I've read many posts about cell phones in Italy. However, I don't seem to get advise on what people think is the best way to get a cell phone or bring one, and get reasonable service. What is the cost ? Thanks.

I purchased a mobal phone for $49, it was shipped to me within a week, came with travel chargers and all of the pricing is clearly listed on their website. Italy was $1.50 per minute,the UK was #1.25 per minute (to call US) but there are no monthly service charges, no roaming charges (which can be $3.99 per minute if you use your US cell phone overseas) and the price varies per country. Incoming calls do not incur fees. I loved having it on my last trip and found that it worked perfectly even in the most remote locations that I visited on my journey.

Hope this helps!

ciaolaura

My Cingular quad-band global phone/pcket pc works anywhere in the world. Worked beautifully in Italy for a small extra monthly charge. I used up a lot of extra $$ in text messages to my kids, but I coulda done that from California, too.

My phone service is Cingular - I just called them and they set me up on a plan where I paid $5.99 per month and .99 per minute no matter whether I phoned a number in Italy or in U.S. It worked out to be a really good deal for us. They will check your phone to see if it is compatible with this service.

I have an Italian phone, and you can purchase them on arrival, as there are in shops everywhere.
I paid $40. and it is very reasonable.
Just buy your time, and you are all set.
One problem.
You can't buy time in any other country in Europe, so if you plan on a single trip, don't do it.
It is very frustrating to run out of minutes, being out of minutes elsewhere in Europe , rendering the phone useless.
I was told that I could buy time over the phone but it did not work.
I even had an Italian friend in Toronto try, with no luck.

I have an Italian cell phone that I bought on ebay for about 40.00 USD with shipping. I recharge it with Tim ricari card with I'm in Italy, but to keep the SIM card alive it has to be used in less than a year I think. When I don't think I can do it in time, a friend of mine in Italy buys me a cheap ricari card/recharge. It is very very cheap to use.

BUT I also have a Mobil Communications phone like the one above. It is expensive to use but I can use it in 99 countries. I did have a huge bill when members of our party were stuck all over the place due to US snow storms last February. We were in Paris and on the phone constantly. On the same trip, I lost my purse, which also entailed a ton of calls.

I just lent this phone to some friends with a warning about the high cost of using it.

I'm taking both phones to Venice in October, giving one to our friends that are staying at a different location.

Mobal will send them their SIM card, and I won't have to worry about charges at all.

Here's the URL for Mobal. We have the 49 dollar phone on the right.

I forgot to add above that we go to Europe at the very least once a year. We go to Italy once a year, and so both phones come in handy. I'll be in Italy in October and then nest May.

The following year will be Barcelona then the south of France. That Mobal phone is going to be used a lot.