Call In Europe - Cell Phone in France

Stu,

I just got back from 10 days in Greece and my Call in Europe phone worked flawlessly. I phoned my wife and the call clarity was better than when I use my much more expensive phone when in Canada.

I opted for their call forwarding feature which allows you to call a US number and your phone rings in Europe.

The phone got more use from people I met who were amazed their North American phones wouldn't work in Europe. Doh! So I felt sorry for
them and several people used mine for short calls.

All in all I'm very pleased and would recommend Call in Europe to
anyone.

Rob

Thanks, Rob

My fear is that I'll encounter something similar to what was reported by a Fodrite a few years back - $1,200 in phone charges when she got home - due to some "small print" on the contract.

Stu Dudley

I don't think you need worry. I haven't seen my credit card statement yet. But Mariam at CallnEurope is a pleasure to deal with and I'm sure she hasn't led me astray!

Rob

I actually spoke with the representative from this company during the New York Times Travel Show in February.

You really are not missing anything.

As I remember, their per minute charges were reasonable in France But I was only interested in a SIM card as I already have two dual band phones and now with T-Mobile service two quad band phones.

The phone could be used in other countries but the cost was high per minute.

Since you do travel often to France for prolonged periods, I would just buy a quad band phone on Ebay for about $50.

Of course, as you say, the number would change with the SIM, but you would own the phone and you wouldn't have to pay $60 each year. That amount would still be used towards new cards when you purchase a new SIM.

Stu, compare to Roam Simple as well, espec. if you buy an unlocked phone somewhere and just want a SIM.

Roam Simple's SIM is renewable each year for $29. If you choose a SIM for France:
- free incoming calls
- calling North America $0.79
- calling within France $0.59
Usage is billed to your credit card.

http://www.roamsimple.com/ProductList.aspx

Hi Stu: There was a thread a few months ago entitled something like "Cell phones in Paris" that talked about callineuropre with pluses and minuses. Think the 60 yearly was the ONLY minus.

I have just received a SIM card from them, since my wife and I go to france for 2-3 weeks once a year (want to get that time period up.) Because I work, wnated to have a phone number to leave on my voicemail for client "emergencies."

Figure that the 60 won't be an issue, as figure will have about 60 in calls. Also, for 50cents a day plus KBs, you can have blackberry and internet capability. Will probably use our laptop for internet, but for quick email back and forth, this is a good price.

And, I talked with them, and they are very pleasant to deal with. Good luck.

Steve

Thanks sher.

I actually have a Cingular cell that worked fine in France with a SFR SIM card I purchased there.

In '06 when I used the SFR SIM, the rates were .54E/$.80 then vs. the Call In Europe rate today of $.39 - so it's half the price per minute. The Call in Europe phone will cost me $12 to obtain. The zinger for the SFR SIM I purchased in '06 was the recharge and it's expiration if I did not re-charge or use the phone. If I didn't recharge, I had to purchase a new SIM - which was 30E/$45. I could have done a 6 month recharge for 95E/$150 just to keep the SIM active, but I would be purchasing minutes that I could not use since I would be in the US.

Programs change all the time. It seems like the Call in Europe is a lot better than the SFR SIM I had in '06 - but that was 2 years ago.

What's reasonable today??

Stu Dudley

Thanks Travelnut. Seems like Roam Simple is about the same, depending on how many calls you make - lower initial, but higher per call.

bococpa - thanks. I'm probably in the same boat as you with the number of calls, etc. I just wanted to make sure that there was not a BIG change/reduced cost in France purchased SIM cards lately - and that there are no "hidden" surprises in Call in Europe.

Stu Dudley

Stu,
I have a question about your cingular phone that you used before- I am planning on unlocking my razor and bringing that for a week this summer... how much does the French SIM card cost- do you buy one loaded with however many minutes you decide, or are they in certain amounts? And did you say that the cost per minute is about $.80? Is it just for local calls? thanks!

In the past I have us my Cingular / AT&T phone in Europe, paying the $6 per month fee for the discount plan which brings the cost per minute down to .99 US for all incoming or outgoing.

Call in Europe seems a better deal all around. No need for a new phone (have one that is quad GSM unlocked) so just the $29 activation fee. Per minute is .39 with free incoming., saving .60/min on outgoing and .99/min on incoming. Even if I go for the keep you number incoming are only .29/min, still .70/min less than AT&T. Incoming text is free, outgoing to France is .19 and to US .39 - also well below AT&T. I am thinking this is a no brainer.

Stu. Let me say that the rates within France seemed particularly attractive with Call in Europe.

I didn't realize that French SIM cards had such a high per minute cost.

I think I will reconsider purchasing a SIM from them because I hope to go to France later this Summer.

T-Mobile unlocked my home phone so I can just get a SIM and use my own phone.

We usually stay in apartments and gites also and we usually do not have a land line available. So having a cell phone is great.

And I like to call all of my friends and my family when I am away. I like to do it at a reasonable cost, but I am still going to do it.

Has anyone used Rebtel? I guess I should test it with my in-laws in France. Sounds similar to Call in Europe except cheaper.

If I test it I'll report back.

Stu: I shouold have added that the SIM that callineurope sent me was a SFR SIM card. They must have bought in volume and gotten out a special arrangement for "their" cards not to expire. In prior years had bought an Orange SIM card upon landing, and fees were high, around 1euro per minute - and they expired. What a pain.

About the only negative for callineurope was (to me) the high shipping price $12. It was disclosed upfront - but it made the 29 SIM card 29 + 12 for $41. But, if it is only a one-time charge, its worth it.

Steve

nv1325

This are '06 rates - and things change all the time.

We purchased a "package" that contained a SFR SIM card plus some call minutes (actually, Euros). The call Euros are used up at .55E/$.80 per minute. I forgot how many minutes were included in this initial "charge" (the term they use), but if you subtract the value of the calls (if they don't expire before you use them all) from the price we paid, the SIM card itself came to 30E/$45.

I no longer have the documentation that came with the SFR "package", but you could buy additional minutes in increments of:
10E which expire in 15 days
15E which expires in 30 days
25E which expires in 60 days
etc
this is from notes that I wrote then, but I did not write down how many minutes were in each.

