Travel Technology - Buying a GSM SIM Card for the Netherlands.

I'm about to head to the Netherlands on a business trip. I have an unlocked GSM phone and had planned to buy a SIM when I got there. I recently noticed that there are companies selling Dutch SIM cards in the US. They seem to be about 2x the cost of the same cards in the Netherlands. Several of the vendors say that it's impossible for someone without a permanant address in Holland to buy a SIM card there, and suggest that getting one here saves hassles there.

My guess is that this is hype and that anyone with money can buy a SIM card for any of the Dutch networks without any major hassle. Am I correct?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by macguy:
My guess is that this is hype and that anyone with money can buy a SIM card for any of the Dutch networks without any major hassle. Am I correct?</font>

Beware.

I can't speak for the experience in the Netherlands, but both TIM and WIND in Italy now have registration forms that need to be mailed or faxed in, and really rather assume you have an Italian address and CF number. They will apparently cut your service off if they don't receive the appropriate forms in quite a short time scale (I had some problems with WIND losing my faxed registration, and got a threatening SMS within a fortnight of activating my SIM).

ScottC is probably the authority on this. That being said, I've bought SIM cards on 2 different occasions in AMS with no questions asked an no problems. One time Libertel (Vodafone), the other KPN.

In Spain Vodafone and Movistar have a form to fill out - the only field required is name.



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-alan in sitges, home of the new, improved Si-Re-Do (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum95/HTML/003867.html)

In holland Prepaid sims can be bought almost anywhere. As soon as you get to the airport arrivals area there are 4 or 5 stores selling them (the Telecom rentcenter, the AKO book stores, the Capi lux electronics store). Best bet in Holland is either KPN Telecom or Vodafone, no need for ANY paperwork, just pay the checkout clerk and put the sim in the phone, no activation process either. If you want a subscription instead of a prepaid card you are best off with KPN, go to any of their stores, you'll need an address (even a hotel would work) and you are required to pay a €500 deposit, but keep in mind that there is a minimum contract period of 1 year.

Thanks...

Dave