Purchasing a sim card in NYC
 

Hi all, probably an extremely stupid question, but I've searched the forums and can't find an answer.

I'm planning on bringing an old phone with me and leaving my work phone in the office.

My plan is to purchase a pre-paid sim card when I get to NYC and use it to occasionally communicate with the girls I'm travelling with who will have global roaming on their phones and possibly make local NYC phone calls for restaurant bookings etc. I don't want to use it to call home to Sydney. Is there anywhere in particular i should go to purchase one? The phone is unlocked so I don't think it will matter which carrier I purchase through, but I'm happy to be corrected.

I'm not sure if I'm on the right track or not?? I'm very technology hopeless so would be grateful for any assistance.

Actually, yours is a very good question and deals with an issue of considerable importance to international travelers.

O.K. If you have an unlocked phone and if it is a GSM tri-band or quad-band as well, then you are set to go. I would recommend T-Mobile and they can activate it for you and help you add whatever amount of air time you might need. You can find a store here: http://locator.t-mobile.com/Locator.aspx

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Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

When I go to Europe I can find SIM cards for sale just about anywhere. Drug store, supermarket, or gas station , in addition to any electronics store. It's quite common to be able to get a SIM card for 10 euro, including 10 euro calling credit.


Don't expect to find such a bargain in the US as the SIM card market is not competitive.

The main problem is that in the US there are very few cell phone companies period, and the biggest, Verizon, does not even use GSM technology or SIM cards.

You may find that buying a pre-paid phone will actually be a better deal. You can find these in lots of convenience stores. Somewhere like a drug store Duane Reade (many many locations) would be a good place to look.

It's less usual to buy a SIM in the U.S. I think TMobile is a good source, but you might not find much difference in price between a SIM and a cheap prepaid phone, which you can buy in almost any drugstore here. Not all companies here will sell the SIM alone, but it's usually at least $25 or $30.

Thanks everyone, Doug I'll probably go with your suggestion to purchase a cheap prepaid phone. cheers, Cathie

AT & T also sells SIM cards for their "go phones" or you can just buy a go phone from them.

There is a company based in the uk i think, that celss sims that can work in USA, australia and Uk Simaultaneously... Truphone i think they are called... more for the business travellor, but ihave used them for travel... google it im sure you will find a website about them!

I use www.arielimobile.com. They ship directly to you internationally for just 99 cents and $40 buys you a 12GB data and unlimited voice/text plan for 30 days. Plenty for a vacation in US.