Ray967

I'm planning to buy a SIM card when I get to Rome. I understand that I can buy one at a tobacco store but I prefer getting one from a Vodafone or TIM store so i can get assistance in English. Anyone know the location of a Vodafone or TIM store the near via dei banchi nuovi,1?

kybourbon

I'm not sure you can go to a random tobacco store and get set up. I think you can only buy extra time and you need to go to more of a phone store for initial set up. They have to do paperwork (requires your passport), etc.

If you arriving by train at Rome Termini, there is a TIM store on the upper level.

kybourbon

Probably one of the closer TIM locations to where you are staying that could set up the phone is Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 93/95, near Largo Argentina (about a 10 minute walk).

Elizabeth_S

I was in Rome in January and went to the TIM store at VIA DEL CORSO 87 ROMA. I was in a couple of times and all of the staff spoke English and most of the transactions I saw were tourists doing the same thing so they're really used to it.

The very helpful attendant took my iPhone and did all the set up - I bought a SIM card for 25E which included a bonus of 500mg per weeks of data (for 2 weeks I think?) after that it was 5E per week for 500MEG (I used my phone with Google maps as a GPS and never came close to that). Voice calls were 20c - text too I think (inbound). I used a lot of voice as I was there for 8 weeks and doing a lot of work so I registered on TIM's customer service website so I could recharge with a credit card. It's in Italian but pretty easy to figure out how to register.

The other TIM location mentioned above was also very helpful to me 8 years ago when I was setting up a wireless EDGE card in my laptop (and it was early days for those setups) but if you are wandering near Piazza di Popolo I can confirm that TIM location is well equipped to deal with tourists.

Assume your handset is unlocked?

Ray967

kybourbon & Elizabeth_S,
Thank you for your responses. I will pass the info to my daughter.

Aloha

bgsnmky

Is there a way to look up the locations on their website. FOR TIM..I was trying to convert it to English but did not have much luck!

It is my understanding the phone number changes when you get a sim card right??

StCirq

The Rome locations are listed bottom right of this web page:

http://www.tim.it/trova-negozio

For other locations in Italy, fill out the province and city in the form at the left. You shouldn't any Italian to figure it out.

Yes, each SIM card has an assigned telephone number.

greg

If you are arriving by plane to FCO, I found the TIM store (only on the secure side) to be most knowledgeable about the need of tourists. For KLM and Alitalia arrivals, I am usually routed to the TIM store naturally. It is located just before entering the luggage retrieval point of no return gate. The last arrival was on Aegean and I could not get to the TIM shop and I ended up setting up my internet at a TIM store at Piazza Colonna on Corso. While the staff at the TIM FCO shop could do all the set up in 5 minutes, the staff at the Piazza Colonna took about 15 minutes to get the same task done.

ssander

Thanks, one and all...great info. The one on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II is really close...just checked it out on Google Streetview.

And I'll make a note of some of the others on St Circ's link in case I need them.

SS

kybourbon

There's one in Termini upstairs if you are arriving by train.

Jim_de_Burque

I just looked at the TIM and Vodafone sites. They are only in Italian, and my Italian is limited, but it looked like all the plans they show involve a monthly fee. I had thought that it was possible for someone visiting Italy for a few weeks to buy a cheap basic cell phone and a SIM card and pay (in advance) only for minutes used and pay nothing at all when one is back in the States until the next trip to Italy or another GSM country.

Is this correct? Can anyone give me a general idea of what it costs to buy a basic phone and SIM card in Italy and what the cost of minutes is?

Would a typical basic phone purchased in Italy be able to access a GSM network in the U.S.? (I understand they are on different bands.) I believe you have to do something with the SIM card at least once a year to keep it from expiring.

Any advantage of Vodafone vs. TIM, or when I get to Italy, should I just pick the company with the most convenient location?

kybourbon

I don't know what a basic phone would cost in Italy. Most people on this thread were talking about unlocked GSM phones they already own. I paid 10€ at TIM for a sim card, activation and 5€ of that was time loaded onto the phone. You could add more time to the phone if needed. I found Vodafone more expensive at the time with less locations.

kybourbon

I think this is what you are looking for as to rates that aren't monthly.

http://www.tim.it/tariffe/ricaricabi...-nuovi-clienti

In the past, the minutes expired off the phone at 6 months I think. If you are not going to be there to use it by that time, there is no point in keeping it activated. You would just buy another TIM card on your next trip. It would likely be cheaper than paying to add time to a phone you aren't using. If your next trip is to another country, you would want to buy a sim from a phone service in that country.