If the powers at be decide to make this a sticky I will maintain the first post with up to date information on SIM cards for use by all. My idea is to post each company that offers a SIM card and their status. Will add links and as time permits add on the rates and comparison. I hope to rearrange them in order of best deal at some point. Here is the beginning links. If any one can think of others or find others. Please post. Thanks.
Vodafone: (excellent if you are travelling in the EU only) .19p/free
http://www.vodafone.co.uk
RATES: Incoming Call: Free Outbound Call: £0.19 Outgoing SMS: £0.19
REPORTED:[Note that this is a temporary summer promotion. At present, Vodafone is claiming that they will return to the old Passport plan at the end of the summer] Keep posted for what happens with this.
Telestial:
http://www.telestial.com/view_product.php?ID=MSIM-PPL2
Telestial:
http://www.telestial.com/sim_cards.php
RATES: Passport Lite Incoming Call: Free; Outbound Call: $1.19; Outgoing SMS: $0.69;
EXPERIENCE: This card is not my favorite. The actual rate to make a call is $1.19 USD for the first minute and then $0.84 for each additional minute. The reason is that most all calls including calls to another Passport Sim is treated as a mobile call and all calls incur a $0.35 USD surcharge to initiate the call. They charge for calls to customer service, voice mail and there is no way to check it online like some other services. Active 9 months from last billed call.
REPORTED:[Note: The 0.35 connection surcharge does not apply in the countries with free incoming calls which includes most of the EU, Canada, the US, Oz, and New Zealand] NOT MY EXPERIENCE, I WAS CHARGED. Buyer beware!
RATES: Passport Plus Incoming Call: $0.29; Outbound Call: $1.19; Outgoing SMS: $0.69;
REPORTED EXPERIENCE: User reported that with his Passport Plus sim card, there were no free incoming calls anywhere, and always a 35c per connection fee. User did note that customer service and voicemail calls were all free from the UK... but when user called voicemail from other countries, user was charged. User noted it is noted it was not stated on the website. Any calls received on the US number anywhere (even in the US) costs an extra 19c/min. So to receive a call in the UK, it was 29+19=48c/min in addition to a 35c connection charge.
OneSimCard:
http://www.onesimcard.com/?idmenu=2
RATES: Incoming Call: Free Outbound Call: $0.60 Outgoing SMS: $0.40 Warning: May charge a surcharge and make it very high. Website not clear.
Sim4Travel:
http://www.sim4travel.com/
RATES: Incoming Call: $0.62 Outbound Call: $1.02 Outgoing SMS: $1.25
This company starts charging an inactivity fee after 90 days of inactivity. They also charge a daily activation charge.
Best Buy:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8240628&type=product&id=1191627772229
UNITED MOBILE UPDATE: Received an email today stating that the 423 number SIM card system has been permanently discontinued. However, the 44 number SIM card system will be up and running again soon and that they are mailing me new SIM cards. This might be of help to others if not a day late and dollar short.
deant
May 12, 09, 8:27 pm
Has anyone used SIM4travel?
http://www.sim4travel.com/
Roger
May 13, 09, 11:27 am
... the 44 number SIM card system will be up and running again soon and that they are mailing me new SIM cards.They sent me a new card (+44) with a €10 bonus. They said they would transfer the credit balance from my +423 card. They didn't, and that card now shows €0.00 credit. :( The new card shows €10 credit.
Oh, the new card doesn't work. :rolleyes:
cordelli
May 13, 09, 11:40 am
There's a ton of good information in the Sim card sticky on this forum already, it would probably be better to add to that instead of starting a new thread which will probably duplicate much of what's already there.
Danger Man
May 18, 09, 8:30 pm
There's a ton of good information in the Sim card sticky on this forum already, it would probably be better to add to that instead of starting a new thread which will probably duplicate much of what's already there.
Except this one is usable. The other one you have to read everything to find what you are looking for. If the OP keeps the updated information in the first post, this will eliminate the reading and reading and reading issue. Or posting the same question to get the same answer over and over (because they didn't read the whole thing) problem.
