Originally Posted by
PWMTrav
FWIW, the only issues with TIM that I've had are in processing reloads using a US credit card, and with phone agents. Everything else has gone okay. The TIM store on via Calzaiuoli in Florence has always been reliable when I've needed anything, provided that you speak Italian. Not everyone in the store is great with English, at least not on tech terms.
That said, if I had to buy a new SIM, I'd likely buy Vodafone since they have a more functional website.
That' interesting, because even though it's terrible, TIM is ranked as having the best telephone customer service of the big three cell phone companies in Italy. I'm leaving for Puglia and Basilicata this Thursday, way down south to Lecce, Ostuni, Matera, Villa Castello, Otranto, etc., for anywhere from two weeks to months.
I'm sure I'm going to need a lot of service and data for driving. Fortunately, Tim (and Vodafone) have great coverage all over Italy (Wind quite a bit less). What I'm really hoping to do is look into Google's Project Fi.
It was only for Pixel and Nexus phones, but apparently, there is now a way to get an iPhone or Android to use it. Unlike TIM, Wind, Vodafone, etc., which won't work when you land at your connection, say, in London or Greece or Madrid, Google Fi works the same in 135 countries and is cheaper than all of them. Basically, your phone works naturally almost anywhere around the world. No more changing SIM cards. You can even use your phone as a hotspot for an internet connection for your laptop at supposedly minimal cost. This might come in handy, as I'm finding that most of the apartments in Puglia and Basilicata don't have internet.
All 135+ countries in Project Fi’s network have the same pricing, high speed data at $10/GB, unlimited SMS, and calls for 20¢ / minute.
If anybody has used Project Fi, I'd be happy to hear about it.
https://fi.google.com/about/faq/#top-faq-2