Prepaid SIM - France
#151
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 6,407
Could I get a three SIM, top up with £10 and then get 1gb of data, since their 321 plan charges 1p/mb (1,000 x 1p = £10, 1,000 x 1mb = 1gb)? Or somewhat less than 1gb plus a few phone calls?
http://www.three.co.uk/Store/SIM/Pay_As_You_Go
This would be better for me than the All in One £10 add-on, since I likely won't text or make many phone calls, but may use more than 500mb of data.
Could I then use it in France with their free roaming?
http://www.three.co.uk/Store/SIM/Pay_As_You_Go
This would be better for me than the All in One £10 add-on, since I likely won't text or make many phone calls, but may use more than 500mb of data.
Could I then use it in France with their free roaming?
#153
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 6,407
Could I get a three SIM, top up with £10 and then get 1gb of data, since their 321 plan charges 1p/mb (1,000 x 1p = £10, 1,000 x 1mb = 1gb)? Or somewhat less than 1gb plus a few phone calls?
http://www.three.co.uk/Store/SIM/Pay_As_You_Go
This would be better for me than the All in One £10 add-on, since I likely won't text or make many phone calls, but may use more than 500mb of data.
Could I then use it in France with their free roaming?
http://www.three.co.uk/Store/SIM/Pay_As_You_Go
This would be better for me than the All in One £10 add-on, since I likely won't text or make many phone calls, but may use more than 500mb of data.
Could I then use it in France with their free roaming?
This makes Pay As You Go - All in One £10 the better course (http://store.three.co.uk/view/searchSimOnly?tariff=115) - you get 500mb to use in UK and France, or Pay As You Go - All in One £20 gets you "unlimited" data http://store.three.co.uk/view/searchSimOnly?tariff=112
#154
#155
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 6,407
Did you look at my post that I quoted and the link I posted (you may have to specify France and paygo)? In the first post, I suggest you can get 1gb for £10 in the UK and France using Three's 3-2-1 plan. It's true in the UK (1p / mb) but not France (see the link). If you have the 3-2-1 plan it certainly looks like 10p in France. If you get an add-on allowance, you get that allowance.
#156
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Seat 1A, Juice pretty much everywhere, Mucci des Coins Exotiques
Posts: 34,339
Did you look at my post that I quoted and the link I posted (you may have to specify France and paygo)? In the first post, I suggest you can get 1gb for £10 in the UK and France using Three's 3-2-1 plan. It's true in the UK (1p / mb) but not France (see the link). If you have the 3-2-1 plan it certainly looks like 10p in France. If you get an add-on allowance, you get that allowance.
After 2017 then maybe all this advice will change. We'll see.
#157
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 6,407
I'm confused for sure. Your posts quote links to 3 which is not a French operator. I quoted links from Orange which is a French operator that has pricing of less than 10p per MB. It obviously makes sense to buy a SIM from a French operator if you plan to spend a lot of time in France. If however you want to spend a lot of time in the UK and visit France for a bit, then perhaps the offer from 3 is a good choice.
After 2017 then maybe all this advice will change. We'll see.
After 2017 then maybe all this advice will change. We'll see.
#158
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Northern Italian Lakes
Programs: BA, *A, Hertz Goldstar, Mucci wannabee, Waitrose, safari Oleg
Posts: 1,545
I'm confused for sure. Your posts quote links to 3 which is not a French operator. I quoted links from Orange which is a French operator that has pricing of less than 10p per MB. It obviously makes sense to buy a SIM from a French operator if you plan to spend a lot of time in France. If however you want to spend a lot of time in the UK and visit France for a bit, then perhaps the offer from 3 is a good choice.
After 2017 then maybe all this advice will change. We'll see.
After 2017 then maybe all this advice will change. We'll see.
#159
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 6,407
@h15t0r1an, am I interpreting Three's website correctly that I could do this:
Buy a SIM and a £10 credit and use it in the UK at 3-2-1 rates. Just before going to France, I could buy a 500mb add-on for £5 and use it for data in France, plus calls and texts at roaming rates (obviously provided I don't use more than a total of £10). If I just use data, I could use a total of 1,000mb (500mb in the UK at 1p/mb plus the 500mb add-on in the UK and France).
Buy a SIM and a £10 credit and use it in the UK at 3-2-1 rates. Just before going to France, I could buy a 500mb add-on for £5 and use it for data in France, plus calls and texts at roaming rates (obviously provided I don't use more than a total of £10). If I just use data, I could use a total of 1,000mb (500mb in the UK at 1p/mb plus the 500mb add-on in the UK and France).
