For those who bought a SIM card for their cell phones, how much is it?
Where can I buy when I'm in Rome?
Thanks!

If this is a rechargeable SIM then it depends on how much money you want put onto it. I bought one in Milan for 10€ and got that much in calls (minus a dollar transaction fee).

www.prepaidgsm.net

Operator's section

EU Italy

I've seen them advertised for 99 pence/cents (both, though at different times). That is of course without any credit on them, but the cards themselves are very cheap (provided you have a phone that they will work on, ie unlocked or the right network), they make their money on the calls/texts.

My phone typically uses a SIM card, but in Italy I use a TIM card with no problem.

I've usually paid about $25 for the TIM, including about 5 euro of call time, and then I buy additional time as well as top us cards when I need more.

If you are staying anywhere near Piazza Navona, there is a TIM store on the very northern corner of Corso del Rinascimento (one block east of Piaza Navona). There is also one on Corso Vittorio Emanuelle II between Largo Argentina and Chiesa Nuova (on the north side of the street).

There is also a tabacchi shop to buy top up cards on Piazza Navona (on the right-hand side of the piazza, about in the middle, if you are facing north).

Otherwise, we often found tabacchi shops that sold the top up cards in various other areas. Just look for the "T" sign on the street and go in and ask.

Also, bring a copy of your passport (or the original) when purchasing the TIM card. They will request it for their files..

SIM is Subscriber Identity Module - a piece of hardware
TIM is Telecom Italia Mobile - a telephone service provider

So the chip you buy from TIM is a SIM.

Thanks for the explanation, Robespierre. I don't really use my phone that often, so that explains the terminology a bit more.

Three years ago we couldn't find cheap (20 Euros or less) SIM cards in Venice, though that might just have been Venice, we might not have found the right source, and things may have changed. But in most other countries we have gotten them for 10 Euros or less with half or more of the cost for talk time and a year until expiration. BTW, the cheapest way to send the phone number back to the US is via a text message to another cell phone - text messages between European and US phones run in the ballpark of 30 cents. Rather than spending the high prices of getting European SIMs in the US so we'll have the number before we go, we text the number to our daughter and have her e-mail it out to whoever we have asked her to contact.

Generally we have found that cards are cheaper at kiosks on the street, tobacco shops, or individual carriers' stores (depending on the country) than in generic phone or electronics stores. For instance, Germanos is ubiquitous in Greece (and maybe elsewhere) but we pay 1/3 or less the price they charge for a SIM - and also get top-ups for a smaller amount elsewhere as well. Of course, the most expensive country for pre-paid SIM cards is the US, by far.