Travel Technology - best value - UK pay as you go phone or SIM

If I travel to the UK with some regularity, am I better off getting a SIM card for my VErizon phone, or should I consider a pay-as-you-go phone in the UK (perhaps Virgin)?

if you visit the UK often, you are better off with a GSM quad band world phone

If you have the BB 8830 then you can unlock it (http://forums.crackberry.com/f61/unlocking-verizonewireless-8830-a-1356/index11.html) and put a SIM in when you're in the UK and get much better rates. No other VZW phones are SIM-capable.

The benefit of switching the SIM card in your "regular" phone is only having to know one set of buttons/controls and only one charger to lose. Getting a phone just for the UK would allow you to potentially just leave it there making the travel aspect a bit easier. Either one will work.

Get a pay as you go SIM from UK. Another vote for getting a dedicated
quad band phone.

I've used Virgin before.. and it was good.. not sure what their plans are now.

Easy elite is right you are better off with a GSM phone. I had Verizion for years while traveling to Europe and beyond. So I carried two phones, as my verizion phone was a brick in my carry on. As soon as my contract ran out I went GSM and haven't looked back. I have a Vodaphone sim for the UK, and can use it all around Europe. If you stay in a country for a week or more use a local sim. I find that if people need to call you in that country they don't want to make a international call. Go to http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/operators.html and see all the phone vendors, and their prices. If you need a unlocked phone go to
http://www.importgsm.com/home.php. I buy my phones from them, and they have great customer service. I have no business connection with this company.
The phones in the UK tend to be locked to the vendor. There are some places such as Phone Warehouse or Freedom Mobiles where you can get unlocked phones in the UK. I hope this helps. :cool:

Virgin is a good SIM and I have one. If you want wireless data in the UK, TMobile's Walk-N-Web is a good deal You get a softcap of 40 megs a day for a pound a day. You only pay the pound when you use it.

With hotel wireless running $20 (or more) a day, I normally just tether my notebook to my phone for my e-mail and light web browsing. The one time I had a large download, I bought the wireless. This easily saves me US$100 or more on a trip.

I know that many of you are on expense accounts, but a little bit of sense with your employer's money sometime makes sense My wife is on an expense account and her company tends to look at the big picture She gets extra play on my food and booze when my other numers are down. She recently had a US$20 phone bill for a week in Europe. Her team member ran up $600. Their raw number of minutes wasn't that different We also work to keep airport parking expenses down Between these, her vouchers consistently come in $500 a week cheaper than most. Based on this, the extra steak dinner, or the movie in a room, etc gets overlooked. I know it really depends on your accounting department.

You can get most phones unlocked in the UK. The going rate is around 10 pounds Just stroll down Totenham Court Road. You'll see a million signs. Another vendor for unlocked phones is myworldphone.com.

You should note that you can rarely get Blackberry service on prepaid. You'll either need to carry a US Blackberry and a separate phone or use some other style data device.

For vanilla voice usage, Three mobile is probably cheapest. They are also heavy promoters of 3g technology, so might be a good option for data too. see www.three.co.uk

The "virtual" operators, mostly piggy-backing on T-mobile's networks, are good value too. Virgin Mobile, Fresh (only available at Carphone Warehouse stores), and Tesco mobile are worth looking into.

Hope this helps
-- Mike

Several trips ago I picked up a 2G Orange PAYG SIM and set it up on their Call Abroad Tariff. This setup ran me 5p per minute to call the US, and of course incoming calls were no charge.

Before my last trip I ordered a pair of Orange 3G SIMs via Ebay for my wife and I so we would be ready when we arrived. We are both data addicted so that was a big factor.

I pointed a pair of US VoIP numbers to the Orange UK SIMs and as we boarded our flights we forwarded our cell phones to the US VoIP number to achieve "seamless" roaming at 26 cents per minute instead of 99.

Once in the UK we set up Orange's 5 quid per week for "unlimited" data plan on each of our SIMs. So for 10 days there unlimited data on Orange's 3G network for the both of us was a total of $40. We also talked frequently back to the US at 5p/minute.

