to OldBawley).

[wisniak]

Hi Evan,

I arrived yesterday in Greece, tried to purchase a Sim caed at the airport nut the store was closed, the other alternative was in the departures hall so it wasn't relevant.

I was able to purchase a 7 day Wind card in Leivada, our 1st stop, a very nice place.

My question is, every time I turn off the iphone and turn it on again, i'm required to unlick the Sim using the PIN cide provided in the envelope.

Hiw can I permanently unlick it?

Thanks.

[kuba.g]

Been to Greece last week and bought Cosmote (because of the widest 3G coverage).

Paid €5 for the simcard, which includes €1 and then €1/month for the following 4 months (finally making the simcard free).
I needed to show my passport and the salesman was so kind to call the customer service for me from his phone to make them change the 1314-menu (which is free in Greece) to English

Activating the 60MB package wasn't a problem. Internet worked very well.
What didn't work though is checking how much MB's were left to be used. To do this, one should send an SMS "INFO" to 1313, according to: COSMOTE: CIOTP for prepaid Customers
When I did so I received the following message back: "Η ΥΠHPEΣIA ΠOY ZHTHΣATE ΔEN YΠAPXEI", using Google Translate I can't really figure out what it means

Is it true there is no *101# - like code to check the account status in Cosmote? I found the only way to check it is by sending "YP" and "LIXI" to 1314 which is free in Greece, but is charged for when in roaming...

Also, where do I find information about extending the validity of the card? Mine is valid until april 2012. How much does one need to recharge to extend this? (I couldn't find this information on their website).

[Evan]

Originally Posted by wisniak

My question is, every time I turn off the iphone and turn it on again, i'm required to unlick the Sim using the PIN cide provided in the envelope.

Hiw can I permanently unlick it?

All phones have the option of disabling the SIM PIN. On iPhone go to Settings > Phone > SIM PIN and slide the slider to "Off".

Originally Posted by kuba.g

Activating the 60MB package wasn't a problem. Internet worked very well.
What didn't work though is checking how much MB's were left to be used. To do this, one should send an SMS "INFO" to 1313, according to: COSMOTE: CIOTP for prepaid Customers
When I did so I received the following message back: "Η ΥΠHPEΣIA ΠOY ZHTHΣATE ΔEN YΠAPXEI", using Google Translate I can't really figure out what it means

It means "The service that you've requested does not exist". Which is strange because I didn't have problems with this service last time I've tried it. Did you try to send also "info" instead of "INFO"? Perhaps it has something to to with the language codepage of your phone?

Originally Posted by kuba.g

Is it true there is no *101# - like code to check the account status in Cosmote? I found the only way to check it is by sending "YP" and "LIXI" to 1314 which is free in Greece, but is charged for when in roaming...

USSD codes are used for many services but not for checking prepaid account balance and validity. This is true for all three operators and their MVNOs. Cosmote may charge those texts when roaming (haven't tried it myself) but Wind certainly doesn't charge those texts for some reason.

Originally Posted by kuba.g

Also, where do I find information about extending the validity of the card? Mine is valid until april 2012. How much does one need to recharge to extend this? (I couldn't find this information on their website).

The information is here but unfortunately only in Greek. In short, the validity is 12 months. Every time you recharge, the validity is extended for 12 more months. There isn't any limitation regarding the amount. You can recharge with the cheapest 5€ scratch card. At the Wind stores the minimum you can top-up is 1€, I don't know if Cosmote/Germanos stores do the same or have a minimum of 5€.

[kuba.g]

Originally Posted by Evan

It means "The service that you've requested does not exist". Which is strange because I didn't have problems with this service last time I've tried it. Did you try to send also "info" instead of "INFO"? Perhaps it has something to to with the language codepage of your phone?

Will check this out the next time I'm in Greece!

Thanks for your reply.

[labralabra]

Can one have a micro-sim (for iPad) in the prepaid 3G data plans with operators providing prepaid 3G data connections in Greece?

[DeBilbao]

Just arrived from Greece and I must say that the Cosmote 3G service is perfect, with great coverage in all of the areas visited (Athens, Delphi, Arachova, Lefkada, Metsovo, Meteora).

Bought a Cosmote Internet On The Go On Request SIM for 20 €. You must activate the service via the web page http://ciotgonrequest.cosmote.gr:80/...Label=HomePage where you can choose different topping options.

You can buy the SIM card alone for 20 € or in a bundle with a USB 3G modem for 50 €. I decided to go for the first option because my iPhone 4 can act as a 3G modem and a Wi-Fi Hotspot.

The SIM card is only for data, it doesn't include any voice service and you can't make any kind of voice calls, event to greek numbers. It's intended to be used installed on USB 3G modems, tablets like the iPad, but you can use it perfectly with your iPhone. You can any other old mobile phone to put your SIM card into it and use it for voice service.

The SIM card can be purchased in a MicroSIM edition, fitting perfectly on Apple iDevices. I have used it both on my iPhone 4 and my 1st generation 3G iPad and run flawlessly.

With the purchase you get 20 € of credit that you can spend buying different combinations of data and duration. I found the 10 days / 3GB combo the best solution; it gets 15 € off your credit and you get 5 € so if you run out of data you can top it with the extra 5 € and you'll get 1 GB more.

So it can actually be used for 10 days with up to 4 GB of data transmission, more than enough for most users. I barely used 800 MB in 7 days of use.