Dutch Prepaids: Can I Buy From Abroad?

Hank C Burnette · 07-07-2006, 19:48

First of all, hello from a newbie.

As in the next month of august i'll spend some time in the Netherlands and i'll be back often i'm interested in a Dutch prepaid sim.

It looks that the only operator that allow the delivery abroad is the MVNO Ortel ( http://www.ortelmobiel.nl ), and it seems have interesting rates to call abroad.

There are other operators that allow that?

Thank You

andy · 08-07-2006, 12:44

I don't know about buying from abroad, but I notice those tariffs look very similar to Lebara. They both have plenty of retail outlets according their websites, including the post office and petrol forecourts by the look of it

Stu · 08-07-2006, 13:40

Telestial in the US sells Dutch 02 SIMs. I'm sure there are other companies. I once found a German company that specialized in foreign SIMs, but I lost the information.

Motel75 · 08-07-2006, 15:26

Again, though, why bother having it delivered internationally? You'll be able to get one very easily in NL (they are sold everywhere, there's lots of competition, and pretty much everyone speaks English to a high standard, so buying one won't be difficult), and you'll probably save a lot of money doing so.

UKSTEVE · 08-07-2006, 16:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Motel75

Again, though, why bother having it delivered internationally? You'll be able to get one very easily in NL (they are sold everywhere, there's lots of competition, and pretty much everyone speaks English to a high standard, so buying one won't be difficult), and you'll probably save a lot of money doing so.

If you're arriving at Amsterdam airport, there's a phone shop in the main arrivals hall just before you reach the rail station - they sell pre-pay SIMs and the assistants there know what to do with foreigners regarding registration.

I've found them to be very helpful - even for people that bought their SIMs elsewhere and wanted info for free.

Steve

Hank C Burnette · 09-07-2006, 20:39

You're right.

In facts, i saw that many websites offering a shipping service for simcards, but i think that there is a "overpricing"....

Then,the better solution will be to buy one when i'll be there

Thanx!

Stu · 09-07-2006, 21:30

I could have sworn that I put a disclaimer on my post about high a surcharge you pay for international shipping, but its not there. Oh well.

123456 · 10-07-2006, 18:03

Quote:

Telestial in the US sells Dutch 02 SIMs.

These SIMs must be very old. The Dutch part of o2 was sold and became Telfort (again) in August 2003!

The cheapest SIMs for calling abroad from the Netherlands are:
www.lycamobile.nl
www.ortelmobile.nl
www.lebara-mobile.nl
All of them are widely available in telecomshops and other outlets in the Netherlands.

Prepaid SIMs from the 'Big Names' like KPN Mobile/Hi, Vodafone and Orange are (much) more expensive for calling abroad from the Netherlands.

Stu · 11-07-2006, 05:18

Strange. I have a Dutch 02 SIM that I purchased in 2004. I also visited the site back then.

It is one of two SIMs I bought from Telestial. I bought that one for my wife who transitting through Schipol twice a month (at least) including an overnight every third trip or so.

I told her to buy a prepaid and she explained to me that they don't sell prepaids at the airport. Frankly, I have a hard time buying this. Her "phone worked fine and she just wanted it easy." At that point, I just popped for the SIM to be shipped to me so that I could hand it to her.

The other SIM card I bought from them was for Pakistan. My neighbor's kid was flying off for six weeks to do relief work over there following the quake. It was a present.

Even though I paid too much, I still don't mind my second purchase.

Stu

Hank C Burnette · 22-08-2006, 20:41

So, back here i'll talk about my experience:

Finally, i decided to buy a Ortel Mobiel card, bought it on a BP petrol station on the highway.

With 9,95 euros i got the card with already 7,5 euros of credit and it worked fine both on Nokia 6630 and my old Samsung sgh-x 450.

The card promptly get on KPN net and it worked fine and quickly, as promised the billing was 1/1 with a 0,07 euros of set-up fee, both for local and international calls.

No problem at all for incoming/outcoming calls from abroad, it simply work perfect!

Back here, i keep it always on for incoming sms, due to the fact that my Dutch girlfriend send me SMS on that number (as the fact that with her post-paid T-Mobile intl. sms are charged at about 0,40 eur. and 0,09 for national)

With that, so i find interesting the 0,15 eur. for National and international sms.

My two cents:

Good:
-Price of sim-pack
-Low rates on international calls/sms
-Never had a net problem

Bad:
-Lack of GPRS (no mms supported also)
-Webpage not very clear
(on that, i can say that off-peak time is 20-08 h and 0-24 on the weekend)
-Pricing on off-peak calls to other mobiles higher (0,35 eur compared to 0,20 eur for landlines and Ortel and KPN mobiles)

Well... sorry for my bad english, hope this infos can be useful!!!