For my money Orange's Call Abroad with 5 GBP/week "unlimited" data on their 3G network is the best deal going, especially when combined with a forwarded setup from the US. Incoming calls at $0.26/min and outgoing to the US at $0.10/min is on par with a US pre-paid plan but instead I'm in the UK! :)

Easy elite is right you are better off with a GSM phone. I had Verizion for years while traveling to Europe and beyond. So I carried two phones, as my verizion phone was a brick in my carry on.

This is no longer the case with their BB8830, though any other device from them would be. The rates in the UK aren't particularly great, though you may be able to get a world talk plan in addition to the world data plan. But if you want the BB service using the $65/month unlimited data worldwide plan from VZW isn't terrible.

And switching a SIM out on the one phone you know and use every day is much easier than carrying two. A quad GSM is fine if you want TMobile or ATT in the USA, but if you want Verizon the 8830 unlocked is the way to go.

Carphone warehouse is the best Sim in my opinion. Cheapest calls anywhere in the world.

http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/commerce/servlet/gben-pd-ProductDisplay?S=130&filter_network=MOBWD&PN=PAYGOSIM&from=list

Another long-term Virgin pre-paid SIM user. The SIM doesn't seem to expire while you have reasonable credit - I've been well in excess of 6 months (the stated period for service to expire) without usage and it still works.

It also roams here in Australia so I can send the occasional text to keep the connection active.

Another long-term Virgin pre-paid SIM user. The SIM doesn't seem to expire while you have reasonable credit - I've been well in excess of 6 months (the stated period for service to expire) without usage and it still works.

It also roams here in Australia so I can send the occasional text to keep the connection active.

Virgin UK prepaid expires after 12 months of non-use. A simple text message extends the life/balance another year.

Virgin UK prepaid expires after 12 months of non-use. A simple text message extends the life/balance another year.

A Virgin UK prepaid SIM is also a very good roaming data sim. The rate is something like $10 a meg (rounded to the kilobyte) in most countries.

By the way, I disagree with the comments that the rates for prepaid in the UK are expensive. Like everything else, you need to do your research, but in my honest opinion, this is one of the few bargains on that island.

Virgin UK prepaid expires after 12 months of non-use. A simple text message extends the life/balance another year.

A family member of mine who visits the UK periodically has had a virgin prepaid sim for about 7 years, sometimes going for about 18 months without use, and it still retains the balance and works fine.

-- Mike

i agree, get a uk PAYG sim - ebay are full of them for a cheap price. However I recommend O2

A family member of mine who visits the UK periodically has had a virgin prepaid sim for about 7 years, sometimes going for about 18 months without use, and it still retains the balance and works fine.

-- Mike

Wow. But I'd rather spend the 35p to send a text and ensure retention than chance losing my balance and number...

As far as I know this is the full list of UK operators:

Mobile operators

3 - www.three.co.uk
O2 - www.o2.co.uk
Orange - www.orange.co.uk
T-Mobile - www.t-mobile.co.uk
Vodafone UK - www.vodafone.co.uk


Mobile virtual network operators

ASDA Mobile - www.asda-mobile.com (Vodafone)
BT Mobile - www.btmobile.bt.com (Vodafone)
Dot Mobile - www.dotmobile.co.uk (Vodafone)
Green Mobile - www.greenmobile.co.uk (Vodafone, O2 or T-mobile)
Tesco Mobile - www.tesco.com (O2)
Virgin Mobile - www.virginmobile.co.uk (T-mobile)
Carphone warehouse - www.freshmobile.co.uk AND www.talktalkmobile.co.uk


Hope this is helpful
-- Mike

Surprising if BT use Vodafone - they owned O2 until recently. Also note that 3 are in many part sof the country a virtual network as well - they piggyback on O2 coverage.

If you are visiting the outlying reions of our fair land (very far extremes) then I would recommend going with O2 or Vodafone or one of the virtuals that they support. The coverge for the Virgin / T mobile is probably the worst and Orange somewhere in the middle. Of course if you are in town of population over about 100 people, the coverage will be fine for any, but hillwalking in Scotland, YMMV

T-mobile is fine throughout the UK - never had a single problem with T-Mobile in any location I have been. ;)

OK, bumping an old thread here, but I figure it's better than starting a new one.