Another major headache is that you can't go to the store where you purchased the SIM to buy more minutes. You must buy the minutes from a Tabac, through the internet, or call someone. I think if you buy through the Tabac, you must call someone to activate the minutes. This seemed like a major pain. Plus - after years of vacationing in France & dealing with their way of doing business - I don't have a lot of confidence with things like "recharges" on the internet or using the phone, to work properly or easy for me to understand.

When we called about the Call in Europe program, they said that it would cost us $60 to renew the plan for an additional year (which is really $60 worth of calls). However, I could not find this on their web site - it was only conveyed to us verbally. I'll have to do a little more investigating to see if this is "waived" the first year, or exists at all. Seems like they would have to do a once-per-year "charge" to make this profitable for them.

This program & Roam Simple seem to be MUCH less expensive and MUCH less hassle than purchasing a French SIM card.

When examining the Call in Europe program, I did not stumble on anything that said I could just buy a SIM card - and not the phone with SIM included. However, I was not looking for a "SIM only". The offer for phone & SIM was from France Today magazine and the only cost was for the $12 shipping. If I can get an additional phone at no cost to me, seems like that would be a plus. I'll have to look at their site more today to find out about the $60 cost plus the "SIM only".

Stu Dudley

I went to Berlin in March and used Rebtel, it was my first time to take/use a cell phone and I was a little unsure how it would work.

I bought a Vodaphone SIM (I have an unlocked quad-band phone), the clerk installed it and showed me how to call . . . I called the Berlin Rebtel operator and gave her the number and voila! It worked great!

Incoming calls were free from Vodaphone and my family who called me in Berlin only paid a few cents per minute for the long-distance part. My Vodaphone calls out were about 39¢/min. (same as in the US if you aren't on a plan) and by using Rebtel, the long-distance charges again were just pennies. I started w/$20 credit with Rebtel, used my phone a lot, was gone 8 days, and I still have over $16 left.

I'm planning on taking my phone to Israel in July and will certainly use Rebtel. The rates in Israel are even cheaper than Berlin, I think only 2¢/min.

Sandy (in Denton)

The roam simple seems the most hassle free but it's still a bit pricey to call back to North America and other international calls (incidentally when Ifirst heard of them several months ago here they were using SFR, now they're using Orange FR...however...

You can open up an account with a callback service such as enlinea...I must admit I've had some problems using enlinea with my regular Orange FR sim card sporadically..I don't know if they block calls..however...

Enlinea is a callback service (it is similar to another operation called callbackworld)...the way it works is you sign up for free...they then give you a USA direct dial number...you dial the USA number and get a busy signal..you hang up..no charge as the call has not been completed...you then get a callback from their computer..while in France no charge as you are receiving a call..a female voice will say, "Please enter phone number followed by the number sign key now", you do that and the call goes through..it goes through one of the those internet voip providers so call quality is not awesome but it is passable...in any event you pay 28¢/minute billed in 6 second increments...lthey will also give you for $1.50/month a USA toll free number for people to call you on...you will be charged the same 28¢/minute for calls made to your French sim (you pay nothing as you will be receiving...similar low prices for other international calls (check out their rates at www.enlinea.com)....

As noted, unlike their UK counterparts, getting a local sim card in France is not a great deal; the most onerous part of the deal being they steal your credit after very limited periods of time...as noted if you top up with a voucher from a tabac for €10, the credit is only valid for 15 days...after 15 days any used credit is stolen from you and six months later they de-activate the sim card...with UK sim cards, the cards are valid for at least 120 days, in some cases 6 months, in some cases 1 year but you can always simply send a text message from wherever you are to extend the validity. Also, you can't use a non French credit card to top up on the internet...if you want to retain your number before the six month expires, you have to buy recharge slips before you leave France and recharge say from the USA...with the roam simple deal, apparently what happens is every year they renew it for the same fee (it had been $9 and is now $19)...like I said, can't guarantee enlinea will work, it should but have had trouble with international sim cards and enlinea while roaming on Orange FR.....

Stu -
I looked up that offer and it requires a subscription to France Today. It values the phone w/SIM and activation at $99, but on the CIE site the Motorola phone (which, BTW is a dual band GSM model that does not work in the US) is $19, activation $29 for a total of $48 (plus $12 shipping). So, with the $45 annual subscription, the net "premium" is $3. Of course, you also get the year's subscription.

I also called CIE with questions and the agent was absolutely delightful and quite responsive. I think we will go with this for our upcoming trip, and will report back.

Thanks Seamus

It's my experience that these "$99 value" claims are rarely (if ever) accurate. I'm not surprised at all that the actual value is far less. I've subscribed to France Today for many years, so it's no "new" cost to me - but would be for you.

I mentioned the annual $60 fee. My wife actually did most of the research and told me just now that at the end of the first year, CIE will call us and ask if we want to "up" for another year at $60. So my first year initial cost to start the service is only $12 if I'm understanding everything accuratly. The $60 is like the SFR "recharge" except the CIE recharge expires in 1 year instead of only a few months with SFR.

Thanks for the info about the phone being useless in the US. I'll just use it in Europe.

Stu Dudley

Hi Stu: Go to the callineurope web site. Its all there, getting a phone w/ SIM, getting SIM only, the rates, and if you click around, the fine print. That is where the $60 a year is. And it looks like they contact you after the end of the year if you haven't used your $60 during the year. I say that both from reading their fine print, and by the fact that for my $41 I have a SFR SIM and a French telephone number, and they haven't asked me for anything else.

BTW, they send you the SIM in a nice "Welcome" type of envelope with a free luggage tag with both your US tele and your French tele engraved on it, along with a sheet of small labels containing your french telephone number, so that you can stick them on notes to your friends, etc.

Before you ask, they know your US telephone number because you fill it out when you order. It is my understanding that they run a quick credit check on you, etc., since they are billing you after you have used their minutes, and want to know enough to decide whether to open an account with you.

I feel like a walking advertisement. I'm not, but I am excited since their "deal" fits my needs.

Best regards
Steve

I know Call in Europe offers only a SIM as that is what I spoke with them about at the show.

I thought the rates seemed just a little high, but after reading about .80 per minute, I guess they are not.

They were giving out a $10 coupon towards the SIM and if I was sure of my trip to France, I would have purchased it then.