I vote yes ^
3rivers
May 25, 09, 5:05 am
Agreed - great thread.
3rivers
May 25, 09, 5:09 am
As Eastern Traveller mentions, vodafone.co.uk is the way to go for this summer.
Beginning June 1 there are no roaming charges throughout europe. So for £10, you get 100 min and 300 texts (must be used in 30 days) - so basically its 10p per minute with 300 free texts - an amazing deal !!!!!
Roger
May 25, 09, 5:33 am
I believe the (temporary?) Vodafone UK deal costs 20p per minute for new PAYG customers. The old rates are not available to new PAYG customers. Still a good deal if it means no charge to receive in Europe+ (up to 60 minutes, anyway).
EasternTraveler
Jun 12, 09, 4:27 am
Updated rates. Would appreciate any information and experiences anyone has with any of these companies.
Cha-cha-cha
Jun 12, 09, 11:48 am
http://www.sim4travel.com/[/url]
I looked at the web site and it sounded interesting but confusing. Maybe I just couldn't find the right help page there (and I looked at the FAQ), but I still don't understand:
If you have or buy an unlocked phone and get a Sim4travel Sim card, then that card gives you a phone #, right? So where is the phone number resident, in the UK, so that anyone who calls you has to call a UK number? Or can you get a number in other countries?
Supposedly you "pay as you go." Does this mean it's impossible to be charged more than you've prepaid -- e.g. no "surprise" huge bills run up because you forgot to turn off the phone or because while in your pocket some random buttons got pushed resulting in a twelve hour call to a repeating "The time is now..." line in Borneo?
It's a UK company and charges are in pounds -- can you join from outside the UK?
(I know I could probably call or email them, but I thought I might get quicker and better information from someone here who has used them.) Thanks for any comments.
fti
Jun 12, 09, 12:03 pm
I purchased a T-Mobile SIM card a couple of years back in Germany. No longer an expiration date (earlier you needed to recharge it once a year). Works with my dual band T-Mobile phone from the US. Paid 20 Euros (about $30) and basically have a permanent phone number in Europe that I can be contacted at. Incoming calls are free (as is the case with most services in Europe).
Can be purchased in a lot of places (tobacco stores and electronic stores to name a couple).
EasternTraveler
Jun 12, 09, 12:20 pm
http://www.sim4travel.com/[/url]
I looked at the web site and it sounded interesting but confusing. Maybe I just couldn't find the right help page there (and I looked at the FAQ), but I still don't understand:
If you have or buy an unlocked phone and get a Sim4travel Sim card, then that card gives you a phone #, right? So where is the phone number resident, in the UK, so that anyone who calls you has to call a UK number? Or can you get a number in other countries?
Supposedly you "pay as you go." Does this mean it's impossible to be charged more than you've prepaid -- e.g. no "surprise" huge bills run up because you forgot to turn off the phone or because while in your pocket some random buttons got pushed resulting in a twelve hour call to a repeating "The time is now..." line in Borneo?
It's a UK company and charges are in pounds -- can you join from outside the UK?
(I know I could probably call or email them, but I thought I might get quicker and better information from someone here who has used them.) Thanks for any comments.
1. It is a UK 44 number and that is the only number offered.
2. It is pay as you go and when your credit is up, so is the service.
3. Yes you can get the card shipped anywhere. But I don't recommend this card. See red line.
Cha-cha-cha
Jun 12, 09, 2:10 pm
1. It is a UK 44 number and that is the only number offered.
2. It is pay as you go and when your credit is up, so is the service.
3. Yes you can get the card shipped anywhere. But I don't recommend this card. See red line.
Thanks for the response. Sounds like the only advantage over Mobal is the pay as you go feature. Mobal is a different sort of PAYG: there's no contract, but you get charged via credit card for whatever charges you've incurred, so there's a possibility of ending up with unexpectedly large charges which you'll automatically have to pay.
cordelli
Jun 12, 09, 8:24 pm
Sounds like the only advantage over Mobal is the pay as you go feature.