I'm going to be working in the UK one week per month for 4 or 5 months. First trip over in July...I blew about 100 quid on hotel broadband and other telecoms.

I tend to stay in Marriotts, so picking up "street" broadband and paying reasonable rates for it seems impossible.

Therefore, I'm thinking about buying a pay-as-you-go phone. I don't need massive data speeds - just really the ability to hit work email from my laptop Outlook and do light web browsing. I'll just configure Outlook to narrowband mode and decide at the time whether I want a given attachment.

So a device that tethers to the laptop, and a SIM card in it that has *decent* rates. I'm expensing it, so absolute rock-bottom isn't a necessity, but a fair price for good service would be nice.

I'll be in Central London on Monday...looking to buy the device and the card. Near the Renaissance Chancery Court (Holburn tube) or my office (Farringdon tube) could be nice, but anywhere in Central London near a tube station is okay too.

Obviously a decent voice rate back to the US would be nice too, but I won't be making a ton of int'l calls.

Don't bother with phones.
Go into a 3 store (http://threestore.three.co.uk/) and buy a Huawei "dongle". 50 quid for the dongle (unless you already have an unlocked 3G modem) plus a tenner for a top-up voucher which turns itself into a 30-day/1GB (whichever comes first) allowance for mobile internet. Use with your usual VOIP provider for calls, and Bob's your uncle...
If you expect to make a lot of calls, go for the GBP15/3GB option.
Oh, and you also get FREE roaming in a small number of foreign locations, including HKG.

Cool...I hadn't considered that option.

About how much more would I be looking at to get a basic low-end handset that could tether to the laptop as a modem? I also like the idea of being able to give my clients a UK phone number...and naturally, it would be kind of nice to have a "regular" handset to carry around with me when I'm *not* at the laptop.

For calls back to the US I'd probably weigh the convenience of the mobile phone vs. the cost of just using my normal VoIP (Skype). Short call to say good-night to the family at home...might just call using the mobile if the prepay rate wasn't astronomical...

EDIT: I just realized that I'm walking distance from Tottenham Ct. Road...is that still a popular location for buying this kind of stuff?

Cool...I hadn't considered that option.

About how much more would I be looking at to get a basic low-end handset that could tether to the laptop as a modem? I also like the idea of being able to give my clients a UK phone number...and naturally, it would be kind of nice to have a "regular" handset to carry around with me when I'm *not* at the laptop.

Handsets are really cheap, and AFAIK all of them should be able to provide you with a GPRS connection. You could have something basic for a tenner...But then you'd have to pay for the data, which on pay-as-you-go may well be sold by the megabyte and at extortionate prices.

Good point. The other thing is that I have *no idea* how much data I really use on a daily basis. I'm on an unlimited plan in the U.S.

Good point. The other thing is that I have *no idea* how much data I really use on a daily basis. I'm on an unlimited plan in the U.S.

The modem option is a good one. If you want a tethered phone I have a 3G Orange card with UMTS which is pretty fast and reasonably cheap. Good call prices back to the US with Orange also.

I am going to the UK in April for about 10 days and will need cell phone access with ability to call to the U.S. So far in reading this thread, I'm definitely leaning towards buying an SIM card since I have an unlocked GSM T-mobile Samsung t429. I no longer have T-mobile service so I cannot use their roaming feature, but I looked at the T-mobile.co.uk site and it seems that I can just buy an individual SIM card for 15pounds a month (though, I'm not sure if this can be shipped to the US yet)? This UK card should work in my current T-mobile phone right?

My other options are Orange and/or Roam Simple. Has anyone compared these two services? Roam Simple sends an SIM card with $10 of air credit that should be compatible with any unlocked phone. Orange seems more complicated? Any advice?

I ended up going with a cheap unlocked handset and an Orange pay-as-you-go SIM. I maybe spend 10 pounds per week I'm in the UK on calls back home.

