I've got an unlocked quad-band phone I bought last year with an international SIM card in it. For my upcoming trip to Italy, I'd like to buy an Italian SIM card. I checked out Telestial, because that's where I bought my international SIM card, and the price looks OK, but two things are bothering me:

1. I believe I've read some negative things about Telestial service recently. Anyone have any problems with them?

2. It says to add airtime to the phone, just go to any tabac, café, phone store, etc., and buy a RICARICard, which I assume is like a télécarte in France (rub off a code number, plug it in, and you're set to go). However, in all the countless hours I've been reading this board, I've never seen mention of a RICARICard. Anyone use this?

Are there better options I should be considering?

Yes, I just got back from Italy and used Ricaricard often. Just go to any tabacco shop and often they will do it for you themselves. Tell them how much you want put on, have your cell number handy and they will call it in for you if you want.

We bought our SIM cards at a TIM store in Italy. It's a lot cheaper to buy it there than beforehand, but you lose the advantage of knowing your phone number in advance.

We bought one recaricard at a tobacco shop, it was just like you describe, a scratch off card, and had no problem adding call time ourselves.

Thanks, all. I'm sure it's cheaper to buy it once in Italy, but I won't get to my destination until late on a saturday afternoon, am not sure where I'd find a TIM store, and want office and family to know how to reach me in advance. I think it's worth it to pay a bit extra for that peace of mind.

Good to know about Ricaricard, though....thanks!

I had a problem with my pre bought TIM card (Italian SIM) in April. I don't know if the problem was with Telestial or TIM. When I got the TIM card from Telestial it included a notice that it would have to be registered before it would work in Italy and this required that I send some materials to Telestial including a copy of my passport which I did. According to Telestial I would only hear from them if there was a problem. Nevertheless I called their customer service number to check before I left, got a service and left a message checking that everything was OK. Still noone indicated there was a problem. When we arrived on a Sunday my cell phone did not work, Monday was a holiday so I wasn't able to get to an open TIM store until Tuesday. TIM did not have the registration and I had to register again and THEN the SIM would still not be activated for 24 hours. So make sure that you are registered, because like you I wanted the piece of mind knowing the number in advance and leaving it with friends and family. Instead I was unable to use my phone to make calls for 3 days.

I thought Vodafone was the most common cell phone service in Italy, or at least used to be a few years ago. I think you can buy a SIM card at any telefonino store at the airport when you arrive.

I would buy the SIM card upon getting to your first stop in Italy. They register you on the spot and your SIM works the minute it's inserted into your phone.

I wish you weren't leaving just as I'm about to return. I'd have been happy to lend you my SIM card...

Well, I'll have the international SIM card as a backup, so maybe it IS best to buy one upon arrival. Thanks, all...I'll think this over some more...

I always recharge my TIM at a TIM store as soon as I arrive. I have kept my same phone number for years now, doing it that way. I also buy a phone card at a Tobacco shop and use it too if I want to save my minutes on the TIM.

Thanks to an old tip here I did register it online before I went on the trip. So I had all my paperwork when I first activated my TIM.

I guess what I wrote doesn't make much sense does it?

Does anyone know why you need to provide your passport in order to register your SIM Card? Is this really required in order for your SIM Card to work?

this is relatively new....the excuse is that without properly registering sim cards, terrorists can use them and even if law enforcement gets a hold of a possible terrorist operation by getting a number that is called, if the sim card is not registered the information is harder to track.

Example...in the recent bungled car bombs in central London, one of the things that put the police on the proper trail, besides the surveillance cameras, were the mobile phones they found which were to be used to detonate the bombs. Now they were able to start tracing the members of the cell from the phone numbers in the call log....but in this case the people were using contract phones. The UK still allows you to walk in to any mobile phone store and anonymously buy a prepaid sim....it somebody called me on the sim and they got a hold of the number, that information by itself wouldn't do any good in tracking me if they so desired (they could get cooperation of the mobile company by finding info of where the call originated from and perhaps getting the IMEI number of the phone and trying to track that way but that's not as easy as just tracing the number).