Stu. Would you know if I can purchase a French calling card that has a code that you enter instead of the type that you insert into a pay phone.

I have a cell phone and have ordered a SIM from CAll in Europe, but the house we are renting has a phone and I thought that would give me an option to call from a land line.

Or maybe you know if the rates to use a calling card are higher than the SIM.

Thanks

Sher - SIM cards do not have such codes, what you are describing is a calling card.
The SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) is what tells the handset that you are using what the number is and what network to use. You can remove it from one phone and put it into a second (presuming the second is unlocked or on the same network) and any calls to your number will ring on the second.
We just returned from a trip to Paris and London for which we used Call in Europe SIMS in our own unlocked phones (a Pearl and a Razr) and it worked fine. We even had calls to our US mobiles automatically forwarded, as well as my blackberry emails. Haven't seen the bill yet but expect it will be much less than the international plan offered by AT&T, our US carrier. And BTW the staff at Call in Europe were very friendly and helpful - I would definitely recommend their service.

Seamus. Thank you. I must not have been clear.

I was asking about a calling card to use on a land line from the house phone where we are staying. I have used one in France before from pay phones and I seem to recall it had a strip which the telephone read when inserted into the pay phone. Of course, this kind could not be used on a house phone. I would need a phone card with a posted pin which must be manually programed into the phone.

I have used SIM cards in several countries but decided to contact Call in Europe after Stu posted how expensive a SIM card purchased in France is.

I would be curious to know your assessment of the charges on your phone using Call In Europe when you get the bill.

I just returned from France and used a French SIM card (purchased through BrightRoam) and a call back service (Callback World). The Callback World service was flawless and was cost effective at 27 cents a minute to the US and French phone numbers because incoming calls were free on my SIM card. The Callback World service was great because there is no cost to sign-up and the calls are billed monthly with no "pre-payment" plan--you just pay for what you use.

Is it just me, or does anyone else get jittery about giving a European phone company your credit card, with an authorization to charge whatever they feel is correct?

Considering the horror stories posted here and elsewhere, it sounds pretty risky.

(I'm nervous enough about the card number I gave mobal.com.)

As long as they don't steal my identity, my attitude is if it happens, it happens....a phone call or two will remove any fraudulent charges and they send you a new card with a new number.

Can't worry about those things anymore....the vermin running these card stealing facilities are pretty slick....it is the problem of the banks to do more to see it doesn't happen (chip and pin?) although chip and pin won't help with internet merchants.

But they're cost analysts are such that going to chip and pin in the USA will cost them more than they lose in fraud!

Sher, you asked for feed back when I got the bill.

We got back from France June 30. Yesterday (August 5) received Email with detailed billing of all the numbers we called, both French and the American and the blackberry KBs. We talked for 146 minutes and had 25 blackberry sessions all for $67.54, which sounds cheap to me; already charged through my AMEX card with the info I had given them when I set up the account.

All in all, a great experience and to me it seems that call in europe is a well-run company that did exactly what they promised.

Steve

We just got back from France too. The Call in Europe worked great. We also took our ATT cell with "international roaming" just for insurance, and in case we each needed a cell. What was interesting was that the Call in Europe phone was able to pick up a signal in some remote places and our Motorola cell (US phone) could not get any signal at all.

Sher - in case you're still here - go to a France Telecom office and get a calling "paper" called Ticket Telephone International. It's just a sheet of paper that they print from the internet (which you could do if you have a PC with internet connection) that indicates the access number (3089) and your unique password. This gets you 503 minutes to the US (in our case) for 15 Euros - dirt cheap. You don't insert anything in any phone - you just enter 3089, pasword, and then the number you are calling. If only works on land lines - it doesn't work on your cell. This method is convenient because you can give the access number & passwork to your entire family & anyone can use it. We purchased this last year, and used it then, and also in France last month when we had access to a land line (disappearing in France). This is for international calls, but they also have ones for calls within France too. DO NOT just get any similar card from a TOBAC. We made this mistake once, and it essentially didn't work.

Stu Dudley

bocacpa. Thanks for remembering. I returned on July 24th.
So far, I have not received any charges for the calls I made.

Stu. We did have a land line, but I didn't really know what to do to access cheap calling. I am going to keep your advice for next time.

I did take an old dual band phone with me for just in case. But I used my T-Mobile quad band phone that I use here every day and it worked just great.

I had a little problem when I first inserted the SIM because the prompts were all in French. I don't speak or understand French. But I soon became used to it.

I will be interested to see how much money I spent.

I am not planning to return to France for a long time and that is a shame as the SIM worked so well.

I believe it is still .39 per minute to use from another country in Europe to the US so I might consider that if I have the opportunity within the year.

Thanks to both of you.

Here's another report back after using Call in Europe during recent travel.

The one-time cost to set up the CIE account and receive the SIM cards for both phones was $58 plus $12 S&H, total $70. Received detailed bill via email. Total usage charges for two phones (RAZR with voice only, BB Pearl with voice and BB, data), with call forwarding for both numbers so calls placed to US number automatically rang to the French number, was $95.76 for usage of 169 voice minutes, 1780 kb data and two SMS text messages. Most usage was in Paris, some also in London. Reception/ voice quality and data transfer speed were excellent - actually better than we get in the US.
Grand total for CIE: 70 + 95.76 = 165.76

By way of comparison, if we had stayed with AT&T the cost for this service would have been:
minutes 160 @ 0.99 = 158.40 (if subscribed to discount plan for $5.99/month) OR
160 x 1.29 = 206.40
data 1780 x .0195 = 34.71
SMS 2 x 0.50 = 1.00

So the AT&T cost (without taxes, etc.) would have been $200.10 (with the 5.99/month discount plan which, BTW, the site says is "retired" and no longer available so better use the higher rate for comparison purposes) or $242.11 without it. Of course there is also the regular monthly cost of the two lines but I won't even factor that in, since it is impossible to put contract mobile service on "vacation hold" like mail or newspaper delivery.

Comparison:
CIE: 165.76
AT&T: 200.10 or 242.11
Difference: $34.34 or $76.35

Of note the CIE welcome pack included simple instructions as well as luggage tags imprinted with both US and European phone numbers - a nice touch. The numbers will remain active as long as there is $60/year usage - which is not very difficult to do. Based on the obvious price advantage, as well as the great service, I plan to keep my CIE account active and would not hesitate to recommend it to others.