It's 6p per minute to the U.S. Just walk into any Carphone Warehouse or similar mobile phone shop when you arrive in the UK. No need to find an actual Orange shop and no need to pay for anything shipped to the U.S. unless you absolutely need to place a call the minute you land at Heathrow.

Talk Mobile is the other carrier I noticed with a similar pay-as-you-go option - it was also 5 or 6p per minute to the U.S.

The tradeoff for a cheap U.S. rate is that domestic calls are expensive. So if you're doing a mix of UK and US calling, you may want to investigate other options. But the Carphone Warehouse guys were good: they sell SIMs for almost all carriers so I felt like I got unbiased advice. They seemed very familiar with my situation: an int'l traveler wanting a cheap device and pay-as-you-go SIM to call home... (In your case, it's even simpler because you already have an unlocked GSM phone.)

Thank you! I think you're right. I'm going to skip the roam mobile option and just look for an orange mobile/carphone warehouse and get an SIM card. This is perfect!

Thank you! I think you're right. I'm going to skip the roam mobile option and just look for an orange mobile/carphone warehouse and get an SIM card. This is perfect!

Virgin Mobile is also very competitively priced depending on your calling patterns. Orange has reasonable 3G data prices also.

I wonder if you can use your own 3g/mobile modem with the 3 prepaid data service? Do they provide a SIM with this?

Oh, and you also get FREE roaming in a small number of foreign locations, including HKG.I found this statement on the 3 website:

"So if you’re off to Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy or Sweden, you’re in luck. "

Link: http://ww.three.co.uk/Help_Support/International/Reaping_the_benefits_of_3_Like_Home

Also some additional info:

"As long as you're on a 3 sister network, you can use your inclusive allowance (or Top Up, Stretch or Add-ons) to call or text standard UK numbers.

You can also use your inclusive Skype, Internet and data allowance on 3 networks.

You are automatically eligible for this offer. However, you do need to have roaming enabled, be within service coverage and be on a 3 sister network.

...· Pay As You Go customers can use their Top-Up, Stretch or Add-ons when on a 3 sister network

· It's free to receive calls and text when you are on a 3 sister network

· Just like home, you can use your Skype, Internet and data allowance as well"

Link: http://ww.three.co.uk/Help_Support/Got_a_question_?content_aid=1214305993513

I am going to the UK in April for about 10 days and will need cell phone access with ability to call to the U.S. So far in reading this thread, I'm definitely leaning towards buying an SIM card since I have an unlocked GSM T-mobile Samsung t429. I no longer have T-mobile service so I cannot use their roaming feature, but I looked at the T-mobile.co.uk site and it seems that I can just buy an individual SIM card for 15pounds a month (though, I'm not sure if this can be shipped to the US yet)? This UK card should work in my current T-mobile phone right?

My other options are Orange and/or Roam Simple. Has anyone compared these two services? Roam Simple sends an SIM card with $10 of air credit that should be compatible with any unlocked phone. Orange seems more complicated? Any advice?No, you will have to get an unlock code for your US T-Mobile phone. They will give this to you. We brought our US handsets to the UK and got unlock codes and the phones work fine over here.

Don't get too excited about the pay monthly plans. Unless you have a UK bank account, you can only get a PAYG account. Even with a UK bank account, they will sometimes require a deposit for a ridiculous amount. I had a £200 deposit for a monthly plan on O2, and nothing on Vodaphone.

For laptops, I can vouch for the Three wireless broadband. On my first trip over here I bought one for hotel and flat use, and didn't use my first £10 for nearly six weeks.

Like the previous poster, I have stopped buying hotel internet in the UK. Prepaid cellular data is way cheaper.

I wonder if you can use your own 3g/mobile modem with the 3 prepaid data service? Do they provide a SIM with this?

Just go to a 3 store and buy an ordinary SIM. It'll cost 10 pounds, but that includes a topup voucher for 10 pounds (actually about 10.62 pounds--I think that's due to the reduction in VAT from 18 to 15 percent).

