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Sim Card Advice: Buy online or in airport??
I have been looking into Sim cards for use in Germany and Hong Kong.
Many are available over the internet at prices ranging from US$60 to US$100. This includes activation and a small amount of airtime. My question is: Am I better off waiting and buying a card in, say, the airport or a new kiosk on arrival, or are the prices over the internet competitive? |
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"artweary" wrote in message om... My question is: Am I better off waiting and buying a card in, say, the airport or a new kiosk on arrival, or are the prices over the internet competitive? If you value your time at about $40/hour, you might be better ordering it over the Internet from some place like Telestial or CellularAbroad. If your time is less valuable than that (like me) you might want to wait. Check out www.prepaidgsm.net and BTW, there is a recent new offering from http://www.mobalrental.com/. You sign up and register your credit card with them and you get an O2-UK SIM for $19 or a phone with SIM for $49 and ZERO monthly fee. The catch is that airtime is expensive, except incoming calls in UK, which are free. This is a real great backup for those time when you can't get a prepaid SIM and something goes wrong with your regular roaming solution. (i.e. My replacement for easyRoam) -- Donald Newcomb DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net |
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"artweary" wrote in message om... I have been looking into Sim cards for use in Germany and Hong Kong. Many are available over the internet at prices ranging from US$60 to US$100. This includes activation and a small amount of airtime. My question is: Am I better off waiting and buying a card in, say, the airport or a new kiosk on arrival, or are the prices over the internet competitive? General advice in this situation is - neither. Airport and online are more likely to rip you off. Exceptions are where you buy directly from the network and not from a third party supplier. Otherwise buy in town where the locals get their SIM cards. |
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"artweary" wrote in message om... I have been looking into Sim cards for use in Germany and Hong Kong. Many are available over the internet at prices ranging from US$60 to US$100. This includes activation and a small amount of airtime. My question is: Am I better off waiting and buying a card in, say, the airport or a new kiosk on arrival, or are the prices over the internet competitive? General advice in this situation is - neither. Airport and online are more likely to rip you off. Exceptions are where you buy directly from the network and not from a third party supplier. Otherwise buy in town where the locals get their SIM cards. |
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"artweary" wrote in message om... I have been looking into Sim cards for use in Germany and Hong Kong. Many are available over the internet at prices ranging from US$60 to US$100. This includes activation and a small amount of airtime. My question is: Am I better off waiting and buying a card in, say, the airport or a new kiosk on arrival, or are the prices over the internet competitive? In HK just buy it off any mobile phone stores. They are all over the place. |
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(Bob) wrote in
om: Last time I tried to get a prepaid SIM (Callya I think 3 years ago) in Germany they insisted on a German bank account and proof of address in Germany. They have to register the ID and address of the holder for legal reasons, but they don't need your bank account for a prepay SIM, unless you wish to enable it for international roaming (did you?). That is specific to "CallYa" because of their billing scheme, their competitors won't ask for your bank account anyway. Do they now allow tourists to buy a prepaid (with or without phone) using just a passport as Id? No, you need proof of residence in Germany. Strictly speaking, anyway. Not all dealers enforce this rule, and "grey market" ones such as flea market dealers won't ask for ID at all. There are many stories of people who bought SIMs successfully without proof of ID or residence in Germany, so it can't be impossible. It probably means you have to try several shops. Another option is to ask a German friend to lend you his ID for your SIM purchase. Regards -- Die Frau als solche ist aus unserer Gesellschaft kaum mehr wegzudenken http://www.wschwanke.de/ usenet_20031215 (AT) wschwanke (DOT) de |
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