I just received my bill from Call In Europe.
The total was about $62.00. That means that with the s&h and the SIM the total cost was about $104.
There was one call that was rather strange for .39 to Italy. I did not make a call to Italy, but I could have dialed incorrectly.
The calls would have cost me about $200+ I I had just used my phone with roaming and international calling on T-Mobile.
I also allowed a friend to make several calls.

I must say that I dialed whenever I wanted to my kids, my parents, my spouse and friends.

I feel pleased with the service as it was crystal clear.

I would use it again.

One thing to add - I used the blackberry service to keep receiving my personal emails and am now being deluged with spam, which did not happen previously on this email address.

Resurrecting Stu's thread.

We're going to Paris in June. We still have our Call In Europe cell phones (dual band) that we used in Europe 2 years ago. I called the company and they told me that those phones can still be used with their SIM cards. However, our old SIM accounts have since been deactivated because of inactivity, and they'll have to send us new cards.

Here's what we're looking at:

CIE will be sending us 4 SIM cards at $29 each.

Incoming calls: free
Outgoing calls (to France and the US): $.39/min

Not too sure about text messaging costs.

Does anyone know of any other cell phone plan that is more economical?

We will also be bringing our iPhones but will be using those only as backup. While we are bringing a laptop to use in the apartment, I'll probably be using my iPhone when out and about to look up phone numbers, addresses, read reviews, etc. because the Call in Europe cell phones won't have internet capability.

What's the best way to keep iPhone costs down? Is there such a thing as an unlimited plan from ATT for a fixed monthly cost? Do you know of any other option so I won't come home to a $1,000 phone bill?

Thank you.

It's pretty hard to beat CiE's rates. They are very close to the best pay as you go deals you can get in France and cheaper by far to call back to North America.

You can get a plan for your iPhone while away but it will be more expensive than CiE. Use your iPhone to look things up but CiE to make the calls! Have anyone use your CiE number to call you as calls are free coming in... I bet you'll be paying for incoming calls with ATT.

Rob

Thanks Rob. I will be following your advice. Will also be threatening the kids to avoid using their iPhones in Paris, and that if they go beyond a certain $ amount because they didn't heed the warning, well, they will have to pay for it themselves, wouldn't they?

Text messages appear to be:
Incoming, Free
To France $0.19
To Rest of World $0.39

http://www.callineurope.com/rates/Keep_Talking_in_Europe_PASS_FRANCE.pdf

And apparently they've change the $60.00/year plan to $20.00 per quarter, in either case it's our option to renew existing number or let it expire and order a new SIM at a later date.

From their FAQ

7/ Validity of my SIM card
Your SIM card line is activated for a quarterly period from its date of shipment to you. The service automatically renews at no extra cost for another 3 months, provided you make $20 worth of line usage* within the 3 month period. If you do not reach that usage amount after the 3 months, Call in Europe will contact you and suggest you either extend the life of the line for another 3 months by paying an additional $20 or disconnect your service and simply order another SIM card prior to your next trip. Note: If you choose to disconnect your service and wish to renew it at a later date, you will not be able to keep the same cell phone number as previously used and will be assigned a new number.
(*voice calls, SMS and data)

What is interesting is that the $20/quarter is IN ADDITION to whatever you spend. on calls. The $60/year was a minimum, meaning that if you spent $61 on calls, it would only cost you a dollar more than not having used your phone at all for a year. For me, it meant that spending $72+ during my 2009 trip meant that the phone would have been available for my 2010 trip without buying another SIM card. But they changed their plan.

Since they changed their plan without notifying all of us "old" users, they told me that I could reactivate my SIM and start out on the new plan, effective when I wanted to re-activate.

Since I go to Europe only once a year, decided that it MIGHT make sense for this Spring's trip, but since I didn't want to incur the $20/quarterly charges for the rest of the year, it would be a temporary measure only: because I would have to cancel as soon as I came home.

Good luck figuring out what is best for you.

Steve

I've used country specific SIMs from CallinEurope for many trips. Though not necessarily the very cheapest, it suits my purposes and billing has always been straighforward and totally accurate. I like not dealing with a manual in a foreign language, having the phone number before leaving home, and the customer service is exceptional. It's very convenient to be billed only for usage and not having to "top off" a SIM, worry about running out in the middle of a call, or having prepurchased time go to waste.

For gelatolover: Depending on when you got your CIE phones, they may be unlocked (call them and ask), so you would have the option of purchasing local SIMs on arrival if you like. And, are (or can you have) your IPhones unlocked (if they are GSM)? You can get data service with CIE. Compare rates with AT&T.

As a precaution, it's a good idea to lock both your SIM and your phone (separate procedures). So, if the phone is lost/stolen, the SIM cannot be used in another phone, and your phone won't work with another SIM.

ALL SIMs expire at some point if you don't top them off.

You can definitely save a bundle with text messages as opposed to calls/conversations.

I also use www.callineurope.com. I just got back from Paris again last Sunday and my bill has already been done and sent to me by e-mail and the amount will be deducted from my bank account. It's very easy with them and I like the fact of not having to have a calling card that can go out on you in the middle of a conversation, as mine often does when I'm in Bangkok and am on the calling card plus SIM card combination. Happy Travels!

djk: I suppose I can ask AT&T to unlock our iPhones? I remember when unlock codes were sold on eBay (they actually worked). That's a good idea to use the CiE card on the unlocked iPhone - maybe cheaper than AT&T rates (which are $24.99 for 20 mb and $59.99 for 50 mb).

And I didn't know that I can lock the SIM too? Is that something that CiE can do for me?

A big thanks to all who responded!

Is the same package good in both the UK & France?

Keith

The CIE SIM has a preset PIN. You can use it to change the settings so that none is required (not recommended) or change to the PIN of your choice. If you want to change the PIN, follow the directions carefully, as if you don't do it correctly, you'll need a PUK to unlock it, which can only be acquired during business hours.

Just call AT&T and tell them you want to unlock your phones.

