Anyone had any experience with cellphone companies in Italy? Higer and lower prices, contracts,etc?

ttt

I'm hardly an expert but will tell you about my recent experience. For in depth information, find some posts by xyz123, who frequently answers questions about cell phones and is a real expert.

On previous trips to Europe I have rented cell phones. As long as you only make a few calls, this is not terribly expensive. But we're going back year after year, and I decided that buying an unlocked phone made a lot more sense. We arrived in Rome on a Sunday (stores were closed) and were leaving by train mid-day on Monday. I wanted to buy an inexpensive phone (as few features as possible) and not spend a lot of time shopping for it.

We went to the only store close to our hotel. Unlike London, Paris, Barcelona & other cities, there were not stores in every block, but I got directions to a store featuring Wind phones (that's the service provider). Neither of the clerks spoke English (this surprised me), but Mrs. jd and I have learned some Italian and managed to get by.

I bought a cheap phone for about 60 Euro, which included 8 Euro or so of talk time. As far as I know, there are no "contracts," you just buy and then recharge sim cards. And as long as the phone is unlocked, you can substitute sim cards for other countries when you need to.

The phone worked fine and we got good service in Rome, Montepulciano, Assisi and driving around in Tuscany. I don't remember the airtime charges but they were quite a bit lower than for a rental. And now I have a phone for use on future trips. Incoming calls in the country the sim card comes from are free, which is a great feature.

The manufacturer is Sendo, and since returning I have already discovered that it is in some kind of bankruptcy, reorganization, etc. I found this on the web while searching for a car charger for the phone. My word of advice is that, if you buy a phone, also get a converter so that you can charge with US (or other home country) current, or get a car charger (I think these are the same in US and Europe). It's not a big deal, but I thought it would be a good idea to run down the battery, then recharge shortly before our next trip. But I'm looking for the right car charger.

I hope this is somewhat helpful. I think buying a phone after you arrive in Europe is a relatively easy way to go, and a much better deal than renting.

The voice mail instructions are in Italian, however, and I didn't figure that out. When I called my office and left messages, I cautioned people not to leave voice mail until I had a chance to figure it out, but I never took the time.

Hey thanks, that's a good idea. would you say that paying as you go is cheaper than getting a monthly service like you would at home? I will be living there for a year so I will be using it just as much as the one I use here and probably mostly for calls within Italy (jobs, school, apartments, fellow students) and I can always use a payphone or calling card to call home (the U.S)
How much did it run you to purchase minutes on cards?

*getting closer to takoff and anxiety is setting in*

It is my impression that prepaid service is used by everybody in Europe; perhaps contracts are available, but I don't think so. I hope that someone more knowledgeable is able to clarify.

Since you will be using the phone in Italy for a year, it makes sense for you to find the best per-minute deal. I was more interested in getting a workable phone in a hurry, and I didn't study the per-minute options very closely.

One website recommended by xyz123 is at http://www.prepaidgsm.net/

That shows the different deals availabls from many different service providers, and if you can figure it out completely, it will help answer your questions. Click on "Operators," then Italy, and you will see a display showing all of the providers and their different rates.

Another alternative for you would be to get situated at school and get advice from fellow students who have had time to figure out the system.

My calls to the US ran about 40-50 cents per minute, much higher than calling plans here but a great deal lower than phone rentals, etc. My calls within Italy were about 25 cents per minute, as I recall.

Keep in mind that you can call the US and get a call back. As I understand the system incoming calls in the home country of the SIM card are free of any airtime charges.

Good luck. Italy should cure your anxiety.

j-d dallas,
thanks so much for all of the detailed info. I have to say the people on this site are incredibly willing to spend time explaining things to novices and beginner travelers. I will probably be the most prepared student there. I'm thinking about advertising myself as a trip coordinator once in Florence: you know, setting people up with a phone the day they arrive, getting them the most affordable hotels, cars, etc.
This site put me well on my way!
(just brainstorming........)
thanks again
ciao
brooke

Its a long time since I bought my italian SIM card but just for the record, if you go with TIM (and I found that the different networks do not differ greatly on price - people tend to go with the network that most of their friends are on because the network specific calls are cheaper!) it can be set to give you all the user information in English, rather than Italian - voicemail, topping up phone, service information etc.
You tend to be able to top up the phones through cards bought at any Tabacchi and also through ATM machines.
The other good thing I found about TIM is that they do lots of 'special offers' which change frequently - not so necessary if you are there on holiday, but if you are hanging around for a year, it can be handy.
Just looked on the site, for example and at the moment they have an offer to call any number in Europe, USA and Canada for 30 centisimi per minute for a one off payment of 50 centisimi (just as an example!.. these offers change on a weekly basis but I found it quite fun keeping up with them!).