#160
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bay Area
Programs: DL SM, UA MP.
Posts: 12,729
I'm confused for sure. Your posts quote links to 3 which is not a French operator. I quoted links from Orange which is a French operator that has pricing of less than 10p per MB. It obviously makes sense to buy a SIM from a French operator if you plan to spend a lot of time in France. If however you want to spend a lot of time in the UK and visit France for a bit, then perhaps the offer from 3 is a good choice.
After 2017 then maybe all this advice will change. We'll see.
After 2017 then maybe all this advice will change. We'll see.
And how does the 3 network in the UK compare to other UK networks, in coverage and price?
#161
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Seat 1A, Juice pretty much everywhere, Mucci des Coins Exotiques
Posts: 34,339
I have unlimited roaming in Europe and the French overseas departments so it's great for me.
That question would best be asked in the UK forum IMHO.
And how does the 3 network in the UK compare to other UK networks, in coverage and price?
#162
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Northern Italian Lakes
Programs: BA, *A, Hertz Goldstar, Mucci wannabee, Waitrose, safari Oleg
Posts: 1,545
3 All I can say is that in the suburbs of a major metropolitan area as soon as I dropped Vodafone and signed up with Three, the bars on my phone went from 4 to 5 bars coverage permanently. There's nothing wrong with 4 bars but 5 bars means a really strong signal. So Three network in the UK has been excellent for me. Having said that I've found a couple of spots in London and 1 near to London recently when signal was weaker. I understand that's due to their popularity and rate of expansion.
#163
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Northern Italian Lakes
Programs: BA, *A, Hertz Goldstar, Mucci wannabee, Waitrose, safari Oleg
Posts: 1,545
@h15t0r1an, am I interpreting Three's website correctly that I could do this:
Buy a SIM and a £10 credit and use it in the UK at 3-2-1 rates. Just before going to France, I could buy a 500mb add-on for £5 and use it for data in France, plus calls and texts at roaming rates (obviously provided I don't use more than a total of £10). If I just use data, I could use a total of 1,000mb (500mb in the UK at 1p/mb plus the 500mb add-on in the UK and France).
Buy a SIM and a £10 credit and use it in the UK at 3-2-1 rates. Just before going to France, I could buy a 500mb add-on for £5 and use it for data in France, plus calls and texts at roaming rates (obviously provided I don't use more than a total of £10). If I just use data, I could use a total of 1,000mb (500mb in the UK at 1p/mb plus the 500mb add-on in the UK and France).
I can't speak for data on phones as I keep my data contracts separate. You will have to read the offer yourself for that. Data will definitely be at UK rates even used in France on French websites if you use or buy it as per the terms. Three's only add-ons needed are for voice.
Otherwise I'd suggest just pick up a Lebara PAYG SIM when you arrive, newspaper/magazine shops have them and sometimes supermarkets. They give useful data amounts free with topups that you get very reasonable rates for calls on also.
There are considerably better options available in France. But you would need to be able to pay from French sources for those. So they are not worth it for short trips. All operators in the EU will have to make roaming in Europe same price as the country where the SIM is based, by a date in 2017. So you only need to worry about 2016 really. Market forces should bring rates closer across countries for roaming use in the EU by a date in 2017.
Beware that operators now seem to be bringing in small print limiting the number of roaming days per year. I think this is to try to limit the effects of the 2017 legislation. The examples I have seen in two countries from 2 different networks limit roaming at 'home' rates to only 35 days per year. So you should be fine for shorter trips. Not that the operators are colluding on the magic number of 35 days per year - perish the thought! :-)
Last edited by h15t0r1an; Nov 23, 2015 at 7:33 am
#164
Join Date: Aug 2008
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Posts: 1,874
Not always. The last time I went to France I asked the store staff at an SFR shop in Paris why prices they wanted to charge me were so much higher than I found on their website, and why they were telling me there was no cheap EU roaming option on their plans. One "demande d'abonnement" and photocopy of my passport later I found myself signed up to a monthly plan with SFR. Cancelling that one was not fun.
#165
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 6,407
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I can't speak for data on phones as I keep my data contracts separate. You will have to read the offer yourself for that. Data will definitely be at UK rates even used in France on French websites if you use or buy it as per the terms. Three's only add-ons needed are for voice.<>
I can't speak for data on phones as I keep my data contracts separate. You will have to read the offer yourself for that. Data will definitely be at UK rates even used in France on French websites if you use or buy it as per the terms. Three's only add-ons needed are for voice.<>
Am I misreading?