Prepaid SIM Cards
By Aleksi | Permalink |
1 comment | August 31st, 2007 | Trackback
The cost of calling when you’re abroad can bankrupt you, but if you have to do it, you will obviously want to look into buying a SIM card. If you aren’t familiar with them, then learn how to take the battery of your phone out, and the little chip under it would be the SIM card. In short, this card is your mobile phone’s identity, allowing you to move to new phones with relative ease, simply transferring the card allows your service provider to supply your new phone with service almost instantly.
Not all phones are capable of functioning on all wave-lengths however, so when traveling you will want to check into this with your service provider or phone manufacturer. Most modern phones will function aboard however, and all that is left is to have your phone unlocked by your carrier. You can also have this done at some 3rd party shops, sometimes for a small fee.
Purchasing the new SIM card will allow you in-country calling rates, dramatically cheaper than using your home carrier’s card. For details on the prices of the cards, as well as the rates per minnute, check out Prepaid SIM Cards for GSM Phones.
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When you go to buy your phone, be sure not to fall for this sales pitch - like I did.
Salesrep: “If you sign up for an annual contract rather than buy your phone outright - it will be much easier to get ATT (at that point Cingular) to unlock your phone for you. It’s true you will pay less for your quad-band (which is what you’ll want if you’re traveling abroad) but add the $50 per month for annual contract (for a gazzillion talking minutes that you CAN’T USE OUTSIDE THE US, then you’re actually losing money by not paying the full ticket price for your phone. My advice is to buy the phone outright and insist that AT&T or whoever unlocks the phone for you. You can use a Pay as You Go Program for when you’re in the US with no monthly fees.
As for the ‘greater ease in getting the phone unlocked if you sign up for an annual contract’ this was the greatest deception of all. I was told that I had to be subscribed for 90 days before they would unlock the phone. Do not try to bother with the 800 numbers for international service or otherwise - go directly back to your sales rep and make lots of noise.
On the bright side, once you get overseas and your phone is unlocked, just pop that European SIM crd into your phone and you’re ready to go. In france, you can buy SIM cards at any of the Orange or Bougues boutiques even you haven’t already purchased online.