Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: DCA / WAS
Programs: DL 2+ million/PM, YX, Marriott Plt, *wood gold, HHonors, CO Plt, UA, AA EXP, WN, AGR
Posts: 9,388
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Xcom Global is probably the best known. I have no experience with them as I chose to acquire a mifi and use a prepaid SIM when I was in Rome last week.
I picked up a "gently used" unlocked mifi unit on ebay for about $100, then got a TIM prepaid card. If you get the card before you leave from Telestial the cost is about $40, if you buy a SIM card in Italy the cost is about 20 Euro. In either case the card comes with 5 Euro of time. Recharge is easy - buy a recharge card for 25 Euro. There are two prepaid plans on TIM: 40 hours of internet use (charged in 15 minute increments) for 10 Euro or 100 hours of use (charged in 15 minute increments) for 20 Euro.
Cost-wise, XCom is about $18/day for the length of your trip (they've currently got a sale in the range of $15/day).
I did a 3 day trip, four days from departure to return. Xcom would have been $72 for the period (sale was not on when I did my trip) plus shipping costs.
For what I did, I'm in for about $150 but I'll reuse the mifi unit when I go to Spain later this year & just pay for a Spanish SIM card. I'd figure the break-even for buying a unit is about 10-20 days of use, depending on how much you pay for the mifi unit. I'll break even this fall.
YMMV