Telestial Products

[zrudeboyz]

Just found the site...great resource.

So I am looking for the ideal Global SIM for myself...

Does anyone have any experience with the Telestial SIM Products?

From what I have found:

The Passport gives you a UK number, lots of coverage, free incoming SMS, .25 outgoing SMS and decent rates all over the world.

So, with a UK number, using Callbackworld is going to cost more than a Liechtenstein number, correct? What would be the best SIM to have to get the best rate for people calling me through my toll-free Callbackworld number?

Thanks for any insight!

[TheMadBrewer]

Welcome!

Not really directly in answer to your questions but:

1) I have bought SIMs from Telestial and they have always been prompt and have no problems. Being able to call (in my time zone no less!) if problems/questions can be worth the extra expense.

2) The CBW rates to Lichtenstein (FL) are so good I can't beleive they'll last (but its been a year since I started using my Riiing SIM). I expect one day we'll wake up and the rates will be more inline with everybody else. So its good to have a backup plan when (if) that happens. For me having a UK number is worth not having to explain what country code 423 is and why I have a number there

Let us know what you end up doing.

[Bossman]

It's rates are comparable and in a lot of cases lower compared to riiing, at least in the countries that I may be visiting. SMS is definitely cheaper, there is not setup fee for outgoing calls, another plus is that one gets a UK number. Can't remember if it roams in fewer countries than riiing though. It's even cheaper to call back to the US and mobiles in UK than most UK providers. $0.33 and $0.59 respectively.

The fact that it's a UK number is definitely a big plus when it comes to receiving calls.

As usual, very expensive startup cost. Not sure if any call credit comes with that.

http://www.telestial.com/view_product.php?...CT_ID=MSIM-PP01

[zrudeboyz]

Originally Posted by Bossman

As usual, very expensive startup cost. Not sure if any call credit comes with that.

http://www.telestial.com/view_product.php?...CT_ID=MSIM-PP01

I emailed and they said it doesn't come with any airtime. The country lineup looks good for me too. I read somewhere on here that it was CallKey rebranded and with higher rates...truth?

So I guess my only reservations are...

High start up costs ($69 with no airtime)
CBW rate from CBW 800 number to phone
And the website says the Passport is unavailable now

[snidely]

I have bought from them. Very fast and reliable. Their mark up on some cards seems a little high. However, it is sometimes worth a few dollars to know in advance what your number will be when you land overseas.

...mike

[MATHA531]

Originally Posted by snidely

I have bought from them. Very fast and reliable. Their mark up on some cards seems a little high. However, it is sometimes worth a few dollars to know in advance what your number will be when you land overseas.

...mike

A little high? The marks ups are almost criminally high and take advantage of people...the prices in many cases are almost triple what one would pay if they waited.

Besides which, you don't get a choice of carrier for the most part. I haven't checked recently but when I was considering buying a prepaid for Ireland last year, all they had was meteor which is acknowledged to be the worst of the Irish prepaid sims....don't know which one they are offering now but they were charging close to $40 (and then add on shipping) while I was able to get a vodafone IE sim at the airport for ?10.

As far as knowing the number in advance..in some cases you don't get to know your number until the card registers in the country you are visitng (I think French sims have this feature).

Now if you are a business traveller on expense accounts, who cares. And if it is a one time trip, big deal an extra $30 I suppose but I don't believe they provide a good value and I wouldn't buy from them.

[Przemolog]

Originally Posted by MATHA531

A little high? The marks ups are almost criminally high and take advantage of people...the prices in many cases are almost triple what one would pay if they waited.

Besides which, you don't get a choice of carrier for the most part. I haven't checked recently but when I was considering buying a prepaid for Ireland last year, all they had was meteor which is acknowledged to be the worst of the Irish prepaid sims....don't know which one they are offering now but they were charging close to $40 (and then add on shipping) while I was able to get a vodafone IE sim at the airport for ?10.

Well, it's free market - all is worth as much as somebody is willing to pay

I checked their offer for Poland and I must say it's ridiculous. They offer one SIM only worth about $20 for $49. Moreover, whereas this prepaid (Era Tak Tak) is very attractive for long term Polish users, it's not so good for foreign visitors. IMHO other prepaids are better choices in practically all aspects of usage (national and international voice calls, data transmission, messaging, voice mail, calling special numbers) except for on-net Era calls.
And a "big deal": http://www.telestial.com/view_product.php?...T_ID=LPRM-PL01&
- $199 for Siemens A65 + global plug adapter + SIM mentioned above.
The new unlocked A65 or similar costs in Poland less that $100 and a prepaid SIM of any operator can be purchased for no more than $3.4 (and the credit included is 80-100% of the value). Locked phones bundled with prepaid SIMs start from $50 or less including $1-$10 of initial credit.

[Bossman]

Definitely outregeously expensive! A co-worker purchased her Virgin UK sim with 5 pound from them for $40 + shipping. I informed her about eBay, but she had already opened it before informing me. Those sims are a dime a dozen on ebay these days. The couple of virgin UK (with 5 pound credit) sims I bought on ebay each cost me about $8 shipped to the US. The arrived in less than 6 days too. The eBay sellers even sent me the phone numbers before shipping it out, in case I needed to give it out. What a difference in price!

[dg7feq]

Originally Posted by Przemolog

Well, it's free market - all is worth as much as somebody is willing to pay

I checked their offer for Poland and I must say it's ridiculous. They offer one SIM only worth about $20 for $49. Moreover, whereas this prepaid (Era Tak Tak) is very attractive for long term Polish users, it's not so good for foreign visitors. IMHO other prepaids are better choices in practically all aspects of usage (national and international voice calls, data transmission, messaging, voice mail, calling special numbers) except for on-net Era calls.
And a "big deal": http://www.telestial.com/view_product.php?...T_ID=LPRM-PL01&
- $199 for Siemens A65 + global plug adapter + SIM mentioned above.
The new unlocked A65 or similar costs in Poland less that $100 and a prepaid SIM of any operator can be purchased for no more than $3.4 (and the credit included is 80-100% of the value). Locked phones bundled with prepaid SIMs start from $50 or less including $1-$10 of initial credit.

I think the main reason for the expensive prices is that you need a lot of organisation and business partners around the world to order all these cards.

And it seems that enough people are willing to pay for the convenience

Chris

[Przemolog]

Originally Posted by dg7feq

I think the main reason for the expensive prices is that you need a lot of organisation and business partners around the world to order all these cards.

And it seems that enough people are willing to pay for the convenience

Yes, I agree with you - getting SIMs from all the world isn't an easy task and it must cost - there's no Chinese cheap substitute .
And you are right that people are willing to pay for convenience.
But whereas I can understand overpricing of SIMs which are very specific, non-substitute products why the hell so simple and old phone as A65 costs so much?