Cell Phone in Ireland

Old Jul 26th, 2005, 12:23 PM
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Cell Phone in Ireland

I would like to have a cell phone in Ireland mainly for emergency contacts (we will be hiking in the Dingle Peninsula) and to be able to check messages from home now and then. It would be nice if we purchased a phone that we could use in Italy on another trip. Any suggestions?
RockCrest is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2005, 01:16 PM
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RockCrest, try the 'search' facility on this forum - you should find previous threads containing lots of helpful information and hopefully they'll answer your question. (Having said that, I've seen some complaints about the search function recently.)

In short, you need an unlocked GSM phone that uses the near-universal 900 and 1800 MHz frequencies, and a prepaid SIM card at your destination. If you buy a triband phone (900/1800/1900 MHz) you'd also have the option of using it where GSM coverage exists in North America.
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Old Jul 26th, 2005, 01:59 PM
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I love Neil's posts

But I don't understand a word of this one.

Buy a pay as you go mobile phone (typically for about €50 or less) anywhere in Ireland. Then read the stuff in its manual about getting it to work in Italy.

All Irish phones work throughout the world, except in backwoods like America. There's absolutely no need to fuss about tribands or anything else.
flanneruk is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2005, 04:31 PM
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I called my wireless provider last week to cancel my service because my son is going away to school where the service did not work. By then end of the call they had converted my service to GSM - which does work at the school - and I had a new phone on the way that will work internationally and the cost is $0. Best to check your options.
GoSox is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2005, 04:39 PM
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But what they didn't tell you is that calls to and from wherever your son is will cost $1.29/minute to both make and receive calls the emphasis being on the receive.

Now you can take advantage of their generosity by doing the following:

1. Having the phone unlocked. If it is a Nokia it can easily be unlocked by going to the web and downloading the Nokia unlocking calculator. Any other brand probably requires your son to wait till he gets to wherever and then having the phone unlocked.

2. Buying a local sim. I don't know what country your son will be in, I don't think you mentioned it. But with a local sim, he pays nothing to receive calls at school and so your calls to him will be free to him. He can see what is the best deal for the prepaid sim wherever he is. You can also open up an account with kall8 which for $2/month will give you a US 800 number which you can program to ring to his brand new sim, as a matter of fact, you can have calls to his US mobile number forwarded to the kall8 800 number and then to his local sim so he can retain his US mobile number!

The use of US international roaming is fine for those who really don't intend to use the phone except for emergencies. As this will be a working phone for him, it is far better he have a local sim and a local prepaid service.
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Old Jul 27th, 2005, 07:14 AM
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Actually my son will be in the US but in a part of Central Maine that does not have good service except for GSM. We have a 30 day trial period so we can test it out. The international component will be for the three or four trips each year taking us out of the country where the phone will just be used for emergencies and quick check-ins. The rate per minute is not bad.
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