Questions about 3 (Drei) in Austria

norbi · 24-03-2012, 19:29

Hello, i think 3 is the best and ceapest prepaid data sim in austria ... i use 2 supersim prepaid / 10GB and 1GB for the notebook its easy to top up with cc or ATM...

Startpaket 9,9€ by Libro store or Niedermeyer...

www.drei.at - Tarife - 3SuperSIM Data

toofrequentflyer · 28-03-2012, 14:42

Thanks for your helpful responses. I do like the idea of 3 because it would be usable in Italy. The issue of calls to Italy being counted as overseas is not a major concern as I would likely be making few if any calls to Italian numbers. There is a Niedermeyer shop a couple of stops away on the U-bahn so it would not be a problem to go there.

However the fact that the add-on packets have to be canceled by phone is a slight complication given my poor German (and it seems like a strange way to do business in this age of the internet).

Thus I may go with Yesss instead. It would be easy to buy as there is a Hofer about a 10 minute walk from my hotel. The procedure for buying add-on international plan seems slightly complicated (reserve the packet first by SMS, then make a top-up afterwards). I would then have the adventure of buying a prepaid SIM in Italy.

Anyway it looks like there are several good options. One nice thing is that it seems almost all Austrian prepaid cards now have a validity of 12 months. This is convenient because I go to Vienna every spring for a regular conference.

Again, thanks for your help.

toofrequentflyer · 29-03-2012, 04:11

Following up with slightly more information, it seems roaming within the EU is not horribly expensive with Yesss. The cost is €0.42/minute for outgoing calls ("active roaming") and €0.132/minute for incoming calls ("passive roaming").

Costs for outgoing international calls end up quite high since the international calling rate is added onto the roaming rate. For example to call the USA from one of the EU roaming countries works out to €0.49/minute (international call) plus €0.42/minute (roaming) for a total of €0.91/minute. Obviously one would not want to have a long conversation at such costs but it's acceptable for a quick call to say "my flight is delayed" or similar. For routine calls I can use Skype from my hotel or conference venue.

It appears SMS while roaming in the EU is only €0.132 which is not bad at all. Unfortunately my experience is that outgoing SMS from EU to US CDMA networks (namely Verizon) rarely works.

dg7feq · 29-03-2012, 09:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by toofrequentflyer

Following up with slightly more information, it seems roaming within the EU is not horribly expensive with Yesss. The cost is €0.42/minute for outgoing calls ("active roaming") and €0.132/minute for incoming calls ("passive roaming").

These rates apply for *any* SIM you purchase in *any* European country as these are the maximum allowed rates for EU roaming

9eor9 · **Top up -** 12-04-2012, 11:45

There are many ways to top up austrian SIMs
One of them is www.onlineaufladen.at

	(#1)
norbi (Offline) Junior Member Amateur Member Posts: 21 Join Date: 27 Dec 2010 Country:	24-03-2012, 19:29 Hello, i think 3 is the best and ceapest prepaid data sim in austria ... i use 2 supersim prepaid / 10GB and 1GB for the notebook its easy to top up with cc or ATM... Startpaket 9,9€ by Libro store or Niedermeyer... www.drei.at - Tarife - 3SuperSIM Data

	(#2)
toofrequentflyer (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 8 Join Date: 18 May 2009 Country:	28-03-2012, 14:42 Thanks for your helpful responses. I do like the idea of 3 because it would be usable in Italy. The issue of calls to Italy being counted as overseas is not a major concern as I would likely be making few if any calls to Italian numbers. There is a Niedermeyer shop a couple of stops away on the U-bahn so it would not be a problem to go there. However the fact that the add-on packets have to be canceled by phone is a slight complication given my poor German (and it seems like a strange way to do business in this age of the internet). Thus I may go with Yesss instead. It would be easy to buy as there is a Hofer about a 10 minute walk from my hotel. The procedure for buying add-on international plan seems slightly complicated (reserve the packet first by SMS, then make a top-up afterwards). I would then have the adventure of buying a prepaid SIM in Italy. Anyway it looks like there are several good options. One nice thing is that it seems almost all Austrian prepaid cards now have a validity of 12 months. This is convenient because I go to Vienna every spring for a regular conference. Again, thanks for your help.

	(#3)
toofrequentflyer (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 8 Join Date: 18 May 2009 Country:	29-03-2012, 04:11 Following up with slightly more information, it seems roaming within the EU is not horribly expensive with Yesss. The cost is €0.42/minute for outgoing calls ("active roaming") and €0.132/minute for incoming calls ("passive roaming"). Costs for outgoing international calls end up quite high since the international calling rate is added onto the roaming rate. For example to call the USA from one of the EU roaming countries works out to €0.49/minute (international call) plus €0.42/minute (roaming) for a total of €0.91/minute. Obviously one would not want to have a long conversation at such costs but it's acceptable for a quick call to say "my flight is delayed" or similar. For routine calls I can use Skype from my hotel or conference venue. It appears SMS while roaming in the EU is only €0.132 which is not bad at all. Unfortunately my experience is that outgoing SMS from EU to US CDMA networks (namely Verizon) rarely works.

	(#5)
9eor9 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 223 Join Date: 10 Apr 2009 Country:	Top up - 12-04-2012, 11:45 There are many ways to top up austrian SIMs One of them is www.onlineaufladen.at