BangkokTraveler

Thailand

AIS (1-2-call)

You can buy this SIM card in any shop or 7-11. Ask for a 1-2-call SIM, not a data SIM. The data SIMs are something else and really have no advantage over getting a 1-2-call SIM and enabling EDGE/GPRS.

You add value by buying top-ups everywhere.

For Internet access, you call AIS at 1175 and tell them you want to enable GPRS service, they need to turn it on. At that time, you should subscribe to one of the data packages because the default charge for data is 1 baht per minute.

EDGE/GPRS Package Monthly Package
3 hrs. (180 mins) 30 baht Dial *138*0331#
6 hrs. (260 mins) 50 baht Dial *138*0332#
20 hrs. (1200 mins) 100 baht Dial *138*0333#
100 hrs. (6000 mins) 350 baht Dial *138*0334#
Unlimited 999 baht Dial 1175

These amounts are subtracted upon subscription, then again on the same day in the following month. If you want to cancel or add a package, just call AIS.

All data is by the minute. You can check the balance of your data package at any time by pressing *139#

APN is: internet (for iphone) but AIS will send the settings to your phone upon request.

I have tried all providers in Thailand, I can tell you the AIS has the best overall EDGE coverage in the entire country. There are a few malls in Bangkok that have limited 3G service.

pennywern

FWIW, I have had much better luck with DTAC. Most of my work in Thailand is in the far west along the Burmese border, but also including stints in Chiang Mai and Bangkok.

aidanc

3 (Tre)

This is one of the main Swedish networks.

Getting the SIM

I walked into a 3 shop in Malmo, and bought a SIM with credit of 200SEK (approx €20). I'd done some research on the internet in advance, and asked some Swedes which was the best choice.

There was no need to show ID, or any address requirements (which I found odd).

You ask for a 3Kontant card - most people in the shops will speak English, so I just asked for a pre-paid SIM card with data.

Credit and top-up

Credit lasts 12 months from the last top-up. Top-up is possible at most newsagents, petrol stations and supermarkets. You get a code that you can enter into the phone.

If you sign-up at MITT3, via the tree website, you can top-up with a credit card.

Getting Data Enabled

It takes about 20 minutes for the SIM card to be activated from the time they guy in the shop started the process. You can't make calls or setup data until that's complete. I was not able to hang around the shop, or come back after a coffee, so I enabled the data using the website.

I signed up for MITT3, and then using the website in Swedish, signed up for 3Mobilsurf with credit card payment. This is 30 days internet access for 90SEK, about €9. This activated in a few minutes on the phone.

You can use this link if you have a Swedish bank account.

APN details

I had to google the APN, which was net.tre.se.

Micro SIM

Check out the website as they have micro-SIMs. No need to chop one up.

aidanc

2degrees - New Zealand

Getting a SIM card

I had some time land side in AKL, and was able to get a 2degrees SIM card from Whitcoulls (a newsagents) upstairs near the international departures area. There is a small branch just outside international arrivals, but they were out of stock, and sent me upstairs.

I paid NZ$5 for the SIM card with NZ$1 credit, and also got a NZ$20 topup voucher. I was able to pay with a credit card. A total of NZ$25 (€14). The minimum top-up is apparently NZ$20.

Getting topped-up

You can get top-up vouchers at most newsagents, petrol stations and supermarkets.

Enabling data

I activated the SIM card in my phone by dialling 200 and went through the voice prompts. Then I topped up the phone with the NZ$20 voucher.

Data is sold by 2degrees in 50MB bundles for NZ$6 (some €3.30) - they call it a data-pack. You send a text BUY 50MB to 233, and it's valid until you use up the 50MB. Link here.

APN

I had to google this APN as well, and it's internet. No username or password required.

Micro SIM

No details just yet.

jmwilliams481

If you are traveling via Singapore get SingTel prepaid. SingTel works in most of the Asian countries. I have used it in Sri Lanka, Australia, India, New Zealand and Malaysia.

dhh1

Great information. Thanks to everyone.

trotsky

This is not a data SIM but it is a great deal for calls for international travel: (for internet, I carry my android and use WI-FI hot spots)

For the last five years or so I have been using a SIM card that I bought from the acetelecomstore.com (bought 4 altogether for my husband and my children too). The SIM card phone number is Estonian (although you can also get a UK number) and it works in 150 different countries. The card never expires and any money you put on it never expires either.

