Travel Technology - Has anyone used the Telestial Passport Global SIM (or have another recommendation)?

I need a global SIM so I can give people my number before travelling.

The Telestial Passport seems like one of the better deals.

Anyone have any experience with them?
Other recommendations?

Thanks ^

I have a Mobal Global roaming SIM which gives you a UK number and provides coverage in Japan/South Korea (supposedly). Costs $10. Rates aren't cheap but for emergency calls they're cheaper than buying a SIM in cheap country you visit.

http://www.mobalrental.com/gsm/sim_s.asp

If you want I can send you a referral to get you a $10 calling credit and me 10% off rates.

However, I would also suggest that you consider looking into buying a local SIM when you get to your destination and weigh the costs of doing that vs. going with a global roaming SIM.

I've used Telestial's Passport SIM quite successfully throughout Europe, the Middle East and Aus/NZ. No problems, and the billings to my credit card went smoothly. I don't think that Telestial's prices on specific-country SIMs are all that great, but I've been very happy with the Passport. Be aware though, that it's a ringback service (it's a bit strange - you make a call, but it actually then disconnects and rings you back - but works fine), and that there are no data services. If you just need a voice number though, it works great.

I've used Telestial's Passport SIM quite successfully throughout Europe, the Middle East and Aus/NZ. No problems, and the billings to my credit card went smoothly. I don't think that Telestial's prices on specific-country SIMs are all that great, but I've been very happy with the Passport. Be aware though, that it's a ringback service (it's a bit strange - you make a call, but it actually then disconnects and rings you back - but works fine), and that there are no data services. If you just need a voice number though, it works great.

Thank you sculler1x, just the ticket!

I may have spoken too soon - I'm actually heading back to Europe in a couple of days, and I called Telestial to see why my Passport SIM wasn't connecting here in the US, and it turns out that the provider they were using went belly-up about a month ago and so my current SIM doesn't work. On the other hand, they're overnighting me a new one, albeit with a new phone number.

I tried so far 09 mobile, United Mobile + and Yackie

09 mobile number does not seem to work in the USA (as I cannot call it from my tmobile or vonage) so kinda defeats the purpose.
United Mobile + has great outgoing rates, but calling a UK mobile number from the USA isn't cheap. I'm still looking for a good forwarding company.
Yackie Mobile SIM I just got in today, and it seems OK so far including since I got a USA phone number, but call out rates are a bit pricy and coverage is good, but I think the UM+ is better.

I've used freeglobalsim.com.

They go by that name and about a half dozen or more other names. Once you get the card working it was great, but it really wasn't worth the hassle. Took me quite a while to get the pin from them so I could use the card, the only way I got it was I went to the people who processed the charge and said I was reversing the charge and then all of a sudden, poof, they are all over me with what I need.

It was flawless after that, but I won't put more money on it, should something go wrong, they won't be there for me.

I recommend though getting a local toll free number and forward that out to whatever your new cell number is.

Most people in the US can't dial an international number to save their life, and if you get an 800 number with on the fly forwarding (like kall8) you can change it to whatever SIM card you are using at the time based on where you are.

And check out the internal SIM sticky above.

Highly recommend against Telestial. Here was my experience:

Bought a Global SIM card to use around Europe last year. All went well until we actually needed to use the phone. Telestial rates are so high that we burned through the inital deposit within about 15 minutes. Tried to reload via internet and multiple telephone calls to Telestial. No response from customer service for > 72 hours. :mad: Telestial CS don't work nights (PDT), weekends or holidays. So my phone was been dead for 4 critical days when we were trying to coordinate meetings on the fly with friends at the Olympics. :td:

Fortunately we got smart and simply bought a local Vodafone SIM card which provided a much better value (15E for 10E credits) at a much lower per minute rate, with free incoming calls. Highly recommend! ^

In short I would highly recommend that you simply buy a local SIM card when you arrive. They are easy to install - the sales people will do it for you. And you can get SIM cards that work in other countries (at higher rates of course - though not as high as Telestial).

It's really a shame - it's a good concept but the Telestial rates are really absurd compared with what you can get locally (at least in Europe) and you aren't buying decent customer service either.

I also had some billing problems with Telestial. The auto-recharge wouldn't work on a Saturday so they couldn't do anything about it until Monday. The rates are pretty pricey and the phone number is from Estonia (IIRC). They do have a 1-800 number that people in the US can dial but it is a $0.25 surcharge for those calls. Also, I have had the "ring back" not happen for up to 90 minutes after the initial call was placed.

Since the phone was mostly used as a convenience and not a necessity, the Passport SIM card worked OK. If it was a necessity, I would get another product.

I need a global SIM so I can give people my number before travelling.

The Telestial Passport seems like one of the better deals.

Anyone have any experience with them?
Other recommendations?

Thanks ^

Its hard to beat TMobile's international roaming plan ... calling from west europe to anywhere is 99 cpm for example ... and you have the benefit of having your regular cell number.

Whats the Telestial Passport rate?

I think Yackie might be the best with 0.29/min incoming rates and 0.49/min outgoing with a USA number for most of the world, or getting 09 with call forwarding at about the same price, so at the end more than 1/2 of what Tmobile offers

I think Yackie might be the best with 0.29/min incoming rates and 0.49/min outgoing with a USA number for most of the world, or getting 09 with call forwarding at about the same price, so at the end more than 1/2 of what Tmobile offers

good info thanks. are you using this? the website says FROM 49 cpm ... is there a rate list anywhere (couldnt find one on their site).

Just don't ever try using T-Mobile in Russia. I've had the misfortune of using it there for maybe 25 minutes or so during a recent trip, and T-Mobile charged $4.99/minute for the calls :mad::mad: . Most of the calls were within Moscow, while one was to Netherlands.

According to the T-Mobile website, roaming in Russia is in the same price range as Zambia and more expensive then in such hotbeds of development as Zimbabwe and Mali :rolleyes:

Its hard to beat TMobile's international roaming plan ... calling from west europe to anywhere is 99 cpm for example ... and you have the benefit of having your regular cell number.

Whats the Telestial Passport rate?

Just don't ever try using T-Mobile in Russia. I've had the misfortune of using it there for maybe 25 minutes or so during a recent trip, and T-Mobile charged $4.99/minute for the calls :mad::mad: . Most of the calls were within Moscow, while one was to Netherlands.

According to the T-Mobile website, roaming in Russia is in the same price range as Zambia and more expensive then in such hotbeds of development as Zimbabwe and Mali :rolleyes:

no doubt you have to check specific rates on any plan ... which is why I always get nervous when I see the word "from" before a rate.