A ten minute call on sim4travel from Italy to the US is $4.77
A ten minute call on Mobal from Italy to the US is $19.50
I'm thinking sim4travel has a huge cost advatage over Mobal.
On a ten minute incoming call from the US to your phone in Italy
Mobal would be $15.
Sim4Travel would be free
Huge difference.
Dubai Stu
Jun 13, 09, 11:16 am
This is a great start, but I have a couple of points which I've included in the quoted part of the message.
If the powers at be decide to make this a sticky I will maintain the first post with up to date information on SIM cards for use by all. My idea is to post each company that offers a SIM card and their status. Will add links and as time permits add on the rates and comparison. I hope to rearrange them in order of best deal at some point. Here is the beginning links. If any one can think of others or find others. Please post. Thanks.
Vodafone: (excellent if you are travelling in the EU only) .19p/free
http://www.vodafone.co.uk
RATES: Incoming Call: Free Outbound Call: £0.19 Outgoing SMS: £0.19
[Note that this is a temporary summer promotion. At present, Vodafone is claiming that they will return to the old Passport plan at the end of the summer]
Travel Sim:
http://www.travelsim.co.uk/ma/07924.asp
RATES: Incoming Call: Free Outbound Call: $0.64 Outgoing SMS: $0.72
Telestial:
http://www.telestial.com/view_product.php?ID=MSIM-PPL2
Telestial:
http://www.telestial.com/sim_cards.php
RATES: Incoming Call: Free Outbound Call: $1.19 Outgoing SMS: $0.69
EXPERIENCE: This card is not my favorite. The actual rate to make a call is $1.19 USD for the first minute and then $0.84 for each additional minute. The reason is that most all calls including calls to another Passport Sim is treated as a mobile call and all calls incur a $0.35 USD surcharge to initiate the call. They charge for calls to customer service, voice mail and there is no way to check it online like some other services. Active 9 months from last billed call.
[Note: The 0.35 connection surcharge does not apply in the countries with free incoming calls which includes most of the EU, Canada, the US, Oz, and New Zealand]
OneSimCard:
http://www.onesimcard.com/?idmenu=2
RATES: Incoming Call: Free Outbound Call: $0.60 Outgoing SMS: $0.40 Warning: May charge a surcharge and make it very high. Website not clear.
Sim4Travel:
http://www.sim4travel.com/
RATES: Incoming Call: $0.62 Outbound Call: $1.02 Outgoing SMS: $1.25
This company starts charging an inactivity fee after 90 days of inactivity. They also charge a daily activation charge.
Best Buy:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8240628&type=product&id=1191627772229
I used to use 09 mobile out of Iceland, was free incoming calls period. I don't care about outgoing charges. Lots of providers on the list have free incoming in a specific set of countries mostly Europe but expensive in South Asia. What's the best 09 mobile replacement?
Dubai Stu
Jun 13, 09, 5:07 pm
I haven't found a great list of countries. I used to use United-Mobile and 09. 09 has no bills or whistles, but great rates. Right now I'm using eKit and Celtrek, but the combination is not as good as the predecessors.
chuckd
Aug 10, 09, 1:27 am
A note about gosim (the best buy one linked) is that from bb it's $50 w/ $10 airtime. Direct from gosim it's $48 and includes $40 of time. Haven't used it, but I'm still trying to decide between getting something like it so family can call or just continuing to get local sims wherever I go so I can give the number to girls I meet. Decisions, decisions.
JAP
Aug 14, 09, 6:54 pm
Another option is www.maxroam.com
They also have quitea few affiliates around the globe ....
Prepaid as well.
gengar
Aug 18, 09, 12:42 am
Telestial offers a bunch of different sim cards (and I'd imagine some of the others may as well), so I think it's important to split them up in the OP. For example, the current one listed with Telestial is the Passport Lite. With my Passport Plus sim card, there were no free incoming calls anywhere, and always a 35c per connection fee. I should note that customer service and voicemail calls were all free from the UK... but when I called voicemail from other countries (such as France) I was charged. I'm not sure why there is a difference, as there isn't one stated on the Telestial website.
