# Cell service in England and Ireland



## meatsss

We're spending 2 weeks in London, Edinburgh, and Dublin. I need to stay in touch with my business without buying the Bank of England. I have AT&T service at home. Should I get a temp phone over there? Any suggestions appreciated.


----------



## Pompey Family

Is your current phone unlocked? If so just buy a PAYG sim card when you arrive, you can buy them anywhere.


----------



## x3 skier

Over the years, I've used Skype, PAYG SIM with my unlocked iPhone, cheap unlocked phone from eBay, phone from Carphone Warehouse. Texting and /or just paid the roaming charges. 

My go to method now is Skype. On the rare occasions WiFi isn't available, I just pay the roaming charges. I also sometimes get a MiFi for use. 

If you need to stay in touch for incoming calls on your US Cell number and don't want to go through the bother of notifying the near world of your Euro number, the most reliable way is just to pay roaming charge for the incoming call and then call back using a cheaper means like Skype or PAYG. 

Cheers


----------



## SMHarman

Vodafone has an excellent payg SIM with cheap calling to the US.


----------



## Ken555

x3 skier said:


> If you need to stay in touch for incoming calls on your US Cell number and don't want to go through the bother of notifying the near world of your Euro number, the most reliable way is just to pay roaming charge for the incoming call and then call back using a cheaper means like Skype or PAYG.




I used Skype also many times for this purpose. When I board the plane in the US I update my iPhone to forward all incoming calls to my Skype number. A Skype number is just $18 or so for every three months, and I usually just buy a new number for each trip and don't pay for this when not traveling. I then put $10 or so in my Skype account for outbound calls ($0.02 per minute, I think). Before I leave I setup my Skype voicemail with an identical (or as close as I can) greeting so callers don't know it's a different number. Any incoming calls to my business or cell are forwarded to my Skype number, and this has worked out excellent for me. During the day in Europe when I've had a reliable data connection (over cell or wifi) making calls on Skype worked well.

I'm heading to Europe next month and deciding now how to handle this trip, as two of the variables has changed for me - I'm now with T-Mobile for mobile service, and they offer no change 2G data in Europe and only $0.20 per minute calls. Also, my business phone VoIP setup has a great app for my phone which essentially replaces the need for Skype, but I haven't tried it overseas yet. I'll probably try to use that instead of Skype and simply forward my mobile number to my VoIP number instead. But, I will validate my outbound Skype account again just in case.


Sent from my iPad


----------



## MaryH

At Heathrow there are vending machines for SIMs if you have an unlocked phone.

I tend to buy SIM from 3 (THREE) and they have a great deal for 20GBP you get a SIM with something like 300 UK minute, 3000 texts and unlimited internet for the month.  I found it is worth it for me even if I am only there for a week since it works also as my GPS using google maps.


----------



## Ken555

MaryH said:


> At Heathrow there are vending machines for SIMs if you have an unlocked phone.
> 
> 
> 
> I tend to buy SIM from 3 (THREE) and they have a great deal for 20GBP you get a SIM with something like 300 UK minute, 3000 texts and unlimited internet for the month.  I found it is worth it for me even if I am only there for a week since it works also as my GPS using google maps.




Good point, I forgot about those vending machines. When I was last there it was £30 for 5gb internet IIRC; £20 makes it a simple decision. I need to investigate coverage for Ireland and Spain. 

I know many EU mobile companies offer coverage in others, does anyone know if I can purchase a sim in Spain that would also work in UK and Ireland?


Sent from my iPad


----------



## Pompey Family

Ken555 said:


> Good point, I forgot about those vending machines. When I was last there it was £30 for 5gb internet IIRC; £20 makes it a simple decision. I need to investigate coverage for Ireland and Spain.
> 
> I know many EU mobile companies offer coverage in others, does anyone know if I can purchase a sim in Spain that would also work in UK and Ireland?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad



Three sim's offer a variety of data and minute packages that can be used in 18 destinations including the UK, Ireland, Spain, France and even the US.

http://www.three.co.uk/Store/SIM/Pay_As_You_Go

I can certainly recommend Three. I have a contract with them and I have unlimited minutes and data in all 18 countries so considering Spain and the US are my most frequently visited destinations it works out very well for me.


----------



## Ken555

Pompey Family said:


> Three sim's offer a variety of data and minute packages that can be used in 18 destinations including the UK, Ireland, Spain, France and even the US.
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.three.co.uk/Store/SIM/Pay_As_You_Go
> 
> 
> 
> I can certainly recommend Three. I have a contract with them and I have unlimited minutes and data in all 18 countries so considering Spain and the US are my most frequently visited destinations it works out very well for me.




Thanks. I had 3 last time I was in the UK. I'm not sure they will deliver a sim to the USA and I arrive in Spain first, so...I may call 3 tonight for more info, as the online store won't accept my zip code. I may need to just buy a sim when I arrive in London and use my T-Mobile 2G access while in Spain, which will be fine though ssssslllllooooowwwww.


Sent from my iPad


----------



## Ken555

Pompey Family said:


> Three sim's offer a variety of data and minute packages that can be used in 18 destinations including the UK, Ireland, Spain, France and even the US.
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.three.co.uk/Store/SIM/Pay_As_You_Go
> 
> 
> 
> I can certainly recommend Three. I have a contract with them and I have unlimited minutes and data in all 18 countries so considering Spain and the US are my most frequently visited destinations it works out very well for me.