Locking the SIM and locking the phones are separate functions. With most phones, you can receive calls without the PIN. Just keep in mind that the SIM is unlocked until you turn off the phone service (not to be confused with the device turning itself off), so it's a good idea not to walk around with it unlocked.

djk: got it! Thank you SO much for all your help.

Yes, very true. I always keep my phone so there's a PIN in it in order to use the phone. I never disengage the PIN.

When I was ordering my callineurope SIM card for this recently finished trip to Paris, they had no phones available for those who might need to rent a phone. It wasn't a problem for me as I bought an unlocked, GSM, triband cell phone in Bangkok some years ago as I'm there regularly and they are very inexpensive there. So, all I needed, for Paris, was a new SIM card as the old ones, for previous trips to Paris, had expired. Happy Travels!

Keith....I would suspect roaming rates for this particular card are much more expensive if used in the UK...that's the bad news.

The good news is that UK mobile competiton is so fierce,k they are literally giving sim cards away for free or next to free if you need to know the number in advance.

You can buy UK sim cards from vodafone, T Mobile and Orange and a firm called Libarra (spelling might be incorrect but you can check) on ebay for about $5 shipping included (if you wait till you get to the UK, they'll be free)....the big UK mobile companies will post free sim cards to any UK address so if you know the address of your hotel you can have them posted there. With T Mobile UK and Orange, you can tie in with a company called yourcallworld (www.yourcallworld.com) making calls to popular places such as Canada, the USA, Australia for as little as 30/minute (most assuredly not a typo) although calls to Australian mobiles would be 15p/minute...(calls to USA and Canadian mobiles are charged the same rates as landlines)...libarra has a plan for calling the USA for 4p/minute...vodafone 5p/minute, Orange (without yourcallworld) 6p/minute (how outrageously expensive <g.

UK sim cards are very very simple to top up (the ones you buy on ebay come with no credit except for vodafone)....if you have an unlocked gsm phone with 900/1800 mhz bands, you're all set to go. All of them come with free reception of calls while in the UK and relatively cheap (19p/minute) reception of calls throughout the eu although I am afraid the dirt cheap calls outside the eu disappear when you leave the UK. Still a bargain while you're in the UK and the cheapest plans most anywhere in Europe (Germany has some cheap plans too but for me there is a language problem. I don't have any language problems in the UK as English and American are pretty closely allied languages).

I am not well versed in cell phone lingo. Could someone briefly explain how a SIM card works and how it is installed. Callineurope is selling a Nokia phone for $29 and a SIM card for an additional $29. Outgoing calls to US and Europe are .39 per minute and incoming calls are free.

We will be in France and Spain for 3 weeks in May and would like to have a cell phone, just in case. We probably would not make many calls, but we do travel to Europe for 3 weeks twice a year. Let's say we make five 10 minute calls which is $19. Am I correct in assuming the total for the phones and calls would be 29 + 29 +19, or $77? Or am I figuring this out all wrong. I plan to call CIE tomorrow, but it would be helpful if I had some basic knowledge about this. Thanks for any help.

halfempty, are you US based, if so whos is your carrier. You may already have a phone that will work in Europe. If so, just purchase the sim card.

halfempty: Yes, you pay for the phone, plus the SIM, plus for any calls you make.

Agree with mrcamp- contact your US carrier. All have much more competitive plans/rates now. If you need a phone only for emergencies or the occasional call, using your home carrier may be much more economical and convenient than investing in a phone and SIM plus paying for calls.

I have some time so I will do a quick primer on mobile phones and what is being talked about.

First of all, I'm not a geek and the mobile phone revolution continues on. But what we're talking abot are phones just for voice calls and we'll leave data aside. These are basically 2nd generation phones and while they are becoming obsolete to a degree, their total death is certainly not imminent.

Having said that, there are several different technologies for mobile phone communication. In the 1990's, the European countries adopted as their standard something called GSM (don't ask me what it stands for) because of its flexibility. You know a Dutchman living 30 miles from the German border might spend every other weekend in Germany so you didn't want all sorts of different technologies. The USA for a variety of reasons shunned gsm for a long while and even today, the largest US carrier, Verizon, uses a totally incompatible technology (as do Nextel and others). Only T Mobile US and AT&T use GSM. So Verizon phones, for the most part, are useless in Europe (they have bulky ones which have both their technology and GSM but nobody buys these).

Okay so GSM operates with a little chip called a SIM card (I happen to know what SIM stands for; Subscriber Information Module). In most GSM phones if you open the back, take out the battery, you will see a slot where you can insert the sim card. The sim card determines the guts of the phone, the carrier, your phone number whatever. It is supposed to be removable and for the most part it is but sometimes it's difficult. So if you live in Britain and have a British cell phone account with Orange UK, you have an Orange UK sim card in your phone. If you go to France, you can either use the Orange UK sim card,in which case you pay higher fees to make and receive calls this is called roaming or you can take out the Orange UK sim card and put in a sim card issued by a French telcom; voila the phone now has a French number. You can't do that with Verizon phones.

Now, for reasons based on availability of spectrum space, European GSM phones and North American GSM phones use different frequencies. The European phones use 900 and 1800 mhz. while North American phones use 850 and 1900 mhz. That's not much of a problem anymore as most receng gsm phones are capable of using all 4 bands (hence the name quad band).

Companies subsidize hones so as to get you hooked on their service. Thus T Mobile USA might give you a good deal and to entice you to buy their service instead of AT&T, they might give you a real good deal on your phone. But guess what, they don't want you to go over to AT&T. So many gsm phones as sold by many telcoms are said to be locked. That is upon being turned on and booted up, if a different sim card is in the phone than the company that locked the phone, the phone will not boot up. However, gsm phones are either sold unlocked or can be unlocked by calling the ompany that locked it, this is called unlocking the phone. An unlocked GSM quad band phone will work anywhere that gsm is the technology in that country. All you need is a sim card.

When you travel, many companies sell pay as you go plans (PAYG),,what that mneans is to subscribe to that service they sell you (or give you as is the case often in Great Britain say) a sim card, you insert it in the phone and voila you're on the network. But to pay for the calls, you have to buy time. There are various ways this is done. This is called topping up. For the most part in Europe, when you have a country specific PAYG plan, you receive calls while in that country for free; the caller pays the premium. As noted, while say a British sim card will work outside Britain (it is called roaming), you lose the free reception of calls and pay much more to make calls. In Britain, as I've noted, because of the competition, you can make international calls using a British sim card and a PAYG phone for as little as 3p/minute (do you need a quick course in British currency?)...trust me that's dirt cheap, less than 5 cents US a minute!