- The name of the network operator/MVNO
It picks up whatever network is available in the country in which you are calling

- How to get a SIM card and what you need to do (ID, passport, addresses)
You just buy it on the internet through the website www.acetelecomstore.com
It costs $10 (used to be $20) They also have phones if you don't have one

- How to add pre-paid value (top up, voucher, ...)
You add it by going to the internet or calling them on a toll-free number

- The costs of calls access (daily, weekly, by time or volume)
Most European countries it is 60 cents per minute with many having free
incoming calls and SMS


Some countries it is not worth using this card. For instance India, Canada and the US rates are pretty high -- about 2.50 a minute. However, it has worked in every country I've tried it in including places like Tunisia, Turkey, Thailand, besides the European countries. When we were in Turkey there were several people traveling with us who had paid extra to their regular cell phone companies in the US for international coverage and couldn't make it work. So I let them use my phone and it worked perfectly and was a lot cheaper.

To use them I bought several quad-band phones on Ebay for use with the SIMs. I also bought a dual SIM phone recently so that I can use the local SIM card for places like India where the Estonian card is too expensive and the other one for people to call me from the States. That way I can call people and they can call me with the local SIM (usually $10-20 for a local SIM).

To make it easy for business or family to call us when overseas, I got a 'mobilecaller' card and programmed in the sim card numbers so people can speed dial me and I pick up the cost of the call. They also have a 1-800 number that can be used but it is more expensive and adds about 35 cents per minute.

So that is my 2 cents.

aidanc

The details from BangkokTraveller are very good, and I was able to get a SIM card from the 7-11 next to my hotel.

What's important to note is:

- EDGE is the fastest speed for pre-pay SIM cards (or that's what the locals told me)
- Data access is only measured in time, so you need to turn on and off your APN, or you'll use up your credit.

I setup two APNs on my phone, one for AIS (called internet) which is charged at THB1 per minute, or using the pre-pay bundles mentioned in the other post. The second APN is called aisnodata and I set this one active when I don't need to be connected. I found a widget for my Nexus One which does this from the home screen.

This turning on/off data requires a bit of practice - my first THB100 vanished when I left the APN connected.

TAHKUCT

Just came back from UK and used T-mobile prepaid service:

Bought SIM card on ebay for less the $5 shipped and registered it at T-mobile.co.uk
If you Top Up £10.00 in a month, you will get unlimited sms for the next month. So I top up in August for my trip in September and had unlimited sms between my and my wifes phone.

Internet is caped at £1.00 per day max or you can buy an internet booster for £2.50 for 5 days. I was able to use my SIP account to make calls for the first 3-4 days and then T-mobile blocked it. Also, I used WM phone and I could not sync my Gmail account until I disabled T-mobile proxy server setting. Internet speed varied but most of the time I was able to get 300kbs at least for download.

They also have weekend rewards http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/pay-a...costs-rewards/ if you add £10.00 more M-F. I used it once for £10 free weekend credit.

Also, all calls are billed in 6 second increments, which is a plus if you only make a short phone call.

If you want to keep your account and phone # active, you can just send an sms for £0.05 while logged in your t-mobile account. I think this is a very cheap way to keep your account active.

awpoon

Getting a SIM (that gives you voice and data)

Walk into any Vodafone store and purchase a prepaid CallYa SIM. You should bring your passport along as registration is required.

The CallYa program is a prepaid voice program, but once you have the SIM you can use it for voice and data. There are several CallYa plan:

http://shop.vodafone.de/Shop/tarife/prepaid/callya/

Get the CallYa OpenEnd or CallYa OpenEnd Internet; the latter gives a better texting package if you text a lot to your pals on the Vodafone net, but for most visitors, CallYa OpenEnd is a better deal. The "Internet" part in "OpenEnd Internet" does not give you 3G surfing, I don't think. For either option, the initial cost is about 20€, with 10€ usage credit. You may want to add some credit to the account at the store then, depending on your anticipated data usage (see pricing further down).

