AldiTalk waives roaming cost in EU starting with march 3rd - Page 7

wolfbln · 30-08-2018, 14:35

What an advice for the bin from you:

no 4G/LTE: generally no 4G/LTE international roaming on Three UK SIM cards. This means a very limited coverage as 3G is not built up outside towns and cities in Germany. Here 3G coverage is only at around 60%, while 4G is at around 90% of population (not area) - And 3G means of course much slower speeds compared to 4G/LTE.
no hotspot data: no tethering allowed on UK Three PAYG SIM card. They sniff and kill tethering (mobile hotspot) connections through Deep Package Inspection
hard to top-up: no chance to top-up an Three UK SIM card without a UK registered credit card or you face high surcharges by some agencies. Recharge.com that you have linked charges around 10% fee for top-ups.

Why do you keep on suggesting these things?
-> without mentioning the strings attached?
When I consume a package of up to 12 GB what you have suggested, users need to have 4G/LTE available nowadays at least most of the time.
3G can still be sufficient for texting and messaging. But for these tasks, not 12 GB, rather 12 MB are needed.

I agree that UK SIM cards (not only Three) can be a good option for roaming in Germany.
Their big advantage is their easy activation which is very tricky in Germany right now through this online video chat.
I've checked all major UK providers, but they only offer a better rate on large packs (> 5GB) compared with usual German prepaid plans.
Three is the least appealing choice with the absence of 4G/LTE roaming and the top-up fees of the agencies.

All major UK operators (other than Three) offer 4G networks in Germany under "roam like at home" rules without surcharges at domestic UK prices:
EE on Telekom LTE and O2.DE LTE networks, but throttled - all credit cards accepted
Vodafone UK on Vodafone DE LTE network, unthrottled - all credit cards accepted
O2 UK and even giffgaff at least on O2 DE LTE network - giffgaff also accepts foreign credit cards

powerlifter · 30-08-2018, 15:12

Wolfbin, I had owned a Vodaphone UK sim card for years until my nephew lost the sim card. I have never known Vodaphone to accept foreign credit cards. When did this happen? I use a three sim card now.

prion1 · 30-08-2018, 20:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by powerlifter

Wolfbin, I had owned a Vodaphone UK sim card for years until my nephew lost the sim card. I have never known Vodaphone to accept foreign credit cards. When did this happen? I use a three sim card now.

Vodafone allows direct topup on the prepaid plans by using a UK issued card only. But they also allow paypal! And they do not check the card there

peterdoo · 31-08-2018, 11:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by prion1

Vodafone allows direct topup on the prepaid plans by using a UK issued card only. But they also allow paypal! And they do not check the card there

I have topped up a Vodafone UK SIM about three weeks ago using a German VISA on https://topup.vodafone.co.uk/topup/ There was no problem.

Please note that the EU regulation 2018/302 (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-cont...8R0302&from=EN) which enters into force in December this year, dictates non-discrimination of different means of payment. So all credit cards issued in the EU will have to be treated in the same way and cannot be rejected.

The same EU regulation also prohibits any geo blocking of online pages which are used for administration of a service or purchase and payment except for copyright protected works. Anybody within the EU will have to be able to buy a topup with the same conditions. Also the online stores like AppStore and PlayStore wil have to offer all the apps except those for access to copyright protected works to everybody within the EU.

So many operators are already preparing now and start accepting all EU credit cards and are removing geo blocking. As always, there will certainly be some which will not comply with the regulation. And if Brexit happens in March, the things might change for the UK.

wolfbln · 30-08-2018, 20:34

I was able to top-up most UK providers with a German credit or debit card. I'm not sure whether it worked directly with Vodafone UK, but the PayPal bypass surely works.

EE works with out-of UK credit cards as well as giffgaff. O2 UK only worked with one of mine (N26) which is distributed (but not released) in the UK too. The tricky thing with Three is that they want to check addresses. Even if you use Kwikpay and PayPal set up to the same fake UK address (who cares there is no registration), it was declined.

Generally, the situation is going to improve within the EU. From the end of 2018 all merchants are not allowed to discriminate where the payment source is coming from. This means when they accept MasterCard or Visa, they need to accept all MasterCards or Visas at least issued in any EU country. You can see the first signs happening: on the TIM Italia top-up website there is a tiny boy to check, when you are now allowed to pay with a foreign credit card.

