nevansm

Excerpt:

http://arstechnica.com/business/2014...ile-traveling/

This sounds like an interesting idea for sure. I think a lot of us already do/pack these things but for some less experienced international travelers this could help break the tension a little bit.

Dubai Stu

As a founding member of prepaidgsm.net, I kind of take a little insult to the comment:

" Information online from sites like prepaidgsm.net is often out of date...."

I think our little forum is surprisingly up to the minute. This sounds like Travelerstele (which I think is defunct). I don't mind paying a few bucks more to hit the ground running or for an English translation of the key manuals when I don't read the language. I think he'll find it hard to keep his prices down and his inventory up. A lot of these companies wind up getting in trouble because they don't have the right amount of inventory and place a little fast and loose with local registration laws.

callum9999

Seems like a complete rip off to me. They charge $100 for a sim with unlimited data for up to a month in the UK which you can buy here for $25. Mifi rental is $40 - you can buy one outright for not that much more. I'd also be surprised if you couldn't get the stuff they charge $50 for (voltage adapter, a map and local info) much cheaper online as well.

It seems like a good idea for small obscure countries where you may find it difficult getting the sim card locally and working out how to set it up, but they only seem to be offering London, Madrid, Paris and Berlin.

Dubai Stu

I looked at the travelerstele website and they appear to still be in business. My bad.

I agree with the prior poster about obscure countries, but how long are you going to sit on your stock of Guam or Norfolk Island SIMs? Also, imagine the registration requirements for a Brunai SIM. Lastly, the best SIM for the traveler may not be the best one for the merchant. Some cell phone companies may require a certain level of capitalization/credit worthiness and others may let anyone activate the SIMs. Some of them have really stupid rules. Are you compliant with Brunai's registration scheme?

Some countries have a probelm with foreign sales offices of their SIM cards. For example, I was told that the Ambassador Bridge Company was told that they couldn't get a dealership license to sell Canadian prepaid SIM cards because they were not in Canada.

Dubai Stu

You know, there are people who would find it worth it.

Now that I don't have a eGate in the UAE anymore, I pay the $25 for Mahabra greeting service because it gets me through customs in five minutes rather than 2 hours.

javabytes

I'm sure people who want to figure things out themselves can always do it cheaper than a service like this. Some people don't want to spend the time looking up cell providers, don't know an unlocked phone from a hole in the ground, but still don't want to pay roaming rates and will pay someone like Boromisa to have everything prearranged for them. It shouldn't be perceived as being the cheapest option out there, just a way to conveniently save on international roaming rates.

Marschel

I like Cell Buddy more. Hopefully commercial service will launch in 2014.

Dubai Stu

Think about some personal assistant trying to set things up or if they cut a deal to offer their service to travel agents. Think about how many people just pay roaming because it is "easy" and usually "not their money." I also confess that I've purchased SIMs before I left because I knew it would be a hassle on the other side or wanted a number to give out before I landed. I did it for a colleague last year who I thought would be hopeless.

Think about a concerned parent with a college kid's first trip abroad on their own.

eric2sfo

Hi, I'm actually the guy trying to put this together. The Ars article came out kind of unexpectedly. Cyrus was interested in the idea and wanted to have lunch, since he had done something for a hackathon a year or two ago. Didn't know it was an interview going in.

I took a fairly long trip last year to about 30 countries and kept running into the same issues with errands, scams, generally traipsing around the airport or downtown just to connect my phone or find a working ATM. So I looked for a service that could compile all this stuff and didn't really find anything all that encompassing, so I figured why not try to do it myself.

I would love to get your advice on which national provider gives the BEST value/coverage in each country, as they are almost always cheaper, but harder to set up. As some of you noted, yes there are cheaper options but my goal is to figure out how to present pricing in a simple/straightforward way (I'd love to just have a daily rate) and offer a VERY simple UI, so people can solve their travel errands a la carte, check out and be done (similar to Amazon "Buy it now"). Or think about all the obnoxious things that find their way onto a packing list. Valid point on inventory for places with tiny demand, which is why I'm focusing on the larger destinations. Turns out some people still think France or the US are scary places (or don't but still appreciate the help and convenience)

I've been coming to flyertalk for years and have been pretty active in the travel hacking community, so I know this isn't the main demographic that's likely going to be interested in something like this and is happy to spend hours researching cheaper options. But I think people are willing to pay for someone to do the research and legwork for them. Hell, I would. I'm starting with study abroad and conference attendees as test markets, but if any of you are interested in helping or if you have experience with prepaid mobile data, I would be grateful for any advice, services to check out or constructive feedback.