The best part of Telestial sims is the dual-number functionality. I liked having a US number that people in the US could dial and still connect directly to my phone. At the same time, I wish it was a one-time charge as opposed to a per-minute fee. Any calls received on the US number anywhere (even in the US) costs an extra 19c/min. So to receive a call in the UK, it was 29+19=48c/min in addition to a 35c connection charge.
Overall though, I won't use Telestial again, as I had lots of problems with the service. I was never able to receive or send text messages in the UK, even though text messaging worked just fine in the US. Also, there were times when people told me they tried to call me and got an error message saying that service was blocked. These two issues were never resolved despite several calls to customer service over my two multi-week trips (this is how I know customer service calls were free in the UK - I'd be pretty incensed if it wasn't, after how long I spent talking to them to no avail!).
One other thing to note is that Telestial uses a connection system in Europe where, after entering a number to call, my phone gets dialed back and then I get connected to the number I dialed. But the person on the other end either sees a restricted number or a number that isn't mine. In the latter case, people may think they have your cell phone number, but they really don't. And of course until someone told me they tried to call me at that number and couldn't reach me, I didn't know that either. So that was a bit inconvenient.
mia
Sep 18, 09, 4:05 pm
With my Passport Plus sim card, there were no free incoming calls anywhere, and always a 35c per connection fee. I should note that customer service and voicemail calls were all free from the UK... but when I called voicemail from other countries (such as France) I was charged.
This is disclosed on their website. Passport US Plus does not offer free inbound calls, nor does it offer free calls to voicemail or customer service in most countries, aside from the UK. Scroll down this page to the Airtime Rates chart...
By comparison, Passport US does offer free inbound calls in the UK and most other European other countries, although there is still $0.19 per minute "surcharge" if the call is placed to the +1 USA number rather than the +44 UK number.
The only advantage I see to choosing the Plus version is that the rates for outbound calls are lower, but I place and receive virtually no voice calls.
I'm more interested in this product for dual number text messaging, to avoid carrying two phones; but the rates are not attractive and after querying techninal support several times the implementation of text on the +1 number seems clumsy. (Tech support is provided by ekit). I'm surprised that you experienced SMS problems in the UK because the system seems to be a native UK SIM with a USA number bolted on.
gleff
Sep 18, 09, 5:20 pm
Ok, to folks that have reviewed these
(1) which have free incoming calls across the greatest portion of Europe?
(2) which have cheapest incoming calls across Asia?
Happy to pair a SIM with a callback service, so most interested in best incoming call rates.
soitgoes
Sep 18, 09, 5:31 pm
This is disclosed on their website. Passport US Plus does not offer free inbound calls, nor does it offer free calls to voicemail or customer service in most countries, aside from the UK. Scroll down this page to the Airtime Rates chart...
http://www.telestial.com/view_product.php?PRODUCT_ID=MSIM-PPP2
By comparison, Passport US
Ekit's various SIMs are a bit confusing, in my opinion. I use the Passport SIM, which is available directly from Ekit on Ebay for only $20 + $3 shipping (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140297379784) (they sell their other SIMs as well, under two Ebay IDs: EkitmobileUSA (http://shop.ebay.com/ekitmobileusa/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=)and Ekitmobile (http://shop.ebay.com/ekitmobile/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=))
Ok, to folks that have reviewed these
(1) which have free incoming calls across the greatest portion of Europe?
(2) which have cheapest incoming calls across Asia?
Happy to pair a SIM with a callback service, so most interested in best incoming call rates.
I'm happy with the Ekit Passport SIM (NOT Passport Plus). See above for the Ebay link for the cheapest price.
