Buying SIM Cards in Europe?

I am going to France later this year. I have a GSM phone from Holland which
no longer has service. Does anyone know if I can purchase a SIM card in
Paris and put in the phone so that I can use it? I have checked various
websites and sent several emails to French providers, but haven't been able
to find the answer to this.

Thanks.

Mike Hagley

On Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:33:50 -0400, Mike Hagley wroteÂ*:

I am going to France later this year. I have a GSM phone from Holland
which no longer has service. Does anyone know if I can purchase a SIM
card in Paris and put in the phone so that I can use it? I have checked
various websites and sent several emails to French providers, but
haven't been able to find the answer to this.

Thanks.

Mike Hagley

You will find pre-paid sim cards in one of the many phone shops, in some
stores like FNAC book stores or Virgin, and in supermarkets.
Main operators are :
Orange
SFR
Bouygues Telecom
outsiders : Virgin, debitel, nrj, carrefour, budget telecom and many
others.

Web sites are in french, use a translator to get an idea.

http://www.edcom.fr/recharge-mobile-60-euros.html

http://www.sfr.fr/mobile/offres/?vue...lmob_lca_boltm

http://www.laboutique.bouyguesteleco...d-formule.html

http://www.totalfrance.com/france/fo...pic.php?t=5600

Thanks for the help. I love FNAC, which I was already planning to visit. I
am stil wondering if the phone will work once I put in a pre-paid SIM card.

I haven't posted here in a couple of years. This group was great when I
frequently visited. I have been posting on rec.travel.europe since 1996.

Mike
"JuanElorza" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:33:50 -0400, Mike Hagley wrote :

I am going to France later this year. I have a GSM phone from Holland
which no longer has service. Does anyone know if I can purchase a SIM
card in Paris and put in the phone so that I can use it? I have checked
various websites and sent several emails to French providers, but
haven't been able to find the answer to this.

Thanks.

Mike Hagley

You will find pre-paid sim cards in one of the many phone shops, in some
stores like FNAC book stores or Virgin, and in supermarkets.
Main operators are :
Orange
SFR
Bouygues Telecom
outsiders : Virgin, debitel, nrj, carrefour, budget telecom and many
others.

Web sites are in french, use a translator to get an idea.

http://www.edcom.fr/recharge-mobile-60-euros.html

http://www.sfr.fr/mobile/offres/?vue...lmob_lca_boltm

http://www.laboutique.bouyguesteleco...d-formule.html

http://www.totalfrance.com/france/fo...pic.php?t=5600

I would guess so. I can turn it on here in the US, put in my PIN, and it
comes on trying to find a carrier.

Mike
"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:33:50 -0400, "Mike Hagley"
wrote:

I am going to France later this year. I have a GSM phone from Holland
which
no longer has service. Does anyone know if I can purchase a SIM card in
Paris and put in the phone so that I can use it? I have checked various
websites and sent several emails to French providers, but haven't been
able
to find the answer to this.

Is your Dutch phone unlocked?
--

Martin

In "Mike Hagley"
wrote:

I would guess so. I can turn it on here in the US, put in my PIN, and
it comes on trying to find a carrier.

If you're still using the SIM from your home carrier, that doesn't tell
you anything about the lock state of your phone; all that it's doing is
trying to find a local carrier with which your home system has a roaming
agreement.

Here in the US, phones obtained through the carrier have a "subsidy
lock" which prevents you from using another carrier's SIM in them.

The two GSM carriers in the US will unlock their customer's phones if
they're asked. I have two unlocked quad-band GSM phones from T-Mobile.

If your phone is locked (you can find out by inserting a SIM from
another carrier and seeing what happens), you'll either have to go to
the original Dutch carrier and see if you can get an unlock code from
them, or pay an unlocking service.

If the phone's not worth that much to you to go through that sort of
hassle, you can almost certainly pick up a cheap phone with a pre-paid
SIM on your arrival in France.


Mike
"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:33:50 -0400, "Mike Hagley"
wrote:

I am going to France later this year. I have a GSM phone from
Holland which
no longer has service. Does anyone know if I can purchase a SIM card
in Paris and put in the phone so that I can use it? I have checked
various websites and sent several emails to French providers, but
haven't been able
to find the answer to this.

Is your Dutch phone unlocked?




--
Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN

Thanks for the input. I will try putting in the SIM from my US phone and
see if it works.

Mike
"Bert Hyman" wrote in message
...
In "Mike Hagley"
wrote:

I would guess so. I can turn it on here in the US, put in my PIN, and
it comes on trying to find a carrier.

If you're still using the SIM from your home carrier, that doesn't tell
you anything about the lock state of your phone; all that it's doing is
trying to find a local carrier with which your home system has a roaming
agreement.

Here in the US, phones obtained through the carrier have a "subsidy
lock" which prevents you from using another carrier's SIM in them.

The two GSM carriers in the US will unlock their customer's phones if
they're asked. I have two unlocked quad-band GSM phones from T-Mobile.

If your phone is locked (you can find out by inserting a SIM from
another carrier and seeing what happens), you'll either have to go to
the original Dutch carrier and see if you can get an unlock code from
them, or pay an unlocking service.

If the phone's not worth that much to you to go through that sort of
hassle, you can almost certainly pick up a cheap phone with a pre-paid
SIM on your arrival in France.


Mike
"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:33:50 -0400, "Mike Hagley"
wrote:

I am going to France later this year. I have a GSM phone from
Holland which
no longer has service. Does anyone know if I can purchase a SIM card
in Paris and put in the phone so that I can use it? I have checked
various websites and sent several emails to French providers, but
haven't been able
to find the answer to this.

Is your Dutch phone unlocked?




--
Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN

In "Mike Hagley"
wrote:

Thanks for the input. I will try putting in the SIM from my US phone
and see if it works.

That should do it. If your phone is locked, it will immediately ask you
to enter the unlock code.

If it's unlocked and if it covers the US GSM frequencies, it should hook
up with your US carrier and carry on normally.

US GSM frequencies are 850/1900MHz, while most of the rest of the world
is 900/1800MHz; hence the need for "quad-band" phones for world
travelers.

--
Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN

"Martin" a écrit dans le message de
...
On Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:33:50 -0400, "Mike Hagley"
wrote:

I am going to France later this year. I have a GSM phone from Holland
which
no longer has service. Does anyone know if I can purchase a SIM card in
Paris and put in the phone so that I can use it? I have checked various
websites and sent several emails to French providers, but haven't been
able
to find the answer to this.

Is your Dutch phone unlocked?
--

Martin

Mike Hagley wrote:
I am going to France later this year. I have a GSM phone from Holland
which no longer has service. Does anyone know if I can purchase a SIM
card in Paris and put in the phone so that I can use it? I have checked
various websites and sent several emails to French providers, but
haven't been able to find the answer to this.

Thanks.

Mike Hagley

I haven't tried for the simple reason that I have a SIM card already,
but I notice our local supermarket sells prepaid SIM cards.

T.