I think I covered the high points to better help you understand what is being talked about here and in other threads regarding European 2g mobiles. But we can talk about international sim cards where you get free reception of calls throughout all of Europe, something you don't get with CIE which is essentially a French sim card (although post paid, which is not necessarily good because if it is stolen, people can run up big big bills for which you are responsible; with PAYG the most you can lose is whatever funds are left on the sim card (unless you have automatic top up which I don't recommend for that reason).

I am sure there is much more to say but remember this was meant to be the basic course. And unlike some of the misinformation you see in travel books or even on this board, the information as of today is quite correct. Of course, with all the advances in technology, tomorrow might be a different story.

ttt

Oh yes...assuming you're American, if you have a cell phone plan with either AT&T or T Mobile USA, you have a gsm phone. If the phone is of recent vintage, it probably is a quad band (see you understand what that means now). Both AT&T and T Mobile USA allow international roaming on their plans. It is free to sign up but very expensive to receive calls and make calls. But if you only want to use the phone in an emergency and just want to leave your number with the dog sitter, it will work but ouch it's very easy to run up huge fees...and it is easy to become addicted to it. Text messaging is a good option and not too expensive (I know with T Mobile USA you can receive text messages for free if you have such a plan and sending a text message only costs 35¢).

However, if you're going to be away for any length of time, then it might pay to get a local PAYG sim card (you see again you now know what I'm talking about)..because while in that country you don't pay to receive calls (your caller pays and if he or she is calling internationally, the rates to call a mobile are much higher than to call a landline be aware of that)....France is on the more expensive side, I am afraid, for PAYG plans...what is being talked about here is a plan for France. However, now British sim cards as I said four or five message up are dirt cheap, in many cases free, easy to get, easy to top up and one of the wonderful things of travelling to Great Britain is the language they speak there is very close to American and for the most part you will understand what people are saying and be able to read instruction manuals. About the only hassle is letting people know your British number (it has a country code of 44 and starts with a 7 so peole calling you from North America, assuming you're in North America, will have to dial 011 44 followed by your number omitting the leading zero (which is sort of like the 1 at the start of American and Canadian numbers) and trying to convince them that calling internationally is not very expensive besides which, they cal always call you, tell you the number they're at, and you can cfall them right back for 3p/minute!

Now my dear friend logos, who we don't seem to hear from too much anymore, can explain how cheap German sim cards are (but then again you have to speak the language and German and American are pretty different languages for a linguistically deprived person such as myself..

What a great way this was to pass a few minutes.

xyz123 -- Thank you so much! What a great tutorial. My US Cellular folks just gave me instructions to "unlock" my Blackberry myself to get a French SIM card. Was I talking to an idiot or can I do it myself? Is there something they need to do besides give me the instructions?

xyz123,

Good info and thanks for taking the time to explain what many people may not have known much about. But all that info is one of the reasons I like my CiE phone... it's simple! And it's in my pocket before I leave, I already have a number, it will work from pretty well anywhere in Europe without needing a new SIM or paying higher rates and I can have calls forwarded to me.

And if it were lost or stolen why would the charges that could possibly be put on by the thief be any more of a worry than my 'regular' phone I use at home? Calling CiE and/or my credit card company would fix that... aside from locking the phone or SIM.

I am pretty comfortable with tech stuff but when I go to Europe I want simple, reliable and nothing I need to hassle with to work in a foreign language. ;^)

Rob

xyz: Thank you for taking the time to explain Cell Phone Use in Europe 101. Much appreciated!

xyz. I love to use my phone when I am away. As you said, it can become addictive. The last time I was in France I used Call In Europe.
But calls in Portugal with a Vodaphone SIM were more expensive. And I have no idea what the cost will for a SIM or multiple SIM cards in Croatia, Hungary or Poland.

I did purchase a SIM from One Sim with a small amount of time and it is roaming from Estonia which isn't the best but it was worth it for me to have it in hand when I arrive to call the apartment owners of each country. Because I know it is basically going to be .59 per minute where I am going.
I really do not care if my family knows the number before I leave. But I would like to reduce cost a little per minute. I don't suppose I will use the phone less.

What do you think is the best way to purchase one of the PAYG British SIMs? Do you feel they are the most reasonable cards to use for roaming currently?.
Or, I would even be willing to buy three different SIM cards but somehow I get tangled up in trying to find out which ones to get and what costs what.

Gelatolover, If you are ordering a SIM card from CallinEurope don't forget to include their shipping and handling fee, which I thought was very expensive, when trying to decide on cost of phone service. I was charged $14.00 for S&H of one card, from CT to my home in Maryland. I've had the CIE card for two years mainly for travel to France where CIE has their cheapest phone rates, they are less of a savings in other countries. Deborah

As for callineurope, the SIM card is $29.00 and the shipping is $12.00. I just paid it again four weeks ago. I really think they should come down on the shipping cost which is really too high to ship something that, in weight, would take 1 or 2 max, forever stamps if sent through the U.S. mail system. Happy Travels!

Sher...Here is what seems to be the best deal for an international card today...go to ebay and try to find an ekit US simple card...it costs $9 with $3 shipping but comes with $10 credit. Here is what you get

1. Both a USA number and a British (actually Isle of Man) number (or as they say a +1 number and a +44 number).

2. While in what they call zone 1, you receive calls for free if dialed on the +44 number. Their zone 1 includes all of Western Europe and some other of the usual countries. It excludes Russia and Bulgaria both does include almost all of the rest of Europe.

3. If dialed on the +1 number, you pay 19¢/minute to receive in all these countries.

4. Outgoing calls while you are in their zone 1to landlines in Europe, Australia, and both landlines and mobiles in the USA and Canada cost 49¢/minute, not dirt cheap but not too bad for an international card. There is either a 35¢ or 50¢ set up fee (not per minute) for each call. Unfortunately calls to mobiles outside the USA and Canada cost 84¢/minute plus the abovbe noted set up fee. Note there is no set up fee in receiving a call anywhere in zone 1 (what they call zone 1).

