I finally got my UM SIM and CBW service. Now, my (final!) question is, am I charged rated from a Liechtenstein phone or mobile to whatever number I call? Also, since UM is essentially a call back service as well, am I getting two call backs?
Taking them in reverse order, yes you will get two call backs. The sequence is.
Dial your CBW trigger#. You will get a message ("Not allowed"/"Please Wait"/etc) and then the phone will ring. Answer, let ring once (or twice) and then hang up.
Shortly you will get a second call and when you answer you'll hear the CBW prompt. At one time you had to let CBW know you where using UM and they would put a delay in because they call back came to quickly for UM to handle. Don't know that is still the case -- an email to CBW Cust Service wouldn't hurt.
As for pricing you will pay the Lichtenstein (FL) Mobile price plus whatever the price is for your destination. Unfortunately CBW just raised rates to FL Mobile to like .56/minute so it may be cheaper to use UM directly.
__________________
09 Upgrades: NW (3/3); DL (3/4); CO (0/1); TATL OpUps 1/9 (+1 w/ miles); as Plat 2/34 www.HaveBeerWillTravel.net
Yeah, as of monday, CBW changed the rate to .56$, which s..ks. It used to be the best solution, but now it is one of the worst. I will still use the solution for a while, but I will setup an asterisk server at home, and use my onesuite or voip to hit the phone in the future, at .15, or .25 a minute.
Taking them in reverse order, yes you will get two call backs. The sequence is.
Dial your CBW trigger#. You will get a message ("Not allowed"/"Please Wait"/etc) and then the phone will ring. Answer, let ring once (or twice) and then hang up.
Shortly you will get a second call and when you answer you'll hear the CBW prompt. At one time you had to let CBW know you where using UM and they would put a delay in because they call back came to quickly for UM to handle. Don't know that is still the case -- an email to CBW Cust Service wouldn't hurt.
As for pricing you will pay the Lichtenstein (FL) Mobile price plus whatever the price is for your destination. Unfortunately CBW just raised rates to FL Mobile to like .56/minute so it may be cheaper to use UM directly.
Thanks for the detailed reply. I was afraid of that. It costs .49 cents per minute for me to dial with UM. I will just use UM for that. But it's nice having an 800# for family and friends to reach me. Is there a cheaper 800 service? Now I'm back to square one as far as family being able to reach me.
Last edited by burberrybrit; Jun 20, 07 at 10:36 am.
I just came back from two weeks in Geneva. Lebara Mobile is a Sunrise reseller, with SIMs that cost 15 CHF and include 10 CHF credit. http://www.lebara-mobile.ch/en/index.php
Local calls are 0.49 CHF per minute but calls to the US and other Western Europe countries are only 0.19 CHF per minute.
And during June, MobileZone stores in Geneva are selling two Lebara SIMs for the price of one--15 CHF gets you two SIMs, each with 10 CHF credit.
I just came back from two weeks in Geneva. Lebara Mobile is a Sunrise reseller, with SIMs that cost 15 CHF and include 10 CHF credit. http://www.lebara-mobile.ch/en/index.php
Local calls are 0.49 CHF per minute but calls to the US and other Western Europe countries are only 0.19 CHF per minute.
And during June, MobileZone stores in Geneva are selling two Lebara SIMs for the price of one--15 CHF gets you two SIMs, each with 10 CHF credit.
I just got back from a week in Paris with 3 other couples. We all purchased SFR le carte prepaid cards. They were 30E each at the airport (see previous post for location in CDG 2A for where to purchase - Orange were sold out). If you can wait to go to an Orange or SFR store, you can get a phone with SIM for 34E.
SFR did not have any English prompts or options, although the people at the SFR store were helpful. To check your balance, text "?" to 950. If you don't call SFR or go to a store and register your card, your number will come up on caller ID as "UNAVAILABLE".
Coverage was good throughout Paris, including in most Metro and RER tunnels. Coverage was also good in the Zone 5 suburbs on Chessy and Versailles. I used a callback service without a problem, although you sometimes cannot hear the ringing, so you have to time how long it is dialing to know that the callback received the call.
I would recommend getting a cell in Paris, especially when traveling with a group. It was great to split up and then text locations and plans back and forth. I ended up using less than 10E of talk and text time.