Remember that you can actually use this card to make calls on a GSM unlocked phone. With these two plans, all domestic calls are 0.29€ per call (although their monthly maintenance fees are different (0.99€ vs 2.99€)). To save money on long distance calls, I signed up for Rebtel (www.rebtel.com), and get several domestic German phone numbers that I can call home, office...etc directly. The per-minute cost for Rebtel is better or on a par with Skype, but Rebtel has better connection (as you call a domestic number on your cell for 0.29€, then they patch it to their fast network, instead of you using your own internet connection on a laptop or smartphone through Wifi).

Prices

OK...now you have the SIM card, you can plug it into your unlocked smartphone or 3G USB dongle. Connect as usual on your system with the APN given below.

The data fees are listed in:

http://www.vodafone.de/privat/tarife...bsessions.html

15 min: 0.49€ (1 GB max)
24 hours: 3.95€ (1 GB max)
1 week: 12.95€ (1 GB max)
1 month: 39.95€ (3 GB max)

Open your web browser, and a portal page will show up and ask you to choose one of the options. The window looks like those in this document:

http://www.vodafone.de/infofaxe/379.pdf

At that point, you can choose to pay with the credit you have on your CallYa SIM card (look for the bullet with the words "CallYa-Guthaben") or a credit card ("Kreditkarte") or a "websession voucher" (if you have bought one).

In a recent trip, I got a 1-week plan on my 3G phone, and then used it to tether my laptop connection. This way, I no longer need to bring the USB dongle while having 3G access out and about.

Top-up

If you don't use your credit card to pay for data, or if the balance on your CallYa voice account is low, you can top up:

- at a Vodafone store and the agent there will add the money to your CallYa account

- by buying CallYa vouchers at supermarkets or general stores such as DM. They are usually close to the cashiers and they are of business card size. You choose the amount you want to buy, bring it to the cashier, and you will get a receipt with a top-up code. A lot of cigarette machines on the sidewalk also sell "CallYa" top-up vouchers. Once you have a voucher, you can top up on the internet (you need to set up on the vodafone website) or call 017222922 on your cell (instructions are in German, unless you have already set it to English when you first got the SIM at the store)


APN

The APN is event.vodafone.de. No username or password is required.

abraxis

Singapore: StarHub Green Prepaid

Where to purchase: 7-11, StarHub shop, Currency Exchange in arrivals hall. AFAIR, you need to register your passport details when you buy a SIM card.

Getting Topped Up: 7-11, StarHub shop, most money changers

I've maintained a StarHub Green Prepaid number for several years. Over the past few years, the service has been upgraded from 2G to 3G and more importantly, for the purposes of this thread, they now offer a 30 day bucket o'data data plan.

The S$17 Happy Stars top-up (which can be bought in almost any 7-11, along with the SIM card) gives you a 50 MB bucket of data, 120 minutes of local calling, 500 local SMS and free incoming calls. Good for a month. Make sure you've got your APN loaded and tweet and foursquare away!

APN: shwap or shwapint
username: blank
password: blank

rjh

Recent coverage in this Lonely Planet Thorn Tree thread:
SIM cards & Mobile Internet in Central Asia - Lonely Planet travel forum

fredsxb

Germany: Blau

You can buy Blau prepaid cards in supermarkets or gas stations.
You can activate them online (and I even managed to activate one while roaming abroad in France!).
The Blau website is in German but use Chrome and the automatic translation feature. It's good enough to buy credit, activate the card and buy data options.

Blau has a 3,90 euro data plan valid for 30 days for 100 Mb & 9,90 euro data plan valid for 30 days for 1 Gb & 19,90 euro data plan valid for 30 days for unlimited data.
The iPhone APN is listed on their website.

France: SFR La Carte
The best prepaid deal to use with a foreign iPhone in France is to use a "SFR La Carte". They have a prepaid iPhone plan valid for 20 days for 20 to 24 euros

Otherwise: here's a website with good deals for foreign data services:
www.mrsimcard.com

I usually buy prepaid sim cards from them whenever I travel to the US (the good thing is that they ship internationally so I have the card with me ready to work right after deplaning!)

Mul

Just saw this page, http://paygsimwithdata.wikia.com/wik...with_data_Wiki

Prepaid SIM w/ data wiki page

TAHKUCT

Great info page. Thanks. Very helpful.