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Mobile / cell phone in Europe What's best?
We will be in Italy for October and November of this year. For family reasons, I'd like to be contactable from Canada in case of emergency. My thoughts are to take my cell phone with me and get a SIM in Italy. I understand that my phone needs to be "unlocked". Whatever that means. While the primary reason to have the phone is to be contacted from Canada, I would also expect to use it for local (Italian) calls occasionally and no doubt for the occasional call home. My question is, what is the best way to have a mobile phone in Italy? Take my own and buy a local SIM? Buy a phone there? Forget cellphones entirely and rely on local phones? I guess by "best" I mean ease of use, coverage, and reasonable cost of calls. There is probably an FAQ on this subject so it would be great if someone pointed me to it. Thanks for any advice or experiences! Gord. |
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Mobile / cell phone in Europe What's best?
Gord Pope wrote:
We will be in Italy for October and November of this year. For family reasons, I'd like to be contactable from Canada in case of emergency. My thoughts are to take my cell phone with me and get a SIM in Italy. I understand that my phone needs to be "unlocked". Whatever that means. Gord. -------------------------------- Have you checked with your cellphone provider ,to see if they have an agreement with an Italian mobile company ? And also that the phone will work on the European system. You should be aware though , that the rates can become exceptionally high, when you are using your own mobile in another country. But if you merely want to use it on occasionally it might work out better for you. Kristian |
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Mobile / cell phone in Europe What's best?
"Gord Pope" wrote in message ... My question is, what is the best way to have a mobile phone in Italy? Take my own and buy a local SIM? Buy a phone there? Forget cellphones entirely and rely on local phones? I guess by "best" I mean ease of use, coverage, and reasonable cost of calls. Is your phone on a GSM network? They do exist in North America but are in the minority. Assuming you are on a GSM network, you need to have a dual-band or tri-band phone because the frequencies are different in Europe. http://www.thetravelinsider.info/2002/0308.htm explains the quagmire of international compatibility in a lucid manner and is useful for arriving at a solution. Lana |
#4
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Mobile / cell phone in Europe What's best?
"Gord Pope" wrote in message ... We will be in Italy for October and November of this year. For family reasons, I'd like to be contactable from Canada in case of emergency. My thoughts are to take my cell phone with me and get a SIM in Italy. I understand that my phone needs to be "unlocked". Whatever that means. While the primary reason to have the phone is to be contacted from Canada, I would also expect to use it for local (Italian) calls occasionally and no doubt for the occasional call home. My question is, what is the best way to have a mobile phone in Italy? Take my own and buy a local SIM? Buy a phone there? Forget cellphones entirely and rely on local phones? I guess by "best" I mean ease of use, coverage, and reasonable cost of calls. There is probably an FAQ on this subject so it would be great if someone pointed me to it. Thanks for any advice or experiences! Gord. We will be in Italy for three weeks in late June and found it was most cost effective to rent a phone from http://www.piccell.com Not sure, if being from Canada makes a difference. I checked with my provider here in the US and it was going to be much more expensive through them. Neil |
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Mobile / cell phone in Europe What's best?
Gord Pope wrote in message . ..
We will be in Italy for October and November of this year. For family reasons, I'd like to be contactable from Canada in case of emergency. My thoughts are to take my cell phone with me and get a SIM in Italy. I understand that my phone needs to be "unlocked". Whatever that means. While the primary reason to have the phone is to be contacted from Canada, I would also expect to use it for local (Italian) calls occasionally and no doubt for the occasional call home. My question is, what is the best way to have a mobile phone in Italy? Take my own and buy a local SIM? Buy a phone there? Forget cellphones entirely and rely on local phones? I guess by "best" I mean ease of use, coverage, and reasonable cost of calls. There is probably an FAQ on this subject so it would be great if someone pointed me to it. If cost is not a concern: check with your service provider if your phone can be used in Italy (international roaming service, check also area maps covered by partners in Italy and of course the phone has to be a GSM working with frequencies used in Europe (900/1800 as opposed to 1900MHz used mainly in Canada and the USA). See also http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/index.shtml http://www.eliteelectronics.co.uk/mobile-phone-faq.html - triband International roaming is kind of expensive - so check also the rates for calls to, from and in Italy with your service provider. Depending on number and duration of calls, usage of a local SIM-card can save you money. This requires that your phone is unlocked (=can be used with a SIM-card from an other company) and of course it has to work with frequencies used in Europe. Prepaid SIM-cards will be the easiest to get, but not the least expensive for calls. And of course the phone number you can be reached ist the "national" phone number coming with the SIM-card. Least expensive for international calls from a mobile phone with prepaid SIM is probably using a "national" SIM-card with an international calling card. When travelling for a while in a foreign country, I usually take two phones: one with my national SIM-card for being reachable and a spare phone I will use with a "local" SIM-card for calls within the country I am visiting. And I am also using less expensive SMS instead of phone calls (especially when having to deal with time-zones) Renting a phone for a trip is relatively expensive, especially compared to prices for entry-level phones with a local SIM-card [but most of time locked] |
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Mobile / cell phone in Europe What's best?
Gord Pope schrieb:
We will be in Italy for October and November of this year. For family reasons, I'd like to be contactable from Canada in case of emergency. Thats done best with a local SIM card in a GSM phone. The SIM is holding your subscriber identity and phone number. INCOMING calls are free in european mobile phone systems. My thoughts are to take my cell phone with me and get a SIM in Italy. I understand that my phone needs to be "unlocked". Whatever that means. LOCKED phones can be used ONLY for your SIM or any SIM of the network. Buy any unlocked EUROPEAN (900 + 1800 MHz) GSM phone at ebay. Should be availabe for say 20 or 30 Dollars. (Sagem 922 for example.) While the primary reason to have the phone is to be contacted from Canada, I would also expect to use it for local (Italian) calls occasionally and no doubt for the occasional call home. Local italian calls are fine with the local italian PREPAID SIM. My question is, what is the best way to have a mobile phone in Italy? Take my own and buy a local SIM? Buy a phone there? Buy the phone at ebay in advance. Buy a local prepaid SIM. Wolfgang |
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Mobile / cell phone in Europe What's best?
"Gord Pope" wrote in message ... There is probably an FAQ on this subject so it would be great if someone pointed me to it. http://nordicgroup.us/intlrate http://www.prepaidgsm.net -- Donald Newcomb DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net |
#8
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Mobile / cell phone in Europe What's best?
Gord Pope wrote:
I understand that my phone needs to be "unlocked". Whatever that means. It means, that you cell phone is not only working with your SIM, but also with another SIM. BTW, if your phone isn't a triple band one it will not work in europe. BTW2. take the instruction book (or a copy of the page how to change the band) with you. If your phone company has a roaming contract with Italy and Norway, you can use your own SIM, but it will be expensive. You will be charged for incoming calls, and if you make calls, you pay the normal charge + a roaming charge. The easiest way might be to buy a prepaid SIM in Italy to use there and one in Norway to use there and call home twice to inform them about the "new" number. Greetings from Cologne Andreas |
#9
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Mobile / cell phone in Europe What's best?
Wolfgang Barth wrote:
INCOMING calls are free in european mobile phone systems. But only in the same country. If you use a CDN SIM in I or a D in P, you are paying for incoming calls too. Greetings from Cologne Andreas |
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