I can't think of any downside for this card...for $12 you get
$10 worth of credit so your net cost is $2...ekit has been pretty reputable (several other international cards that seemed to be a good deal like United Mobile have gone under; ekit seems to be particularly stable).....

This might be the easiest way. The card is easy to top up on the internet or via a phone call and while I use my UK card while in the UK, I use the ekit card elsewhere in Europe but it's very flexible...you can have your friends call you on the +44 number in which case they pay the fee for a call to a +44 mobile from their ld company or call on the +1 number in which case they pay whatever their ld carrier charges for a call to a USA number (do remember and this isimportant that calls to USA and Canadian number always go through at landline costs even though the call is to a mobile) so in many places in the world it's cheaper to call a USA number than to call a +44 mobile (even within the UK!).

Also this particular card can serve as a PAYG if you are visiting the USA...calls are 9¢/minute to make and receive although there is a 50¢ set up fee for each call either way...

That's the direction I would probably go today although there is nothing keeping you from getting a British sim card if you're visiting Great Britain and switching over other than the "inconvenience" of letting people know your whereabouts. Frankly, I think this is a much better deal than CIE....

Being the warm wonderful human being that I am, here is a link to buy the above referenced card on ebay:

http://tinyurl.com/y64qefd

My son's AT&T Blackberry works all over Europe even at the top of mountains. He gets Facebook and email alerts. The international plan is $24.95 and you just purchase it for the month you will be traveling. Calls are .99 per minute. I took my Telestial phone. Since we were only on Italy and France this time, all incoming calls were free. What a bargain for me!

xyz. Mucho Gracias. And since you are familiar with this SIM I will trust your judgement.

We have T-mobile phones with 3 bands. The third band is good in much of Europe.

But more to the point from a savings, we also have wifi capacity, which is important because our phone coverage is otherwise out in most of my girlfriend's home.

The clerk at the T-mobile store said that their manager was recently in Europe and that whenever he used the phone while it was connected by wifi, there was no charge for the calls.

Keith

Based on everyone's recommendations, I purchased the CIE phone yesterday for overnight delivery. What I didn't know is they call the number you want to have associated with it to verify the shipment before sending. Good idea, but I didn't have that little used cell phone number turned on yesterday to confirm.

The good news is that I called them today to see about canceling the phone because my flight was canceled. They did not ship it yet because I did not call back. In this case I am happy with the results.

Note to self, next time you order something, make sure you will answer the phone line you give them.

We've been using "Roam Simple" in Europe. Very easy and good service.

Roam simple used to be a good deal when they had all sorts of local sim cards for countries such as Ireland, France, Italy, Germany...you got free reception of calls with a local sim card and fairly cheap calls outgoing...they abandoned all those local sim cards at the end of last year for only offer a +44 card now...you only get free reception of calls in the UK...otherwise you pay to receive calls.

I still maintain the best deal I know of today is e-kit simple US/Canada card....$9 with $3 shipping with $10 credit...you just can't go wrong.

ttt

xyz123. I have looked at this e-kit SIM information twice now. I think that calls from Croatia, Hungary, and Poland to the USA will be .49 per minute. It is .89 per minute to my daughter who only has a cell phone no land line.
Do I understand correctly?

Calls to USA (and Canadian) cell phones are charged at landline rates (it's there)....in many places in the world (Europe, Australia) the cell phone industry developed in such a way that receiving calls on a cell phone is free and the caller pays a premium...that is why if you check long distance rates in the USA for example that you might see something to the effect that a call to a UK landline is 7¢/minute while a call to a UK mobile is 30¢/minute. The USA and Canadian cell phone industry developed in such a way that on a US cell phone, you pay to both make and receive calls. If you have a contract with a US cell phone company you may well have unlimited minutes or so many minutes that it doesn't matter but you might also have say 800 minutes/month whetyher it be making calls or receiving calls! Therefore calls to USA landlines and cell phones are not differentiated...you can't tell from a phone number whether a phone number is a landline or a cell phone line (well at one time say in NYC area code 917 was for cell phones but that was ruled unconstitutional believe it or not)...so you need not worry. Calling your daughter's cell phone in the USA or Canada will be at the rate of 49¢/minute but don't forget the 35¢ set up fee (although really, with the 19¢/minute receiving rate, just make the call and ask her to call you right back! (But I do agree, 84¢ to make a 1 minute call is expensive but I don't know too many international sim cards which are much cheaper!)......

Yes. It is rather espenive to call her cell phone. I think I just might buy a local SIM from each country. I don't think it could be .89 a minute.
That is just too high a tariff for a call. I can also rely on Skype.

I just purchased a kit from callineurope.com with a Nokia 1208 + SIM(France) thinking, from older msgs on forums, that the phone would be unlocked giving me the option of getting other SIM cards later if I preferred. Then after reading more chatter, of uncertainty on whether their phone is locked or not, emailed Call in Europe to ask them.

The answer is that, contrary to their previous policies with the Moto phones, YES the Nokia 1208 they now sell at a special price is locked to the SIM card... AND they cannot give terms on unlocking because they don't have the unlock code[gasp]. Now, the SIM they supply is for the SFR network but there's no way to tell if it's customized for Call in Europe or not; might be interesting to see if a SFR SIM would work in it.

The Euro rules specify that the networks MUST allow unlocking after 6 months or after the discount on price has been recovered through call charges but the situation here is hazy since it's not a European company. Call in Europe is either owned by or an associate of a new French service called Zero Forfait, www.zeroforfait.fr, and it's worth taking a look at their service and rates, e.g. Eu9.50 sign-up, Eu0.19/min. in France... only for comparison since you'd need a French credit card, Carte Bleue, or a French bank acct. to use their service.

To tell the truth I'm not too worried about the unlocking issue, though I'm annoyed they are not more upfront about it. I like the service terms, billing method, phone no. before leaving, etc. and if the time comes where I want a different SIM service, I'll just buy another phone - $29. is not a big loss.

You might want to try an unlock service such as

http://www.unlockitnow.com/Nokia/1208.php

If they cannot provide an unlock code, your money is refunded. (And the refund is speedy, and automatic - this I know from experience.)

