Cell phone while in London
Feb 7th, 2009, 06:30 AM
#41
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Hi, I would like to tag on this post since it is the same subject. My phone is 900/1900, unlocked. I used it in France. I can use it in England, right?
About topping of for more minutes, I have a question. The above several info detailed about getting a sim and some minutes - PAYG. In addtion, one gets a card that comes with it in order to add minutes. Am I understanding correctly?
When I was in France, if I needed more minutes, I gave them my phone, told them the amount and they did something to the phone for me.
About topping of for more minutes, I have a question. The above several info detailed about getting a sim and some minutes - PAYG. In addtion, one gets a card that comes with it in order to add minutes. Am I understanding correctly?
When I was in France, if I needed more minutes, I gave them my phone, told them the amount and they did something to the phone for me.
Feb 7th, 2009, 07:44 AM
#42
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Hi..
A 900/1900 is usable in Britain however several of the British carriers are primarily 1800 (T Mobile UK, Orange UK)....Virgin Mobile is a virtual operator that uses T Mobile UK so it would also be useless for them. Vodafone UK is primarily 900 but frankly especially for international calls back to North America or Australia, its rates are patheticly high.
Now Talk Mobile is a virtual network that uses Vodafone towers so your phone will work with them and they have very cheap rates.
However, I dare say you would be better off to get a cheap gsm phone that has both 900 and 1800 not only for the UK but for many other places in Europe. O2 UK also operates, I think, on 900.
As far as topping up...most of the British mobile operators include in the sim package a card that looks like a credit card. You may have to activate it through your phone (Talk Mobile) but that's easy. The T Mobile UK card comes with the top up card already activated.
To use one of these cards look for a chemist chain (Boots or Superdrug), petrol station, grocery chain store (Sainsbury or Tesco), Mobile Phone store all of which along with all the credit card decals on the window will have the e top up decal. Go to the cashier with the card and tell them, "I wish a £5 top up." They run the card through their credit card terminal, you pay the 5 quid (cash or credit card) and voila. The whole transaction takes about 15 seconds!
Hope that helps.
A 900/1900 is usable in Britain however several of the British carriers are primarily 1800 (T Mobile UK, Orange UK)....Virgin Mobile is a virtual operator that uses T Mobile UK so it would also be useless for them. Vodafone UK is primarily 900 but frankly especially for international calls back to North America or Australia, its rates are patheticly high.
Now Talk Mobile is a virtual network that uses Vodafone towers so your phone will work with them and they have very cheap rates.
However, I dare say you would be better off to get a cheap gsm phone that has both 900 and 1800 not only for the UK but for many other places in Europe. O2 UK also operates, I think, on 900.
As far as topping up...most of the British mobile operators include in the sim package a card that looks like a credit card. You may have to activate it through your phone (Talk Mobile) but that's easy. The T Mobile UK card comes with the top up card already activated.
To use one of these cards look for a chemist chain (Boots or Superdrug), petrol station, grocery chain store (Sainsbury or Tesco), Mobile Phone store all of which along with all the credit card decals on the window will have the e top up decal. Go to the cashier with the card and tell them, "I wish a £5 top up." They run the card through their credit card terminal, you pay the 5 quid (cash or credit card) and voila. The whole transaction takes about 15 seconds!
Hope that helps.
Feb 8th, 2009, 06:22 AM
#43
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I have phones from a previous trip and will look into the SIM card options mentioned here.(I even have an account with Callbackworld from following xyz213's excellent advice in the past!) My question is: In March, I will be in London for 1 week then in Rome for another. I hope to use the phone mostly for emergencies (and Skype for touching-base with home). Can I buy a SIM in London and use the same one in Rome. I understand the rates would be different. If so, has anyone already done the research to know which company would be best for me to use? Thank you so much for your help!
Feb 8th, 2009, 08:32 AM
#44
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Thank you xyz. I looked at carphone web site and found one that is reasonable. Nokia 1650 with air time from TMobile 19.95 pounds. I am afraid to proceed to place an order. I will be in London May 19th. When should I order? It says free delivery. Should I have it delivered to the hotel, if the hotel will let me?
Feb 8th, 2009, 10:26 AM
#45
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Hi WLS....
Assuming you're in the USA, the best deal to calling back to the States is with T Mobile UK and yourcallworld as noted......now you would be able to use the T Mobile UK sim in Rome to receive calls (it would be 19p/minute but calling home would be very expensive unless you get an Italian sim card (in which case calling home is merely expensive)....
While Italian sim cards are reasonably inexpensive, they are nowhere as inexpensive as British ones (after all, it's pretty tough to beat free)...
Assuming you're in the USA, the best deal to calling back to the States is with T Mobile UK and yourcallworld as noted......now you would be able to use the T Mobile UK sim in Rome to receive calls (it would be 19p/minute but calling home would be very expensive unless you get an Italian sim card (in which case calling home is merely expensive)....
While Italian sim cards are reasonably inexpensive, they are nowhere as inexpensive as British ones (after all, it's pretty tough to beat free)...
Feb 9th, 2009, 06:52 AM
#47
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I have been researching the sim cards recommended and I have a question about how long these cards retain their uploaded value if not used. A few years ago I made the mistake of buying an Explorer Sim card from Telestial. Telestial messed up and didn't send us preloaded cards as advertised, then because we had signed up for automatic reloading whenever we were under a certain amount they added minutes we didn't want. We ended up with a bunch of expensive minutes on two phones. Worst of all was that, if not used, these cards expired in 9 months. Money lost. My question about the t-mobile and talkmobile sim cards is do they expire?
Feb 9th, 2009, 07:04 AM
#48
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T Mobile UK and Talk Mobile need a chargeable event once every 180 days...the chargeable event can be anything....Since both allow roaming in the USA, you can simply send yourself a text message once every 5 months to maintain validity.
Feb 9th, 2009, 08:10 AM
#49
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Thanks, xyz123! That is exactly what I will do. I guess I will wait until we get to London and purchase the sims. The Talkmobile really is crazy cheap. I wish they would come up with a SIM with equally inexpensive rates that work equally inexpensively all over Europe.
