RuaMor

Can I use the mobile phone I purchased in Ireland in Scotland?

sparkchaser

You'll probably need a new SIM, but yes.

Tony2phones

Yes. same frequencies. But.. If you buy a phone in Ireland and top up on a Republic based network you are "Roaming" once you leave the island of Ireland.

If you are just using a few calls and texts then I suggest Tesco mobile, you can pick up a phone for under €20 and top up €10 should cover you for a couple of weeks provided light use.

If a lot of calls and texts then "3" mobile Ireland has limited arrangements with "3" UK and is therefore an option.

If you want Data then you want a more expensive phone then get it unlocked because you will need a separate provider for each location, unless free wifi is available

I suggest you get hold of an unlocked European friendly phone off ebay or someone you know and just go the sim card route rather than buying a phone here that is locked to one of our networks.

if that makes sense?

Tony2phones

The above assumed you were going to buy a phone not that you already had.. time I started reading questions a little more thoroughly.

xyz123

roaming rates in the eu are on the way out. if you are not going to make a whole lot of calls (just assuming you are getting an Irish sim card first) you can use that sim card to roam in the UK (Scotland). If you are calling outside the eu, say to the United States, the Irish sim card will not be very good as one of the things the European mobile networks have done with the forced introduction of low roaming rates within the eu is boost call rates outside the eu, especially when roaming. However, several of the British telecoms have ridiculously cheap plans to call the USA and/or Canadalike 2p/minute so it might pay for you to get a British sim card. It's really a bit complicated but it depends a whole lot what you want the phone for (and then there's the matter of d data). Probably the simplest answer and probably the cheapest (note probably) is to get separate sim cards for Ireland and Scotland rather than trying to sit down and worry about it to the last cent or penny.

bilboburgler

yes

bilboburgler

yes, but read your contract on rates. As above EU roaming charges are being killed, and some contracts have even better specfic other country deals (ie Spain is a big holiday destination for northern europeans so contracts tend to make Spain cheap, while say Lithuania does less well).

I'd take my existing phone and buy a PAYG SIM, onto which you load small amounts of cash and consume. You also need to get the right size SIM, the best idea is buy a tri-SIM which has all 3 SIM sizes printed on one card.