pseudoswede

Updated Telenor's offerings.

They have simplified pre-paid to how much data you want to pay for.

mannen

Updated Comviq/Tele2's offerings. New option Fastpris Mini, increased data allowances on the other packages.

pseudoswede

Upon entering the T5 arrivals hall at Arlanda, there was a small desk with a bunch of SIM card packages for Lycamobile. I grabbed four of them. Upon further research, they are an MVNO utilizing Telenor towers. Since I know I get pretty good coverage at the summer house, I jumped on it.

I inserted the SIM card. After a few minutes, a text message pinged assigning me a phone number. With that phone number, I went to their website (lycamobile.se), clicked on Refill/Tanka, entered the phone number, selected the pre-paid plan I wanted (35GB for 199 kr), paid, and I got a text message (and e-mail) confirming my purchase shortly afterwards. Very easy process.

ng1265

Back in 2008, when I was an exchange student, Tele2 had excellent prices for international calling (Data was not prevalent at that time), I remember it was something like 0.02 €/min to EU destinations
I can't remember the name of the price plan, but it was a pay as you go.

GUWonder

If needing less data than that and having an eSIM-capable device, Airalo sells Sweden eSIMs with a 1GB/7 day one for $4.50, a 3GB/30 day one for $8, a 5GB/30 day one for $12, and a 10GB/30 day one for $18. Those eSIMs use Telenor’s network.

And for those transiting Denmark or other European countries on a trip to/from Sweden, the European regional SIM can be a good option that includes Sweden and most of the typical European transit airports for TATL trips to/from Sweden.

pseudoswede

Updated prices and added a bit of information that you have to register your pre-paid SIM card on the mobile provider's website. I would recommend doing it on a device where you can take a picture and a selfie easily. I tried using my REAL ID-compliant Colorado driver's license and it wasn't accepted with Lycamobile.

I bought a new plan then travelled to Italy about 48 hours later. It took a while for the phone to register on the Italian network, but it eventually did; however, whenever going from being connected to wifi to mobile wasn't as seamless. I often had to toggle airplane mode for the phone to reconnect to the mobile network; sometimes multiple times, and sometimes it wouldn't connect for 10-15 minutes. This seemed to be more of an issue for my T-Mobile (now unlocked) phone versus the purely unlocked Samsung and iPhone that Mrs. Swede and Miss Swede use.

Also, it seems like all of these pre-paid plans do not have eSIM capability except for Comviq/Tele2.

GUWonder

During Q3 2022, a Swedish law went effective requiring that all then current and future prepaid Swedish phone number SIMs be blocked from loading of any funds for phone calls, SMS and data unless the accounts are registered with ID documents that meet certain specs. From my understanding, US drivers licenses of all sorts are to be rejected in the process by the Swedish mobile phone network operators and MVNOs when it comes to Swedish mobile phone numbers. Did you get a different plan operator to accept any of your ID beside a US passport?

pseudoswede

No, but I figured since it was REAL ID-compliant that it would be accepted. I know that it's not the same, but Miss Swede's boyfriend used his Colorado driver's license when buying alcohol in a restaurant without issues. I occasionally had to show my CO DL at Systembolaget, and that was also accepted.

GUWonder

If anyone finds a Swedish phone number SIM provider which routinely accepts any US DL’s, I would love to know about it if only because it would be nice to set up the plans at times when presenting a current US passport for the prospective Swedish SIM/eSIM user is not possible. I guess the backup plan is that it’s possible to use anyone’s currently valid US passport even if it’s not for the person who is to use the Swedish SIM/eSIM.

Also, if registering a SIM in Sweden, try to opt out of the marketing communications stuff and see if you can opt to keep the number from being publicly listed.

On a side-note: REAL ID-compliant or non-REAL ID-compliant means officially zero in Sweden and the rest of Europe, and so where the REAL ID-complaint US-state issued ID gets accepted, non-REAL ID-compliant US state-issued ID would almost certainly work too. [Driving in Sweden is a case in point, as REAL ID-compliant DL does nothing more than US state DL’s that are not REAL ID-compliant. And in the case of at least elsewhere in the EU, even swapping a US DL for a local DL is no different based on whether the DL is REAL ID-compliant or not.]

About prepaid with eSIMs, Telia was taking some prepaid physical SIM accounts and allowing them to be switched to prepaid eSIM accounts even without going into a Telia shop. Not sure if Telia have discontinued that service option, but they didn’t unwind it for the prepaid accounts that they had switched from a physical SIM to eSIMs.