At least that's the logic behind requiring registration. Whether it's meaningful or just another intrusion on privacy in the name of security, who really knows.

Thanks. I feel a little uncomfortable providing passport information, but I guess that's what needs to be done in order to use the Italy SIM Card.

Sorry for jumping in ...

Are the TIM (or Sim) cards in Italy only for "local" areas or can they be used throughout Italy at the same rate?
For example: if I have a friend who is going to Puglia next month, and if she buys a sim card there for me, can I use this sim card when I go to Rome next year?

After I bought the tim/sim card, how does one register? call a humber on the sim card package? or go to their website??
The reason I'm asking is that when we went to China this May, I bought a "local" sim card in Shanghai, popped it in my GSM phone and there was no problem. But when I tried to use it in Yunnan, another part of China, the sim card did not work.

Good questions....

Italy uses gsm throughout the country and if you buy a TIM (or WIND or Vodafone IT or any other) sim card coverage will be excellent throughout the country as for the most part gsm in the favored technology throughout (some newer technologies are making sme inroads but gsm still predominates)...

The problem in China is that like the USA, several different technologies are used. Your sim card was for gsm coverage and should work wherever gsm coverage is present in China...but there are areas apparently where other technologies are used and the gsm sim would not work. I am not all that familiar with China in this regard.

When you purchase the sim card in Italy, the merchant selling it to you is supposed to take down the information from your passport and something called I believe a coda fiscal something askin to a social security number but everybody, even non Italian, can get one. Go to www.prepaidgsm.net for information on this.

Prepaidgsm.net has good forum for questions like this.

I've never bought a SIM in Italy or an international SIM like United Mobile.

But for Italian SIM, I understand you need a codice fiscale, which is a code from registering your identity and that code is needed to activate the prepaid Italian SIMs.

I believe it was on Fodor's forums that someone posted a link to a site which has a link where you can create a codice fiscale online, which would presumably save you some time before you can activate an Italian SIM.

Here it is:

http://www.saveonroaming.net/

Italy does have stringent laws. When I used a easyinternetcafe in Rome a couple of years ago, they xeroxed my drivers license (they asked for my passport but I gave them my drivers license).

When I stayed at a Florence apartment a couple of years ago, the owner stalled on connecting me (all he had to do was connect the port to my apartment with his router), first saying that he didn't have the equipment and then saying there are security laws. He copied my passport when I checked in too.

Then just this past May in Venice, I wasn't suppose to have Internet access in the apt. I rented but in a corner, I found an open Wifi network.

Shrug. Who knows about these Italian security efforts?

Really cannot answer your questions, but one thing to remember. I have a Motorola Razr, and when I've used it in Europe (with US SIM card), I've had to go through menus and change the frequency band, even though the phone is a quad-band phone....it's not automatic. Just something to keep in mind.

Hi, I bought an italian SIM Card on http://www.saveonroaming.net/Shop_De.html . They have a quite rudimentary webshop, but the service was really fine. I ordered a TIM Card and a UMTS package (500MB) for 65€. I received the number in the States and when I arrived in Rome, the card and the data package was already configured. I just plugged in and surfed. About Ricaricard: now they have POS and you just tell them how much you'd like to top up. If you want to retain the number for futher trips, you may top up periodically (before expiration, 12 months).

Are prices at airport vs. in Rome similar? I would just assume get it at the airport to save time.
Thanks.

I don't know remember my prices, but I'm a T Mobil customer in the US and their "sister" company in Italy is TIM so I always recharge mine in Fiumicino when I arrive in Rome.

My daughter will be doing study abroad in Sept in Milan. TMobile has agreed to provide an unlock code for her cell phone which is quad band GSM. Which of the prepaid Sim cards is best. She likes to text message so I am looking for one that will be compatible with texting back to our tmobile numbers in the states. Voice prompts should not be a huge issue as she speaks pretty good Italian. Which of the providers ie TIM, VODAFONE or WIND is better and which has a kiosk in Malpensa airport? THanks for your replies!