I doubt another SFR SIM would work. But, why quibble over a phone that retails for much more?

Personally, I own several unlocked GSM phones and have purchased local SIMs in Paris. But, I now prefer CallinEurope.

For the most part, local SIMs are not cheaper. Instructions are in French (such as for checking your balance), along with everything to do with adding credit. I find adding credit a huge pain and very inconvenient.

On the one hand, you could run up a huge bill with CallinEurope with lengthy conversations, whereas your local SIM will run out of credit. On the other hand, "the more you buy the more extra credit" just bugs me, and still runs out quickly.

We communicate mostly with text messages, and quick calls, so very economical. CIE billing is very straightforward, and I've never had a problem.

It is, however, not a good idea to leave your PIN engaged while out and about. Depending on the model, turn it off, turn it back on, choose Cancel rather than entering your PIN. You'll have service and be able receive calls. But, if the phone is lost/stolen, no one will be able to make calls with your SIM.

Well, after a bit of investigation, the Nokia 1208 is a "DCT4+" phone and cannot be unlocked by just calculating codes according to http://unlockme.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=86394. The calculators also need a network name and that's something which is still not clear yet - if it's SFR, the cost is more than the price of another cheap phone.

Umm, I think I made myself clear about any "quibble" in my previous post - I'm not too bothered but CIE *should* make their terms clear *before* taking money. The fact that they say they "don't have the unlock code for the phone" suggests to me it could be a SFR lock (the most costly of the unlock charges), or maybe a Zero Forfait one. If one of our French friends is willing to let me borrow their SIM I'll give it a try.

As for local SIMs, French is no bother for me but the availability of the low cost ones -- much lower than CIE's rates -- is limited to major downtown areas. Even Virgin does not seem to have a French airport presence; as far as I can tell Orange is the only one with automatic dispensing machines in some airports and their rates are outrageous.

I still agree that the CIE rates are reasonable and the service overall worthwhile to me but rates in Europe are tumbling just now so they'll have to be err, agile to remain competitive.

Oh, I don't see any way to cancel out of the PIN request on this phone - pressing the call button results in a "Emergency Calls Only" msg so perhaps just leaving it on the PIN request screen allows receiving calls? I'll see if that works.

Appreciate everybody's ideas & suggestions re how to best do cell phones in Europe.

My daughter will be in Austria for 5-6 weeks, and I'd like her to have easy access to a cell phone & the option of calling the States without a huge expense.

Liked xyz123's suggestions re the ekit US simple card---sounds perfect

What do you all recommend for what kind of phone we should buy? we have verizon service here in the States so we would need to purchase a phone that will work in Europe.

Any suggestions for good priced phones to buy that the ekit US simple card will work with?

Thanks!

mandavila- I also have verizon and this is what I did: one of my phones was ready for a free upgrade so I chose the verizon Escapade.... it is a global phone. It costs 79.99 but due to my upgrade it was only 19.99 plus tax for me, about 40-50$.

with that simple upgrade, I was then all set to be able to make phone calls in europe at $1.30 per minute. Then, I did some internet research and found speedypin which sells phone cards. I bought a $5 card which is about 100 minutes. I think it is 2 cents per minute? I didn't do the math.... I have used it and it sounded fine. The pin number put my call through and worked great. I will followup and make sure I didn't get any additional verizon charges when I get back but it is my understanding that I will only be charged the minutes used and no additional costs since I used my phone card. total cost was about $50.

Bookmarking.

bookmark

Just a followup due to the bookmarking; I had forgotten about this thread. If anyone reads my last post, it was terribly wrong. Although I had been told that using my Verizon cell phone with a phone card would only cost me minutes, I was misinformed.

When I returned, I had an expensive phone bill from Verizon. They charged me minutes PLUS air time charges for the international calls and this is on top of having paid for those airtime charges with the prepaid phone card from Speedypin.

There is absolutely no reason to use a phone card with a Verizon phone overseas; you will be double paying. You'll pay for Verizon air time charges as if you didn't use a phone card and you will have paid for the phone card which will be worthless.

From subsequent research, it seems the best way is to buy a phone overseas to use there or use a SIM card you purchase over there. Someone on another thread posted a link to a tutorial on this that Rick Steves had done.

I just wanted to update with a BEWARE so no one goes down the path I tried.

Hey LairdDrambeg just fyi Call in Europe phones are in fact unlocked. Actually if they are locked they cannot sell them with their O2 UK SIM cards and O2 Germany SIM cards. The phone they sell is very basic, but to tell you the truth that's what people usually want especially when they are on vacation. I used Call in Europe and I am pleased with their service.

"The phone they sell is very basic, but to tell you the truth that's what people usually want especially when they are on vacation. I used Call in Europe and I am pleased with their service."

Agree.
We have one with French SIM CARD...
used it in France, Spain and Germany for several years.
No complains.

Buyer beware. I had used Call in Europe several times and had no complaints, but on my last trip switched to the Germany plan since it was the only country I was traveling to. I had two calls they said were over 40 minutes long. I'm no dummy and would never have talked that long due to the expense. You won't get any where with their customer service -- no way to dispute the length of the call. Doesn't help that they have your credit card number -- why would they want to help you. Cost more than $100. Won't use them again.

Without re-reading this thread (sorry) does a Tracfone work without any extra effort when one goes from US to France or Italy??

What is a Tracfone?

European GSM frequencies are 900/1800mHz. Does this phone operate on these frequencies or does it use 850/1900mHz?

From the Wikipedia page about TracFone:

"TracFone service is limited to TracFone-branded handsets (all TracFone handsets are pre-programmed by the manufacturer; therefore, the handset is locked including its latest GSM models). Other GSM handsets will not accept TracFone SIM cards, even if unlocked..."

So no, your phone won't work. You can get an unlocked GSM phone for as little as $39 from TigerDirect.com or NewEgg.com. Order your free Lebara SIM from Lebara.fr ... simply add "USA" after your ZIP code and it should arrive in 2 weeks or less.

CallinEurope.com phones are also unlocked and and are inexpensive simple models from about 30 bucks.

My mistake... seems CallInEurope no longer offers phones alone but only with their SIMs.