Thanks to all (especially Bogey Man and Landing Gear) for the helpful info. Anybody can feel free to respond to me if you have any questions.
I just got back from a week in Paris with 3 other couples. We all purchased SFR le carte prepaid cards. They were 30E each at the airport (see previous post for location in CDG 2A for where to purchase - Orange were sold out). If you can wait to go to an Orange or SFR store, you can get a phone with SIM for 34E.
SFR did not have any English prompts or options, although the people at the SFR store were helpful. To check your balance, text "?" to 950. If you don't call SFR or go to a store and register your card, your number will come up on caller ID as "UNAVAILABLE".
Coverage was good throughout Paris, including in most Metro and RER tunnels. Coverage was also good in the Zone 5 suburbs on Chessy and Versailles. I used a callback service without a problem, although you sometimes cannot hear the ringing, so you have to time how long it is dialing to know that the callback received the call.
I would recommend getting a cell in Paris, especially when traveling with a group. It was great to split up and then text locations and plans back and forth. I ended up using less than 10E of talk and text time.
Thanks to all (especially Bogey Man and Landing Gear) for the helpful info. Anybody can feel free to respond to me if you have any questions.
I'm starting to like the vodaphone germany plans, and the UK are not too far behind.
they have just introduced a plan call passport, which allows for european roaming, including UK for .75 euro a call, and then one uses either their prepaid minutes, or minutes included in a monthly plan. So, a one minute call while roaming in Switzerland is .80-.85 for the first minute, but then only regular rates per minute for future calls. As well, the group calling features work apparently with this plan, so the one number deals would allow for fairly cheap euro zone roaming.
Programs: CO Silver, Peon on DL, AA, UA, US, and WN
Posts: 3,189
Quote:
Originally Posted by mac-guy
March 07 - Vodaphone/Germany was Euro 20 for a sim (photo id required and cash preferred over credit card).
This is old news. I experienced this last year. Nothing has changed since. Not only that, but at the Vodafone store I was at, they required a German address. They had no problems w/ me taking my credit card either.
__________________
It was mealtime on LY. "Would you like lunch?" the FA asked Sid. "What are my choices?" Sid asked. "Yes or no," she replied.
I've been a long time verizon customer here in the US - currently using a Blackberry. I couldn't tell you if it was GMS capable or not if my life depended on it. Here's what I'd like to know:
Is it possible to just buy a phone in Germany for periodic visits (and one that would be useable with SIMs in the Czech rep, Hungary, etc.?)
For example, you can buy a phone in Best Buy that is not tied to an account but can be "refilled" vis credit card. Do they sell phones that way in Europe?
I'm taking an extended vacatin this fall and don't want to monkey with my US phone. I travel to Europe enough that it would probably be worth it to buy the phone and by SIMs as needed.
Programs: UA gold, Hyatt Plat Marriott silver,Hilton Gold, Hertz Gold
Posts: 190
Quote:
Originally Posted by roadkit
I've been a long time verizon customer here in the US - currently using a Blackberry. I couldn't tell you if it was GMS capable or not if my life depended on it. Here's what I'd like to know:
Is it possible to just buy a phone in Germany for periodic visits (and one that would be useable with SIMs in the Czech rep, Hungary, etc.?)
For example, you can buy a phone in Best Buy that is not tied to an account but can be "refilled" vis credit card. Do they sell phones that way in Europe?
I'm taking an extended vacatin this fall and don't want to monkey with my US phone. I travel to Europe enough that it would probably be worth it to buy the phone and by SIMs as needed.
Any thoughts on this?
Thanks.
If your BB is from Verizion it is not GSM. You can buy unlocked here in the states that you can use in Europe.
I have used www.importgsm.com. They are just as expensive as a phone in Europe, but they give you a warranty with the phone. This is something most e-bay sellers won't do. You then buy a sim card in the country that you are in, or buy one of the many international cards on sale. A good source of information is www.prepaidgsm.net they have most sim cards listed and the rates. I hope this helps.
__________________
Happiness is a good scotch, a good meal, a good cigar and a good woman.
I am traveling overseas to Europe, from the US. Specifically I will be in france, UK, Czech republic, italy, and I am wondering what my best bet for purchasing a phone and using prepaid sim card is. Should I purchase a phone here? overseas? I dont care about the possibility of having my number change. My trips are very short, only a couple of days in each location.
