Phone home from Italy--prepaid phone card or cell phone?

The 3 of us will be going to italy in a little less than a month. We
will need to call the U.S., make phone calls within Italy to make
reservations, etc. In previous trips out of the U.S., I've relied on
prepaid phone cards, and they've worked out okay.

The last trip I took was about 3 years ago. Are there still payphones
in Europe ar are they hard to find like they are in my part of the
U.S.? Would
we be better off getting a sim card for our cell phone? (One of us
has a T-mobile phone and she claims that they can be used
internationally.)

Any advice or comments will be welcome and appreciated. Thanks in
advance.

Lil

On 2 Jan 2004 22:18:24 -0800, (Lil) wrote:
The last trip I took was about 3 years ago. Are there still payphones
in Europe ar are they hard to find like they are in my part of the
U.S.?

The last time I was in Italy (admittedly 2 years ago now) I got by
fine using pre-paid phone cards. I had no problem finding public
phones, especially near train stations or on bus routes.

Geodyne

Lil wrote:

The last trip I took was about 3 years ago. Are there still payphones
in Europe ar are they hard to find like they are in my part of the
U.S.? Would
we be better off getting a sim card for our cell phone? (One of us
has a T-mobile phone and she claims that they can be used
internationally.)

Phone cards are cheaper and cell phones are more convenient. Your
choice.

--
Luca Logi - Firenze - Italy e-mail:

On 2 Jan 2004 22:18:24 -0800, (Lil) wrote:

The 3 of us will be going to italy in a little less than a month. We
will need to call the U.S., make phone calls within Italy to make
reservations, etc. In previous trips out of the U.S., I've relied on
prepaid phone cards, and they've worked out okay.

For calling back to the US, the very best thing you can use is a
prepaid Italian card that you can get wherever SuperEnaLotto tickets
are sold. (Tobacco stores are a good bet, but some sell only normal
Lotto tickets.) Any store that sells Superenalotto tickets has a
computer than can print you out a "Sisal Edicard Europe & USA". (Write
it down, so you won't have to pronounce it.)

You can get this card in denominations from 5 euro and up. The cost
for calling the US is a little over 3 cents a minute, so 5 euro will
get you almost 2 hours. The basic instructions on the card are in both
English and Italian. Basically, you dial an 800 number. Then you press
"2" to continue in English, following the prompt. You enter your PIN,
printed on the card, and then the number in the US you want to call,
preceded by "00 1" (00 is the international prefix and 1 is the
country code for the US.)

For calls within Italy, a normal Telecom phone card might be the
easier method. You can get these in almost any tobacco store, if you
ask for a "Scheda Telefonica". Pay phones are getting harder to find,
but those that exist usually take this card. You have to break off one
corner and then insert it in the phone as shown on the instructions on
the phone box. It shows you on the display how much money you have
left. Remember that you have to include the prefix ( beginning with a
"0") for all calls, unlike most European countries.

You can also call from your hotel without worrying about outrageous
costs, because it's illegal for hotels to tack on extra costs.
However, for calling the US nothing can beat the Edicard. I use it for
all my calls to friends and relatives in the US.
-----------
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

In article ,
B wrote:

You can get this card in denominations from 5 euro and up. The cost
for calling the US is a little over 3 cents a minute, so 5 euro will
get you almost 2 hours. The basic instructions on the card are in both
English and Italian. Basically, you dial an 800 number.

Can a cell phone dial this number? Are there any special surcharges ?

jay
Sat, Jan 3, 2004





Then you press
"2" to continue in English, following the prompt. You enter your PIN,
printed on the card, and then the number in the US you want to call,
preceded by "00 1" (00 is the international prefix and 1 is the
country code for the US.)

--

Legend insists that as he finished his abject...
Galileo muttered under his breath: "Nevertheless, it does move."

You also seem to have to use the Italian card. None of my US phone
cards, or credit cards would fire up the phone.

On 2 Jan 2004 22:18:24 -0800, (Lil) wrote:

The 3 of us will be going to italy in a little less than a month. We
will need to call the U.S., make phone calls within Italy to make
reservations, etc. In previous trips out of the U.S., I've relied on
prepaid phone cards, and they've worked out okay.

The last trip I took was about 3 years ago. Are there still payphones
in Europe ar are they hard to find like they are in my part of the
U.S.? Would
we be better off getting a sim card for our cell phone? (One of us
has a T-mobile phone and she claims that they can be used
internationally.)

Any advice or comments will be welcome and appreciated. Thanks in
advance.

Lil

On Sat, 03 Jan 2004 01:48:01 -0800, Go Fig wrote:

In article ,
B wrote:

You can get this card in denominations from 5 euro and up. The cost
for calling the US is a little over 3 cents a minute, so 5 euro will
get you almost 2 hours. The basic instructions on the card are in both
English and Italian. Basically, you dial an 800 number.

Can a cell phone dial this number? Are there any special surcharges ?

Yes, it can be dialed from a cell phone. There are no surcharges nor
connect charges. In fact, sometimes when I call my daughter I get her
anwering machine and leave a message. Sometimes it doesn't even deduct
a minute for this brief call.


jay
Sat, Jan 3, 2004





Then you press
"2" to continue in English, following the prompt. You enter your PIN,
printed on the card, and then the number in the US you want to call,
preceded by "00 1" (00 is the international prefix and 1 is the
country code for the US.)

-----------
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

On Sat, 03 Jan 2004 07:46:08 -0500, gerald wrote:

You also seem to have to use the Italian card. None of my US phone
cards, or credit cards would fire up the phone.

I don't know what your problem was. In the past I've used US phone
cards in Italy, as have friends and relatives. Now I use only the
Edicard, which I mentioned in another post.

-----------
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

In article ,
(Lil) wrote:

Would
we be better off getting a sim card for our cell phone? (One of us
has a T-mobile phone and she claims that they can be used
internationally.)

a user of the t-mobile /network/ should be able to connect in italy
without a new sim -- iirc, the t-mobile partners are wind, tim and one
other local network. your friend can also, of course, get a local sim
which will be cheaper but means she won't receive calls made to her u.s.
number.

however, a u.s. handset won't work unless it is a 'triband' handset, which
most aren't.

On Sat, 3 Jan 2004 13:27:19 +0000 (UTC),
wrote:

In article ,
(Lil) wrote:

Would
we be better off getting a sim card for our cell phone? (One of us
has a T-mobile phone and she claims that they can be used
internationally.)

a user of the t-mobile /network/ should be able to connect in italy
without a new sim -- iirc, the t-mobile partners are wind, tim and one
other local network. your friend can also, of course, get a local sim
which will be cheaper but means she won't receive calls made to her u.s.
number.

I once used my Italian tri-band phone in the US on the T-Mobile
network and it cost me an arm and a leg. I don't know what it costs in
the other direcetion, but I would reserve this possibility for
receiving emergency calls from home and use a phone card to call to
the US.

however, a u.s. handset won't work unless it is a 'triband' handset, which
most aren't.

-----------
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup