Any one have any experience with cell phones in Europe?
 

We are going to be in Paris in March and friends will be there at the same time. They are staying in an apartment which comes with two cell phones. In addition to this trip I might be traveling to Germany for business. Last time I was there it was cumbersome borrowing the company T-Mobile phone to call my husband. Any suggestions?

I have my T-Mobile phone but I also bought a Mobal phone for $49 for my husband to carry. The per-minute rates are not cheap but it is very convenient and easy to use. We have used it for 3 years now, and it works just fine.

http://www.mobal.com/

I took my T-Mobile phone with me and it was easy. They offer a thing called WorldClass International Service (free) that you need to have before you go - it's not cheap but you don't use your phone that much and it was alot easier than my sister trying to find a store that sells SIM cards - not as easy as you'd think in some places.

Since I don't want to change my provider to T-Mobile (limited access on the Cape) I guess Mobal is the way to do. Thanks for the information.

ttt

Check callineurope.com Rates are likely cheaper than Mobal and rates are least expensive in France as the phone will have a French number.

I bought one from them last year for $49 and it works brilliantly. I have no connection with them
other than as a happy customer.

Rob

I bought 3 different ones..I have a Mobal that I bought first and forget the 2nd one. They both had foreing number that they were using..Mobal was British and the other one was some small europen place.

Anyway, I now have the Roam Simple. It has a Paris number. It is ready to use when I land.

Don't know how helpful this is for you.

Joan

I would like one that I can used while traveling internationally for business as well. The trip to German has now become a trip to the UK so you see I need a great deal of flexiblity. Thanks for the information.

We are a family of 4 going to Italy in June. Since we are all coming from different airports and meeting up in Venice, it would be nice to have cell phones in case something goes awry. Any suggestions for this?

AGM
Check out the Roam Simple website..they have all the sim cards...maybe it would work for you.

Joan

telestial.com will sell you a Europe phone and a SIM with some airtime on it for $40. The minute rates aren't great, but just for co-ordinating your party, this has to be one of the easiest ways. You'll have each others' phone numbers before you leave home.

We have cell phone service with Cingular and took both our cell phones on our last two trips to France/Italy/Spain. We simply signed up for the international service prior to our departure. On first trip I did have to call the 1-800 international number because my service was not available but after speaking with them for less than 3 minutes...they had me up and running.

There was a time that i tried to popularize the idea of "buy a phone, and then sell it forward" once you have completed your trip. the issue of "locked" and "unlocked" phones (and for what country?) made it too fragmented an idea, I suspect.

But I still have this phone...

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...om-with-an.cfm

...if anyone wants to buy it from me (cheap). I let someone take it to Europe sometime last year ("borrowing" it from me, rather than buying it from me) - - and she returned it... seemingly never having used it - - so its number is long since expired; it is uncharged (with only a europe AC adapter) so I really cannot check out what it would take to put it back into service, not can i forecast what it would cost to buy more time on it.

But for anyone traveling to France, feel free to contact me.

Best wishes,

Rex

Our phone company, AT&T (was Cingular) offers service in Europe if you have a quad band phone. The roaming charges are $.99/min if you add a plan for $6/mo, which can be discontinued on your return. This has always worked for us as we've used our phones for the quick calls to travel companions or "emergency" calls so family.

We do the same thing as caroltis and Judy. Works well for us and we will be doing it again this summer.

I used my iphone last spring in France and Spain and ended up with a huge bill. I think I will keep it on airplane mode this spring when we go to Italy, Spain and France. It would be nice to be able to use the internet while sightseeing and not have to pay so much. Texting isn't too bad--I believe $.50 a text. Does anyone have any new information on using an iphone in Europe?

<I>Judy on Feb 27, 09 at 06:13 PM

...AT&T (was Cingular) offers service in Europe... The roaming charges are $.99/min if you add a plan for $6/mo</i>

T-Mobile.com offers calling from/within Europe for 99&cent;/min without any plan or monthly charge. Texts are 45&cent; outgoing, incoming are free.

Robes--True. Kids and I have cingular (or whatever they call it now) and DH has Tmobile. His reception is terrible though here at home. Mine is good and we have had good luck with our plan overseas.

As stated above both AT&T ($1.29 without the $6.00 per month plan) and T-Mobile ($0.99) have international roaming with tri or quad band phones.

If you have Veizon you can rent a blackberry for use in Europe or you can buy one for use in the US and Europe.

Sprint also offers international coverage, but you need to purchase or rent a phone, pay an activation fee and commit to internation coverage for a year.

If you have an unlocked quad band phone you can purchase a UK T-Mobile sim card from ebay for about $6.00 and then buy minutes when you get to the UK. This won't help if you start in another European country.

Just some more options.

You can also get free T-Mobile SIMs delivered to your hotel: http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/free-...u-go-sim-cards

I have seen many opinions on this subject but I agree with those who recommend www.mobal.com

It is a very easy service with excellent telephone service that I have used throughout Europe and South America.

You purchase and own the phone (we have had ours for 7-8 years) and are billed for what you use! No ongoing service fee's, etc.

Great for the "how is everything" connection to US with minimal hassle...IMHO!

My first one was the Mobal. The problem with it is that the number is British. That makes akk the calls from there. My French friends pointed that out to me. The next one was a Range Roamer..same thing the number was some small european country...now I have the Roam Simple and use only the France sim. Others are available, of course. I do have a few phones! I now only use the Roam Simple.

Joan