It has free incoming to 67 countries when called on its UK number (19¢/min for calls via the US number):
Algeria
American Samoa
Anguilla
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Belgium
Bosnia Herzegovina
Brazil
British Virgin Islands
Canada
Cayman Islands
Chile
Croatia
Cyprus (South)
Czech Republic
Denmark
El Salvador
Estonia
Fiji
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Grenada
Hungary
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Moldova
Montserrat
Namibia
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Seychelles
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Trinidad & Tobago
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
http://ekit.com/ekit/MobileInfo/Service/ekpassport_dual/#rates
gengar
Sep 18, 09, 10:06 pm
This is disclosed on their website. Passport US Plus does not offer free inbound calls, nor does it offer free calls to voicemail or customer service in most countries, aside from the UK. Scroll down this page to the Airtime Rates chart...
Of course it's listed on their website (although I don't recall seeing the "Calls to Voicemail and Support" column before - don't know if it wasn't there or I just missed it). The point of my post was that the OP review does not distinguish the sim types, regardless of whether the differences are listed on the website.
rally
Sep 19, 09, 8:05 pm
[QUOTE=soitgoes;
It has free incoming to 67 countries when called on its UK number (19¢/min for calls via the US number):
QUOTE]
is the call to the UK a regular landline call ?
Rally
soitgoes
Sep 19, 09, 8:12 pm
is the call to the UK a regular landline call ?
It is a UK mobile number (Isle of Man to be specific--+44 7924).
Dubai Stu
Sep 19, 09, 8:43 pm
IOM numbers are usually treated as UK mobiles, but some providers surcharge calls to these mobiles. In the UK, some mobile providers include them in their standard mobile to mobile rate, but is my understanding that Orange does not.
I pack an IOM SIM and connect to it using an account at voicetrading.com which allows me to connect at US$0.08 a minute.
mia
Sep 20, 09, 2:12 pm
...point of my post was that the OP review does not distinguish the sim types...
Agreed, I had just finished reading the entire thread when I posted. The original post had been updated, evidently to reflect the information in your message, but gave (me) the impression that the billing is different than advertised. The point of my post was primarily to emphasize that the Plus version of the SIM involves a tradeoff of free incoming calls versus lower outgoing call rates.
rally
Sep 20, 09, 2:53 pm
It is a UK mobile number (Isle of Man to be specific--+44 7924).
thats what I figured , no free lunch !
from the USA its pretty cheap to a UK landline 2-3 cents a minute ,
but mobile numbers are 15 cents or more.....
Rally
gleff
Sep 22, 09, 12:58 pm
Any experience with GoSim?
http://www.gosim.com
My goal is a sim with free incoming calls in a large # of countries to pair with a callback service.
The relevant outgoing call rates, then, are the rates the callback service charges. And UK mobile numbers are quite expensive to call (think 40 cents/minute).
I used to use 09 from Iceland, with that I could call pretty from much of the world to the US for ~ 11 cents/minute.
Now I'm in search of a new provider, and Estonia seems like best option, calls to US from 80 countries or so are 16.6 cents/minute.
Thoughts on GoSIM, Estonian #s in particular, or other Estonian providers?
soitgoes
Sep 22, 09, 1:14 pm
My goal is a sim with free incoming calls in a large # of countries to pair with a callback service.
The relevant outgoing call rates, then, are the rates the callback service charges. And UK mobile numbers are quite expensive to call (think 40 cents/minute).
I had really bad experiences with calls to Estonian mobile numbers. I dropped my TravelSim service because of it. Furthermore, Callbackworld no longer provides service to Estonian numbers.
Calls to UK mobiles are really not that expensive if you shop around (I pay about 13¢/min), and in any case you can use the Ekit US number for 19¢/min, so nothing should ever be more than that.
The forums on prepaidgsm.net are quite helpful for exploring options.
gleff
Oct 30, 09, 8:45 pm
Has anyone had a look at dgmobile.net? Icelandic SIM, ~ 80 countries w/ free incoming.
Dubai Stu
Oct 30, 09, 9:43 pm
The old (defunct) provider's 09's former url (www.09.is) redirects to dgmobile. Interesting.
gleff
Oct 31, 09, 5:53 am
The old (defunct) provider's 09's former url (www.09.is) redirects to dgmobile. Interesting.