Prepaid SIM in Italy?

wco81 · 09-06-2011, 04:37

Just an update.

I couldn't find a shop selling Wind SIMs at FCO. But saw shops for TIM and 3 and understand there is a Vodaphone shop as well. There were ads for Wind, Vodaphone and 3 all over the place in Gate B.

Went ahead and got the TIM. Figured I probably paid 10-15 Euro more than I would have paid for Wind. But using the layover time rather than an hour or two when I could be seeing things seemed like a worthwhile tradeoff. Actually, it was more than an hour or two saved as I used the rest of my layover time to try to figure out how to get my Huawei E585 device working -- it does an auto configuration thing so you have to set up a profile and then enter the APN there.

My iPhone has been roaming on Wind most of the time (data roaming is turned off). Comparing signal strength on iPhone and the E585, the TIM seems to get more coverage, at least in the parts of western Sicily I've visited so far. That included my hotel room in Castellammare del Golfo, where I could get a better TIM signal than the hotel Wifi. Speed tests showed about 1.5 Mbps down. Forget the upload but it was slower. Found it very usable for laptop and iPhone.

Out and about, found a lot of places with only 2G coverage, including Marinella di Selinunte, a sleepy coastal village near a big archeological park -- iPhone shows no coverage in the hotel room while the TIM 2G signal is strong. Still useful for most apps. in iPhone. Actually EDGE back home would render the iPhone unusable.

I'll have to set up the online access at the TIM site. But as I alluded to earlier, I guess I could work on getting a scratch card to recharge from back home, to keep the SIM. But I think at most I have 5 Euro credit on it.

If I were to activate the unlimited plan again in the future, I suppose it would still be the 5 Euro activation fee so there's not a huge advantage in keeping it alive, other than to save a bit of time getting a new SIM -- well that's 10 Euro right there I suppose.

But then again, there could be price increases on these plans too.

	(#18)
wco81 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 304 Join Date: 17 Jun 2007 Country:	09-06-2011, 04:37 Just an update. I couldn't find a shop selling Wind SIMs at FCO. But saw shops for TIM and 3 and understand there is a Vodaphone shop as well. There were ads for Wind, Vodaphone and 3 all over the place in Gate B. Went ahead and got the TIM. Figured I probably paid 10-15 Euro more than I would have paid for Wind. But using the layover time rather than an hour or two when I could be seeing things seemed like a worthwhile tradeoff. Actually, it was more than an hour or two saved as I used the rest of my layover time to try to figure out how to get my Huawei E585 device working -- it does an auto configuration thing so you have to set up a profile and then enter the APN there. My iPhone has been roaming on Wind most of the time (data roaming is turned off). Comparing signal strength on iPhone and the E585, the TIM seems to get more coverage, at least in the parts of western Sicily I've visited so far. That included my hotel room in Castellammare del Golfo, where I could get a better TIM signal than the hotel Wifi. Speed tests showed about 1.5 Mbps down. Forget the upload but it was slower. Found it very usable for laptop and iPhone. Out and about, found a lot of places with only 2G coverage, including Marinella di Selinunte, a sleepy coastal village near a big archeological park -- iPhone shows no coverage in the hotel room while the TIM 2G signal is strong. Still useful for most apps. in iPhone. Actually EDGE back home would render the iPhone unusable. I'll have to set up the online access at the TIM site. But as I alluded to earlier, I guess I could work on getting a scratch card to recharge from back home, to keep the SIM. But I think at most I have 5 Euro credit on it. If I were to activate the unlimited plan again in the future, I suppose it would still be the 5 Euro activation fee so there's not a huge advantage in keeping it alive, other than to save a bit of time getting a new SIM -- well that's 10 Euro right there I suppose. But then again, there could be price increases on these plans too. Last edited by wco81; 09-06-2011 at 04:43..