Israel GPRS rates

[davidtheprof]

I'll be getting 2x orange Israel sim cards for December, a question or two: (probably for Sperial, who seems to know the most!)
- I've seen rates mentioned back to the US and UK of around 7c, do you need to add an international plan for this?
- to get the weekly unlimited calls+text plan or a data plan, can you do that from any Orange shop or street kiosk? do you top up first then pay for a plan out of that?
Last time, I tried to register and manage it online, but struggled without a Hebrew keyboard, and the website was only in Hebrew and Russian, if I recall...

thanks!

[sperial]

You will have to top up at an Orange booth or a post office, as topping by phone or the internet requires an Israeli credit card.
The BigTalk IVR can be changed to English by calling *111. To change the voice mail language call *159.
The7c/min international calls are similar to callback. for the USA call *313 , when the system answers dial the US number (including the international prefix and than #. The rate is NIS 0.29/min and includes the air time.

[moua]

It cost more here but it's always good to have an alternative : http://www.israelpost.co.il/mall.nsf...ndocument&L=EN

[sperial]

A new player recently joined the Israeli Prepaid scene: Home Cellular, an MVNO marketed by the Home Center hardware stores.
A prepaid SIM card (called Home Cellular Card) costs NIS 29 (about EUR 6.00). The basic rate is NIS 0.39/min, and the cedit is valid for 12 months. Text messages are charged NIS 0.39 (EUR 0.08 ) and data surfing NIS 0.50 (EUR 0.10)/MB.
Customer service can be reached by dialling *111, and the language can be selected ( Hebrew, English, Arabic or Russian).
The MVNO uses Cellcom's GSM 1800 and HSPA 2100 networks, and it's number format is (0)55-22xxxxx
This leaves one MVNO, YouPhone without a prepaid plan. Such a plan is posted as "coming soon" on their web site (called YouTalk).

The really good news for visitors is that tho two new mobile carriers - Golan Telecom and Hot Mobile, added very cheap international calling rates from every Israely phone. Golan is the cheapest to most countries at NIS 0.08 (EUR 0.016)/min to landlines in most european countrieas and to all numbers in Continental USA and Canada, and calls to most West European mobile numbers are NIS 0.49 (EUR 0.20)/min. Access is by dialling the international access code 016 followed by the country code. The corresponding rates fot Hot are NIS 0.15 (EUR 0.03) and NIS 0.50 (EUR 0.10)/min, and the access code is 017. Note that these rate include air time, so calls to the USA, Canada and most European landlines are actually cheaper than calls inside Israel.

[davidtheprof]

I was just in Israel 10 days, and the Orange sim worked perfectly,
I used the 130NIS bonus pack (about $33) = 500 sheqel in Israel (about 400 mins) + 80 sheqel to call local or abroad + 500MB bundle
There are cheaper packs if you don't need as much.
I found a sim on ebay, and the vendor added the bonus pack just before I got there, very convenient! (not sure if OK to mention him here)

[FF99]

A few quick questions.

Is the Orange shop at the airport reasonably user friendly (reasonably quick service and helpful staff) ? My first stop will be the King David in Jerusalem - is there a shop nearby if I can't sort things out at the airport ?

Does Orange allow access to all VOIP services (inc Skype) ? Some mobile operators seems to block such services.

Finally, is tethering allowed (or whether allowed or not, does it actually work) ? Could I use the SIM in a dongle if required ?

[sperial]

There is no Orange (or any other cellular carrier) shop at the airport - all were closed several years ago. Orange prepaid SIM cards and top ups can be purchased at any post office and in most shopping centers.
I am unaware of any restriction on the use of data or tethering - Israeli regulations require Net Neutrality. I use tethering on a pospaid Orange line with no problem at all.

[davidtheprof]

and you can buy the sim cards on ebay, and some sellers will top up for you, put various packages on, etc.

[davidtheprof]

Piranha mobile has recently dropped prices for Israel, 15c (USD) to make local calls (but it's callback system), 8c to receive, good rates for international, and either 23c or 30c/MB for data. Even cheaper VOIP option.
They will add an Israeli number to your phone for a monthly charge, so you have to remember to cancel. But you'll also have incoming UK and US numbers working.
beats any other global sim.
Orange is still better if you want lots of data.

[sperial]

hMobile (HomeCellular), an MVNO riding on Cellcom's network (GSM 1800, 3G2100/850) offers a prepid SIM with wide range of top up possibilities. SIM cards can be purchased at all Home Center DIY shops (most in "power centers" at the outskirts of cities, but some in shopping malls).
The prepaid SIM costs ILS 29 (about EUR 6.2 or USD 8 ).
Scarth cards with values of ILS 35, 50 or 100 (plus ILS 5 recharge fee) give 77, 115 or 244 minutes to any Israeli land or mobile network, for ILS 0.39 (EUR 0.083, USD 0.11). The top up is valid for 12 months.
Top ups using an automated call center have unlimited validity. Top ups are ILS 35, 60, 100, 150, 200, 300 (without additional fees) for 90,154,256, 385, 517, 770 minutes or SMS.
A third type of recharge are "Bonus" cards: ILS 10 fot 20 min/SMS, valid for 2 days, ILS 40 for 90min/SMS valid for 14 days, ILS 70 for 180 min/SMS valis 30 days and ILS 105 for 350min/SMS valis for 30 days.
Data is ILS 0.50 (EUR 0.11, USD 0.14) /MB.
The call Center/IVR can be reached by dialling *111 from an hMobile line or 055-2233111 from any network. As in all Israeli networks, the sevice is given in Hebrew, English, Arabic or Russian.
Terms uf use are shown here (scroll down for English, Russian and Arabic versions).
HomeCellular numbers use the form 055-22XXXXX