You can either apply the topup to the laptop data deal (you can only do this for the whole amount of any topup), or you can just apply it to regular phone use. However, with the regular phone deal, you can also buy 1 week of data for 2.50 pounds, and reduced rates for longer periods. Unlike the the laptop deal (10 pounds for 1 gb over a month), this data is intended for smart phones and is limited to about 50 mb a day (1.5 gb a month--go figure). You have to register at my3.three.co.uk and tinker around there to buy the data addons.

This works fine with a regular 3G phone, which I connect to my laptop via Bluetooth. Note that it has to be 3G: 3 does not have a GSM network. The APN is three.co.uk, so typically set the laptop to send AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","three.co.uk" and to dial *99# (or *99***1#).

The 3-like-home thing works fine: I bought a week of data in the UK and used it in Italy. Note that Australia is not included in 3-like-home for prepaid (only for postpaid).

Don't try discussing any of this with the kids in the store: they won't have a clue what you are talking about. You need to know enough about phones, SIMs, and Bluetooth DUN, to set this up and get it working all on your own.

T-Mobile UK has prepaid data on GSM: just text WEB to 441 and you're good for 5 days (at about 40mb a day) for 2.50 pounds. If you don't send the text, it's 1 pound a day. The APN is general.t-mobile.uk (notice it's .uk, not .co.uk). A UK T-Mobile SIM will not work in a US T-Mobile phone: you need to unlock it.

Just go to a 3 store and buy an ordinary SIM. It'll cost 10 pounds, but that includes a topup voucher for 10 pounds (actually about 10.62 pounds--I think that's due to the reduction in VAT from 18 to 15 percent).

You can either apply the topup to the laptop data deal (you can only do this for the whole amount of any topup), or you can just apply it to regular phone use. However, with the regular phone deal, you can also buy 1 week of data for 2.50 pounds, and reduced rates for longer periods. Unlike the the laptop deal (10 pounds for 1 gb over a month), this data is intended for smart phones and is limited to about 50 mb a day (1.5 gb a month--go figure). You have to register at my3.three.co.uk and tinker around there to buy the data addons...The 3-like-home thing works fine: I bought a week of data in the UK and used it in Italy. Note that Australia is not included in 3-like-home for prepaid (only for postpaid)...T-Mobile UK has prepaid data on GSM: just text WEB to 441 and you're good for 5 days (at about 40mb a day) for 2.50 pounds. If you don't send the text, it's 1 pound a day. The APN is general.t-mobile.uk (notice it's .uk, not .co.uk). A UK T-Mobile SIM will not work in a US T-Mobile phone: you need to unlock it.Thanks for the info...wondering whether any free/other cheap roaming data possibilities there are for Europe, either with UK SIM's or Australian SIM's?

I still have bookmarked another thread regarding the Optus data availability (something about getting free data in Italy), but need to get some fixed price data for laptop use in Germany...

No, you will have to get an unlock code for your US T-Mobile phone. They will give this to you. We brought our US handsets to the UK and got unlock codes and the phones work fine over here.

If I already have an unlocked phone, do I still have to get a unlock code from T-mobile? What if I am no longer in service with T-mobile, will I still be able to get a unlock code?

If I already have an unlocked phone, do I still have to get a unlock code from T-mobile? What if I am no longer in service with T-mobile, will I still be able to get a unlock code?

If the phone is unlocked, you're all set. The code is only required to unlock the phone. Once that's done, you're home free.

Cheers.

If the phone is unlocked, you're all set. The code is only required to unlock the phone. Once that's done, you're home free.

Cheers.

Thank you! I'm looking forward to being in jolly ole England again, and this time without the cringing cell phone bill afterwards.

You should note that you can rarely get Blackberry service on prepaid. You'll either need to carry a US Blackberry and a separate phone or use some other style data device.
Orange now do a Pay As You Go (PAYG) BIS Blackberry plan for £5 50Mb a month, if you just want BIS and maybe incoming calls this is a bargain.

They also do an Orange locked Blackberry 8120 for £145 (but you have to top up £20 at the time of purchase) so £165 in total. What you have to do is get them to call (on their phone) and activate your BIS in store otherwise you have to make a call that costs 25p to set that up. This is annoying if you are using it just for BIS as you the have £14.75 left on the account not £15.00 (or a full three months worth of BIS).