Travel Technology - Intl cell phone rental - recommendations?

Mrs. MA is going to need a cell phone rental while we are in Chile and Argentina. Does anyone have a recommendation of a reputable vendor?

Mrs. MA is going to need a cell phone rental while we are in Chile and Argentina. Does anyone have a recommendation of a reputable vendor?
Why rent?

Get a cheapo GSM phone, unlocked, off ebay and get a local card in Argentina and Chile. Big name in Argentina is CTI and there are a couple of others.

I agree. I had a cell phone rental in India for a month and the bill cost more than the airfare. I have had good luck buying prepaid SIM cards from Telestial. You can get an unlocked phone from them as well but cheaper to buy one online. You can probably buy a cheaper SIM card in country but the language barrier can be difficult if you don't speak the local language.

I feel like a broken record on this, 'cause I've posted several times, but buying an unlocked tri-band GSM phone on e-bay is the way to go.

Last year bought a refurbished Ericsson T39m for about 40 bucks including shipping. I've used it in the US with a T-mobile chip, and in Turkey with a Turkcell chip. Works fine.

I feel like a broken record on this, 'cause I've posted several times, but buying an unlocked tri-band GSM phone on e-bay is the way to go.

Last year bought a refurbished Ericsson T39m for about 40 bucks including shipping. I've used it in the US with a T-mobile chip, and in Turkey with a Turkcell chip. Works fine.

Tri-band phones were not all created equally. For an international phone you will want 900/1800 bands. Some US tri-band phones will not have both. Might as well get a quad band phone and eliminate any problems.

I use Mobal

Can you buy prepaid in france at a reasonable price?
Or how would one get a card for an unlocked GSM phone?

Thanks for advice!

Can you buy prepaid in france at a reasonable price?
Or how would one get a card for an unlocked GSM phone?Thanks for advice!


Yes you can buy a sim card in France. Look at www.prepaidgsm.net it has a lot of information on the different carriers. You go to a local phone shop or small store and they will have them for sale. You can buy top ups this way also.

For an international phone you will want 900/1800 bands.
It depends where you are going,. Chile uses 1900 and Argentina 1900/850, same as the USA. There's a list of frequencies at the bottom of this page:
http://www.thetravelinsider.info/roadwarriorcontent/quadbandphones.htm

Great information, as I am looking for a phone for South Africa. But, I think I will buy an unlocked one from a place other than e-bay.

Simoncells.com was a vendor I learned about here, I've purchased from them, my current phone is from them, never a problem. They were below e-bay prices at the time, ship the same day you order, all that good stuff.

Why not get a quad-band GSM phone instead of a tri-band?

Simoncells.com was a vendor I learned about here, I've purchased from them, my current phone is from them, never a problem. They were below e-bay prices at the time, ship the same day you order, all that good stuff.

So once you have the phone how much does it cost to have the card, and use it in different countries?

So once you have the phone how much does it cost to have the card, and use it in different countries?
The sticky thread will probably help you here... Depends on if you get one SIM card in each country, or a SIM card with roaming. Also depends on the countries involved.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=569462