alanwar

I've figured out that I can unlock and use my US phone in Europe so now I am trying to figure what strategy I should use to get SIM card(s) that will work in the countries I am visiting (in this order):

Iceland
Denmark
Greece
Netherlands

One approach would be to buy a SIM card for each country. However since I am not staying more than a few days in each country that seems excessive.

Ideally there would be a single EU-wide card I could get and use in all of these places. I suppose I could get one in Iceland and then roam in the other countries. Is this a feasible approach ? Which provider would I need to use - Vodafone looks to be in all of these countries ?

I do spend most of my time in Greece (on Crete actually) so is it possible and advisable to buy a Greek SIM card before I leave the US and then road in the other countries ?

Any advice or best practices are appreciated.

Analise

This is a topic upon which I became familiar as I just returned from Germany. There may be one currency for most of the European nations but there certainly isn't one SIM card that will work in these same countries. What a stupid inconvenience. Vodaphone, O2 and others may be in many countries but it doesn't mean that you can buy one SIM card that covers all of those countries.

One SIM card for the EU...why isn't there one? My SIM card on my American phone certainly works in Canada. So why is it so backwards in Europe?

These SIM cards can be expensive and then you have to buy a prepaid plan for each country. Perhaps pick just one country.

linglingfool

There are a variety of cards that will work in all the countries you listed. Are you looking primarily at calls, or also data? The EU sets maximum roaming rates that carriers are allowed to charge; Wikipedia has a table that spells them out. On the whole, voice is getting to the point where it is fairly reasonable, but data still has a way to go yet.

There is a recent thread on prepaidgsm.net of someone who was in a similar situation with some good advice. A bit of a long read, but you may find your answer there.

alanwar

Thank you for all of the helpful information.

If I am reading the table correctly, the maximum cost per minute for an outgoing call within the EU when roaming would be .24 and incoming .07 with outgoing SMS at .08. That seems very reasonable compared to the $1.50/min with my US cell plan. Am I correct here ? Now calling back to the US is going to be expensive anyway but I'll have little need for that and I'll have Skype over wifi for that anyway.

As for data, the max rate looks like .45 per MB which seems very pricey. I also don't need it and will stick with wifi for email and such.

So it seems given the price cap, it really doesn't matter much if I get the SIM card in Iceland and then use it throughout the other countries though most of my calls may be in Greece so getting a Greek one may be a bit better.

I've read that it is cheaper to buy the SIM card once I get in Europe rather than in the US. Is this true ? Any advice or recommendations on where to buy them ? Also given that I'll be roaming, does it matter which company I buy from ? Vodafone seems to be in most of these countries so should I stick with it ?

MichaelBrighton

All these costs are correct until next July, when they will all go down again.Yes, but next July that will go down to .20 per MB.
Yes and no: in many places you will have to buy the card. Sometimes you will find places that will give you the card for free (that's how I got my German SIM card). Most will advertise saying you pay, for example, €5 for the card, but you get €7 of credit. I would disregard those and simply look for the cheapest card.Why would an American company sell it cheaper than a European company? I can't buy cheap American goods here, so why should it work the other way around? The main issue for you is which service will give you the best coverage. Personally, I don't use Vodafone, so I couldn't advise you on that.

airsurfer

Why not use Wifi ?
It is usually freely available in hotels, restaurants, etc. and is usually faster than mobile data.

Analise

Wifi is ubiquitous here in NYC for example. That is not the case in Europe. Free wifi might exist in hotel lobbies or Starbucks but the wifi is often weak and thereby almost useless. Hotels often charge for wifi in the rooms and those charges can be exhorbitant.

Why there isn't a SIM card that provides data coverage throughout much of Europe like the Euro is the one currency through much of Europe is asinine. In Berlin, I went to 02, Vodaphone, E-Plus, Deutche Telekom, and Saturn (they sell O2) — all sales reps said that they WISH they could sell one SIM card with a data plan good throughout Europe.

MichaelBrighton

Asinine? Pardon me, but is the US not one country? Europe, EU or not, is still separate countries. That several states here have agreed to cooperate on a number of agendas still does not make Europe a single country.

I really wish people would stop making insults about things they don't understand.

I don't know what hotels you stay in in Europe (American chain hotels, perhaps?) but most of the hotels I go to (non-chain hotels) offer free wifi in the rooms.

Analise

Did you choose to ignore the following or do you prefer to think that I assume that the US is a continent. In case you missed it, I wondered why if my SIM card can work in both the US and Canada, why a German SIM card can't also work in a country other than itself.

I really wish people would actually READ first before jumping off a cliff with absurd conclusions.

On this trip, I stayed at a Kempinski property and a Hilton. On other trips, I've stayed at Westins, Sol Melias, and the like. No free wifi.

star_world

This is a bizarre comment. Most people in Europe just have one SIM card when they travel - they just pay roaming charges (either flat-rate or variable), which have been steadily decreasing. It's the same with your US SIM card when you travel to Canada, you either pay roaming charges or have a flat-rate roaming package.

Your comment implies there's some technical limitation that stops SIM cards from one country in Europe working in others - this couldn't be further from the truth.

International roaming is one thing that I'm pretty sure nobody would agree is better in the US than in Europe

Analise

Sure, I pay roaming for voice and data when I travel to Canada. I'm not talking about price. I have data access when I'm in Canada and I do pay extra for that. Why can't my 02 SIM card purchased in Berlin have data access in France, Switzerland, or Austria like my Verizon Wireless SIM card purchased in New York can in Montréal or Vancouver?

My comment is based on what salesmen at 02, Deutsche Telekom and the rest I've already listed above told me. I went to stores in both Berlin and Frankfurt. They all said the same thing; I would have to buy SIM cards in each individual country for data access.

MichaelBrighton

I have both Dutch and German SIM cards. I can (and have) use my Dutch card in Germany and my German card in the Netherlands. How so then do you say "why a German SIM card can't also work in a country other than itself."?
Yes, so do I.
Thank you. You have confirmed my point.

linglingfool

As I mentioned in your other thread, those salesmen are incorrect; your SIM will work just fine. Given that the same salesmen managed to screw up the activation and setup of your SIM card, this shouldn't come as a surprise.

star_world

This is completely incorrect. An O2 SIM card purchased in Berlin (or pretty much any SIM card purchased from any GSM mobile operator) can be used for voice and data connectivity in virtually any country in the world.

Ghentleman

OK, so now we can all agree that nothing prevents a European SIM card to be used abroad. Only limitations set by the provider could prevent this.
The easiest and most logical would be to buy a SIM card on arrival in Iceland. Vodafone Iceland offers this (http://www.vodafone.is/en/information) but I can't find the roaming tariffs on the website. Maybe drop them an email? Since Iceland is part of the European Economic Union the charges are limited by law (see link in post #3). You will get an Icelandic number, which might be frowned upon in case people need to call you, but you should be fine. Top-up can be done by CC over the web.
Data is expensive, I have a feeling the providers try to make up the loss in revenue due to the limitations on charges for voice ans messages by keeping the charges for data absurdly high, definitely on these pre-paid cards.
Make sure your phone works on the 900/1800MHz frequencies (the US mainly uses 950/1900MHZ bands).