Thanks again for the reminder about 3. The sim I have from my last trip won't fit in my new phone, and I'd rather not try to cut it down to size. I called 3 and they won't ship sims outside the UK (or at least, they won't ship to the U.S.) but I did find a new sim from Amazon.co.uk so ordered that. Hopefully it will arrive prior to my trip and I'll top it off and be able to use it when I arrive in Spain. 

FWIW, after experiencing sims from various countries over the years it's easier to deal with 3 simply because English is a "supported language". For instance, it was a fun challenge for me to work with the Italian mobile operator when I was last there (all worked out in the end).

More to the point, the new 3 pay as you go plan you referenced seems like a great value. £25 or so for one month with gobs of data (up to 25GB outside the UK) and 600 minutes voice and lots of text available as well. I probably won't even need this much, and might get a cheaper plan (though it's not much cost difference).


Sent from my iPad


----------



## MaryH

Shame, I still have my 3 SIM from my Oct trip.  Could have mailed it to you if there was enough time.  Not sure how long they remain active or viable without money.


----------



## meatsss

We're going in August. I have a locked IPhone (don't know how or where to get it unlocked). Daughter has a Samsung which might be a better alternative. Would probably prefer to get a sim card for over there. AT&T doesn't even have an overseas plan for England and Scotland.


----------



## x3 skier

meatsss said:


> We're going in August. I have a locked IPhone (don't know how or where to get it unlocked). Daughter has a Samsung which might be a better alternative. Would probably prefer to get a sim card for over there. AT&T doesn't even have an overseas plan for England and Scotland.



ATT has a plan called Passport for data and texting which I DO NOT recommend. If you are tempted, DON'T. 

Cheers


----------



## bellesgirl

We have an iphone with Verizon.  All their 4G phones are unlocked.  We used a SIM card from EE for two weeks in London.  Cost about 15 pounds and included 2GB of data and lots of phone and text.  Only problem is that it will be a UK number but iMessage worked for most of our communication needs to the US or Skype and FaceTime.


----------



## ConejoRed

We use a service called GiffGaff when we are in the UK.  You can check them out at GiffGaff.com. Have kept the sim and use it each time we go (once or twice a year).  GiffGaf themselves will not send a card overseas, but you can find members on the boards who will and they used to come with some free credit on them (or did when we first got the Sims). They then have very reasonable "goody bags" with various talk, text and data minutes.  They also have very reasonable per minute rates back to the U.S.  Service uses the O2 network if I recall correctly.  Have had them now for a couple of years and they have worked great.


----------



## ConejoRed

Duplicate deleted


----------



## Ken555

Ken555 said:


> Thanks again for the reminder about 3. The sim I have from my last trip won't fit in my new phone, and I'd rather not try to cut it down to size. I called 3 and they won't ship sims outside the UK (or at least, they won't ship to the U.S.) but I did find a new sim from Amazon.co.uk so ordered that. Hopefully it will arrive prior to my trip and I'll top it off and be able to use it when I arrive in Spain.
> 
> FWIW, after experiencing sims from various countries over the years it's easier to deal with 3 simply because English is a "supported language". For instance, it was a fun challenge for me to work with the Italian mobile operator when I was last there (all worked out in the end).
> 
> More to the point, the new 3 pay as you go plan you referenced seems like a great value. £25 or so for one month with gobs of data (up to 25GB outside the UK) and 600 minutes voice and lots of text available as well. I probably won't even need this much, and might get a cheaper plan (though it's not much cost difference).
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad




Update: the 3 sim didn't arrive in time. I bought a sim in Spain for €15 with 2GB of data (€10 for 1GB) from Orange, and it worked great. When I arrived in the UK I bought a 3 sim at the airport for £20 which has 300 UK minutes and 3000 UK texts and unlimited data in the UK and 25GB in other supported countries, and I used this successfully in the UK and Ireland.

I had tried my T-Mobile slow access in Spain at first but it's only fast enough for intermittent usage. I'm happy spending the minor extra on the trip cost to get fast data (in most cases it was 3G, though some areas did support 4G speeds, but even 3G was 20x+ faster than T-Mobile).

Also, I was able to successfully use my office VoIP system on the mobile connection in most locations. I had several emergency client calls and in a couple instances made those calls from my rental car over the data connection successfully. I'm sure Skype would have worked just as well, if not better.


Sent from my iPad


----------



## JudyH

Ken, where in the airport did you find the 3 sim card?


----------



## Ken555

JudyH said:


> Ken, where in the airport did you find the 3 sim card?



There are kiosks at LHR (and, I suspect, the other London airports). Over the years I've seen them in different locations (though that may be just me, since I arrived at a different terminal this time). This trip it was not far after deplaning en route to baggage claim. It had only SIM cards from various providers. Last time (when I arrived at the international terminal, though that may have been pre-T5) it was in baggage claim. 

FYI, a friendly travel vendor post-baggage claim had a sim tool to open my phone as I couldn't find the paperclip I had in my bag. And I used a small plastic bag to store the various SIMs (those nano sims are small!), though I've seen a few special containers for SIMs and I might be convinced to buy one before my next trip.


----------



## JudyH

I remember seeing that near the baggage claim too.  This year I am getting off in Manchester. I will look there.  Thanks.


----------