Hank

	(#1)
Hank C Burnette (Offline) Junior Member Amateur Member Posts: 28 Join Date: 07 Jul 2006 Country:	07-07-2006, 19:48 First of all, hello from a newbie. As in the next month of august i'll spend some time in the Netherlands and i'll be back often i'm interested in a Dutch prepaid sim. It looks that the only operator that allow the delivery abroad is the MVNO Ortel ( http://www.ortelmobiel.nl ), and it seems have interesting rates to call abroad. There are other operators that allow that? Thank You Back in Italy! Prepaids:Wind (I) Blau (D) T-Mobile (NL) T-Mobile (D) Deceased Prepaids:1 Mobile (I) Ortel (NL) Orange (F) Lebara (UK)

	(#2)
andy (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Prophet Posts: 2,128 Join Date: 10 Dec 2004 Country:	08-07-2006, 12:44 I don't know about buying from abroad, but I notice those tariffs look very similar to Lebara. They both have plenty of retail outlets according their websites, including the post office and petrol forecourts by the look of it

	(#3)
Stu (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Guru Posts: 1,091 Join Date: 11 Feb 2004 Location: Detroit (formerly Dubai) Country:	08-07-2006, 13:40 Telestial in the US sells Dutch 02 SIMs. I'm sure there are other companies. I once found a German company that specialized in foreign SIMs, but I lost the information.

	(#4)
Motel75 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Pioneer Posts: 573 Join Date: 15 Jun 2006 Location: Berlin Country:	08-07-2006, 15:26 Again, though, why bother having it delivered internationally? You'll be able to get one very easily in NL (they are sold everywhere, there's lots of competition, and pretty much everyone speaks English to a high standard, so buying one won't be difficult), and you'll probably save a lot of money doing so. Current DE: Vodafone, Netzklub; PL: Klucz, Virgin; UK: Giffgaff, Vodafone; US: T-Mobile; CA: 7-Eleven; IT: Vodafone; UA: Kyivstar; FR: Bouygues; GR: Vodafone Former DE: Vodafone, T-Mobile, O2, Blauworld, 01051mobile, Solomo, Lycamobile, Simyo, Congstar, Fonic, Edeka Mobile, Lidl Mobile; PL: Heyah, Era, Virgin, Sami Swoi, Orange, POP, iPlus, Carrefour Mova, Telepin Mobi, Play, Lycamobile, T-Mobile; UK: Vodafone, T-Mobile, Virgin; US: T-Mobile, AT&T, Lycamobile; CZ: Vodafone, Oskar; ES: Lebara; GR: Vodafone, Wind; UA: Vodafone; IL: Orange; TR: Turkcell

	(#6)
Hank C Burnette (Offline) Junior Member Amateur Member Posts: 28 Join Date: 07 Jul 2006 Country:	09-07-2006, 20:39 You're right. In facts, i saw that many websites offering a shipping service for simcards, but i think that there is a "overpricing".... Then,the better solution will be to buy one when i'll be there Thanx! Back in Italy! Prepaids:Wind (I) Blau (D) T-Mobile (NL) T-Mobile (D) Deceased Prepaids:1 Mobile (I) Ortel (NL) Orange (F) Lebara (UK)

	(#7)
Stu (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Guru Posts: 1,091 Join Date: 11 Feb 2004 Location: Detroit (formerly Dubai) Country:	09-07-2006, 21:30 I could have sworn that I put a disclaimer on my post about high a surcharge you pay for international shipping, but its not there. Oh well.

	(#9)
Stu (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Guru Posts: 1,091 Join Date: 11 Feb 2004 Location: Detroit (formerly Dubai) Country:	11-07-2006, 05:18 Strange. I have a Dutch 02 SIM that I purchased in 2004. I also visited the site back then. It is one of two SIMs I bought from Telestial. I bought that one for my wife who transitting through Schipol twice a month (at least) including an overnight every third trip or so. I told her to buy a prepaid and she explained to me that they don't sell prepaids at the airport. Frankly, I have a hard time buying this. Her "phone worked fine and she just wanted it easy." At that point, I just popped for the SIM to be shipped to me so that I could hand it to her. The other SIM card I bought from them was for Pakistan. My neighbor's kid was flying off for six weeks to do relief work over there following the quake. It was a present. Even though I paid too much, I still don't mind my second purchase. Stu

	(#10)
Hank C Burnette (Offline) Junior Member Amateur Member Posts: 28 Join Date: 07 Jul 2006 Country:	22-08-2006, 20:41 So, back here i'll talk about my experience: Finally, i decided to buy a Ortel Mobiel card, bought it on a BP petrol station on the highway. With 9,95 euros i got the card with already 7,5 euros of credit and it worked fine both on Nokia 6630 and my old Samsung sgh-x 450. The card promptly get on KPN net and it worked fine and quickly, as promised the billing was 1/1 with a 0,07 euros of set-up fee, both for local and international calls. No problem at all for incoming/outcoming calls from abroad, it simply work perfect! Back here, i keep it always on for incoming sms, due to the fact that my Dutch girlfriend send me SMS on that number (as the fact that with her post-paid T-Mobile intl. sms are charged at about 0,40 eur. and 0,09 for national) With that, so i find interesting the 0,15 eur. for National and international sms. My two cents: Good: -Price of sim-pack -Low rates on international calls/sms -Never had a net problem Bad: -Lack of GPRS (no mms supported also) -Webpage not very clear (on that, i can say that off-peak time is 20-08 h and 0-24 on the weekend) -Pricing on off-peak calls to other mobiles higher (0,35 eur compared to 0,20 eur for landlines and Ortel and KPN mobiles) Well... sorry for my bad english, hope this infos can be useful!!! Hank Back in Italy! Prepaids:Wind (I) Blau (D) T-Mobile (NL) T-Mobile (D) Deceased Prepaids:1 Mobile (I) Ortel (NL) Orange (F) Lebara (UK)