# European Phone Question



## rickxylon (Feb 28, 2014)

Headed on an extended trip to France, Spain and Italy. What is the best way to handle phone while there? Buy/rent 1 phone that works in all 3 countries or do we need separate phones for each country? How does that compare to adding an international plan to AT&T and Verizon?

Thanks


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## Passepartout (Feb 28, 2014)

I'm no expert on this, but I have an unlocked GMS phone that accepts an easily acquired SIM card for any carrier. Another option is signing up for T-Mobile. Their phones (allegedly) work in many countries. I have put AT&T international calling on my phones, but find it cumbersome and still expensive. 

In the end, I use Skype when I can (free on wi-fi) and a pre-paid sim card in the country(s) I'm in if necessary.

Here's Rick Steves' take on cell phones in Europe. With their thousands of American customers, he's in a position to know a bit about the subject: http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/phones-tech/cell-phone-europe

Jim


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## SMHarman (Feb 28, 2014)

For ease getting a unlocked GSM stateside and putting it on th TMobile Simple Choice Plan
http://www.t-mobile.com/optional-services/roaming.html
gets free texts and data and 20c/min calls.

Depending on how much you plan to use the phone that is a pretty good deal and means nothing to worry about (shopping for a SIM etc) on arrival.


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## GetawaysRus (Feb 28, 2014)

I found rental to be somewhat expensive, so I also bought an unlocked GSM phone.  

When I arrive in a new country, I purchase a new SIM card for that country.

I carry the phone for convenience and "just in case," so I don't anticipate making a lot of calls and I only need a small number of minutes.  A SIM card with a small number of minutes is relatively inexpensive and can be recharged with more minutes as needed.


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## DanM (Feb 28, 2014)

Looks like the t-mobile deal is the best right now. Local sims are cheap and worked best in the past, but are often roaming outside the country where they are purchased. Between that and possible language problems understanding local sim limits, I'll be using t-mobile next time I'm in Europe. Plan B, by the way, is use a tablet as a phone with a data sim and voip. I combine that with a Google Voice number in the U.S. so you get free calls in the States and 10 cents a minute back to most of Europe, plus the data sim charge. But, again, if the data is roaming between countries it may not make sense.


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## Xpat (Feb 28, 2014)

I find buying SIM cards in Europe quite easy and the best option for extended trips especially if you need to use a lot of data. You will normally need to have your passport with you as I think they register you on some sort of government database.

Italy: bought a SIM card from an official TIM (Telecom Italia) shop. Price was about 20 euros and included I think about 2 hours of talk and 500MB of data.

Spain: ordered a SIM card in advance on eBay from simcardspain seller. Had about 20 minutes talk and 500MB data for $30.

Your phone would need to be GSM compatible and unlocked. I had no problems using the SIM cards in my unlocked iPhone.


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## budnj (Mar 1, 2014)

We have a sim card from go sim, dd has used it in multiple European countries during travel club trips. I have purchased quad band go phones from AT&T, then had them unlocked. (I think the cost for the last unlock was only $2-3 dollars.)
Go sim sells a package for $49 which includes quad band phone and $10 of airtime. http://www.gosim.com/world-sim-card-and-dual-sim-phone.html
Another thing we found recently was Skype monthly subscriptions ($2.99 month) allowed us to make unlimited calls from Aruba to US on internet connection, suspect it works in Europe.


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## WinniWoman (Mar 2, 2014)

I have a MOBAL phone. I think my phone was $29 and only works overseas and you only pay IF you use it. When I got it, they gave me $10 free minutes to start. Only used the phone once in Scotland to make dinner reservations. Haven't paid a dime yet. Just charge it at home every 3 months.

http://www.mobal.com


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## pwrshift (Mar 6, 2014)

As I don't know anyone in Europe I can't see the value of a sim card in my unlocked phone.

My main calls while away are to home and my office and the cheap 600 minute international phone cards sold in tobacco stores did the job for me.

Since my last trip to Europe I now have an iPhone and assume FaceTime works from any wifi location to call home to another iPhone.  I also have the free Magic Jack app which is supposed to permit calls to anyplace (not just iPhones) in North America.

Are these assumptions correct?

Brian


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## Xpat (Mar 7, 2014)

pwrshift said:


> As I don't know anyone in Europe I can't see the value of a sim card in my unlocked phone.
> 
> My main calls while away are to home and my office and the cheap 600 minute international phone cards sold in tobacco stores did the job for me.
> 
> ...



