(ABC) wrote in
om:

I get the impression
that I can
buy a "chip" (prepaid card) for my Nokia 6610 which I purchased in
Italy in 2002. I use the Wind service and have an Italy number.

This is correct as a general rule, _unless_ the Nokia was SIM-locked to
Wind. If it is should be evident from the paperwork that came with your
Wind contract.

Am I correct in assuming that the French "chip" will give me a French
number?

Yes. Incidentally the chip is called a SIM, and it's the "heart" of the GSM
mobile phone system. The SIM knows your phone number, the carrier company,
its home country, and the pricing model you're subscribed to. It instructs
the phone accordingly when inserted. The phone itself is just a disposable
piece of hardware, without a SIM it can do nothing. Especially it has no
phone number hardwired into it.

Regards

--
La mer au ciel d'été confond ses blancs moutons
Avec les anges si purs, la mer
Bergère d'azur infinie