What the UK is concerned, we don't know if these regulations will take effect there as they are bound to leave the EU in 2019 one way or the other. And continental providers still sometimes need a reminder of the rules....To cut a long story short: There is hope, that this restrictive policy is coming to an end - but we'll have to see if this going to be really true for everybody.

svenn · 03-09-2018, 08:01

But with Three I can use up to 12 GB in 70 Countrys.

And I can call for only 3 penny per Minute.

	(#1)
wolfbln (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 206 Join Date: 14 Jul 2014 Country:	30-08-2018, 14:35 What an advice for the bin from you: no 4G/LTE: generally no 4G/LTE international roaming on Three UK SIM cards. This means a very limited coverage as 3G is not built up outside towns and cities in Germany. Here 3G coverage is only at around 60%, while 4G is at around 90% of population (not area) - And 3G means of course much slower speeds compared to 4G/LTE. no hotspot data: no tethering allowed on UK Three PAYG SIM card. They sniff and kill tethering (mobile hotspot) connections through Deep Package Inspection hard to top-up: no chance to top-up an Three UK SIM card without a UK registered credit card or you face high surcharges by some agencies. Recharge.com that you have linked charges around 10% fee for top-ups. Why do you keep on suggesting these things? -> without mentioning the strings attached? When I consume a package of up to 12 GB what you have suggested, users need to have 4G/LTE available nowadays at least most of the time. 3G can still be sufficient for texting and messaging. But for these tasks, not 12 GB, rather 12 MB are needed. I agree that UK SIM cards (not only Three) can be a good option for roaming in Germany. Their big advantage is their easy activation which is very tricky in Germany right now through this online video chat. I've checked all major UK providers, but they only offer a better rate on large packs (> 5GB) compared with usual German prepaid plans. Three is the least appealing choice with the absence of 4G/LTE roaming and the top-up fees of the agencies. All major UK operators (other than Three) offer 4G networks in Germany under "roam like at home" rules without surcharges at domestic UK prices: EE on Telekom LTE and O2.DE LTE networks, but throttled - all credit cards accepted Vodafone UK on Vodafone DE LTE network, unthrottled - all credit cards accepted O2 UK and even giffgaff at least on O2 DE LTE network - giffgaff also accepts foreign credit cards Last edited by wolfbln; 30-08-2018 at 14:50..

	(#2)
powerlifter (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Fan Posts: 174 Join Date: 06 Jan 2005 Country:	30-08-2018, 15:12 Wolfbin, I had owned a Vodaphone UK sim card for years until my nephew lost the sim card. I have never known Vodaphone to accept foreign credit cards. When did this happen? I use a three sim card now. [size=1]Prepaid cards, Moldova Tempo, Kyrg Republic BiTel, India Hutch, Bulgaria Mtel, Vodafone, UK. Etisalat. UAE. Afghan Wireless, Afghanistan. Three, UK. T-mobile post-paid. Phones Gsm Iphone6+

	(#5)
wolfbln (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 206 Join Date: 14 Jul 2014 Country:	30-08-2018, 20:34 I was able to top-up most UK providers with a German credit or debit card. I'm not sure whether it worked directly with Vodafone UK, but the PayPal bypass surely works. EE works with out-of UK credit cards as well as giffgaff. O2 UK only worked with one of mine (N26) which is distributed (but not released) in the UK too. The tricky thing with Three is that they want to check addresses. Even if you use Kwikpay and PayPal set up to the same fake UK address (who cares there is no registration), it was declined. Generally, the situation is going to improve within the EU. From the end of 2018 all merchants are not allowed to discriminate where the payment source is coming from. This means when they accept MasterCard or Visa, they need to accept all MasterCards or Visas at least issued in any EU country. You can see the first signs happening: on the TIM Italia top-up website there is a tiny boy to check, when you are now allowed to pay with a foreign credit card. What the UK is concerned, we don't know if these regulations will take effect there as they are bound to leave the EU in 2019 one way or the other. And continental providers still sometimes need a reminder of the rules....To cut a long story short: There is hope, that this restrictive policy is coming to an end - but we'll have to see if this going to be really true for everybody. Last edited by wolfbln; 30-08-2018 at 20:45..

	(#6)
svenn (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Fan Posts: 105 Join Date: 22 Dec 2016 Country:	03-09-2018, 08:01 But with Three I can use up to 12 GB in 70 Countrys. And I can call for only 3 penny per Minute.