When travelling abroad I use FaceTime and Skype to make phonecalls to iPhones or to any phone over the internet. However I have found that sometimes wifi is too slow to handle voice calls and occasionally I would want to place a call and there is no free wifi available. That's where having a local sim card with a data plan can come in handy because data roaming is generally very expensive.

I also find myself needing Google Maps extensively when exploring European cities and this uses a lot of data. But if phone calls are all you need than calls over wifi and one of the international sim cards mentioned earlier are probably the most convenient option.


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## thheath (Mar 7, 2014)

rickxylon said:


> Headed on an extended trip to France, Spain and Italy. What is the best way to handle phone while there? Buy/rent 1 phone that works in all 3 countries or do we need separate phones for each country? How does that compare to adding an international plan to AT&T and Verizon?
> 
> Thanks



Buy an unlocked phone or have yours unlocked and buy a sim card when you arrive in Europe.  The sim card (w/talk and or data) will work in all countries there.  When it gets low just recharge it.

Phone stores are everywhere, even in smaller towns.

Verizon or Sprint phones aren't an option as they use CDMA technology (the exception being the iPhone 5).


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## pwrshift (Mar 7, 2014)

thheath said:


> Buy an unlocked phone or have yours unlocked and buy a sim card when you arrive in Europe. The sim card (w/talk and or data) will work in all countries there. When it gets low just recharge it.
> 
> Phone stores are everywhere, even in smaller towns.
> 
> Verizon or Sprint phones aren't an option as they use CDMA technology (the exception being the iPhone 5).



 Can you call economically from Europe to home...or are Europe sim cards just for phone and data if not on wifi?


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## thheath (Mar 7, 2014)

pwrshift said:


> Can you call economically from Europe to home...or are Europe sim cards just for phone and data if not on wifi?



It depends on the plan you purchase with the SIM card.  I found it to be very reasonable.

I spent 2 months in Italy, Austria and Germany, 2 years ago.

I purchased a SIM card for my cell and 1 for a USB data plug in device.

Worked great and of course you can receive incoming calls.

PS: Free Wifi in Europe is very unusual.


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## Pompey Family (Mar 9, 2014)

thheath said:


> PS: Free Wifi in Europe is very unusual.



Not at all. Go in pretty much any shop, mall, pub, cafe, restaurant, hotel etc and there will be free wi-fi. Buses are starting to provide it free of charge as well, particularly in the UK.


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## thheath (Mar 9, 2014)

Pompey Family said:


> Not at all. Go in pretty much any shop, mall, pub, cafe, restaurant, hotel etc and there will be free wi-fi. Buses are starting to provide it free of charge as well, particularly in the UK.



Sorry, I painted with too board a brush.  I guess I should have just refered to the 3 counties I visited.


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## Pompey Family (Mar 9, 2014)

thheath said:


> Sorry, I painted with too board a brush.  I guess I should have just refered to the 3 counties I visited.



Out of interest, what were those 3 countries?

The Mediterranean countries tend to be a bit behind on internet infrastructure and are in stark contrast to the northern European countries, the Baltic states in particular have an amazing infrastructure.


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## thheath (Mar 9, 2014)

Pompey Family said:


> Out of interest, what were those 3 countries?
> 
> The Mediterranean countries tend to be a bit behind on internet infrastructure and are in stark contrast to the northern European countries, the Baltic states in particular have an amazing infrastructure.



Germany, Austria and especially Italy.

Stayed a month in Italy, from Sicily up to Rome and never saw free public Wifi anywhere.

PS: The phone came in handy when I was pick pocketed in Rome and had to call Chase Bank back in the U.S.  In less then an hour, they charge $10K to the CC.

Still loved Rome


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## Pompey Family (Mar 9, 2014)

thheath said:


> Germany, Austria and especially Italy.
> 
> Stayed a month in Italy, from Sicily up to Rome and never saw free public Wifi anywhere.
> 
> ...



In Berlin you can access free wi-fi for 30 minutes a day, I'm not sure about the rest of the country but the problem for Germany lies in it's laws where service providers are liable for their users browsing activity, particularly if that activity is illegal. Consequently there's a reluctance to provide free wi-fi to the general public. 

Agree with you on Rome, despite Italy and all its foibles Rome remains my favourite city on Earth, simply an amazing city.


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