Prepaid SIM - Israel (and non-prepaid)
 

Israel has a bunch of both prepaid and non-prepaid options which will be written in the wiki.

Feel free to edit!

Thanks been wanting to go with HOT cant take Oranges 1.26 per min.

Do you have any idea where Beitar Sports Association Rd is in Jerusalem? My guess is somewhere near Kanyon Malcha. Talipyot is a hassle finding parking

I've been with HOT now for almost a year and can say that it's been pretty good. Service is roughly on par with Orange as is 3G speed.

No major billing issues, which I can't really say about Orange.

Regarding where that is, the site lists the Malcha Mall, so I presume it's in the mall. If so, you could easily park in the parking garage.

Alternatively, there's a kiosk in the Central Bus Station.

CBS is a 10 min walk from my Hotel, do you remember where in the CBS its located?

Dont know why they couldnt have said Kanyon Malcha instead of listing a street, got it off their site under Locations. But they didnt mention the CBS

I'm not sure what the designation "full service" is supposed to be. "Full service" is sort of nebulous and really has nothing to do with the sort of service offered as all of the mobile offerings have service and none of the MVNO offerings have any less than the major operators i.e. Orange, Cellcom, Pelephone etc. The MVNO operators in fact use one of the majors' networks.

Also note, that you may have trouble getting "billed" service rather than prepaid if you don't have an Israeli credit file. You may be relegated to only prepaid options.
Also, regarding prepaid if you attempt to refill through a foreign credit card using customer service your card may not be accepted. You can always do prepaid refills (in Israel) by going to a local post office or at least for the major operators Orange, Cellcom and Pelephone I'm not sure if you can do this with the MVNO's.

Very strange - on the Hebrew site, they first list the mall and then the street name. Also, on the Hebrew site, they mention 4 places under "sale points," the one in Malcha, the one in Talpiot, CBS, and one in Pisgat Ze'ev.

Regardless, if you enter CBS from the main entrance on Yaffo, (by the traffic light), the kiosk is directly in front of you. It's on the 1st floor right by the Bank Hapoalim vestibule.

Which is why I said there's no service difference.

I know hundreds of people who use a passport number with a foreign credit card and get billed service as opposed to prepaid. All you need to do is sign up, and when they ask for your TZ number, give your passport number instead. For credit card, just give a foreign credit card. I did this with no problems until I became an Israeli citizen, and I still use a foreign credit card.

The only issue with a foreign credit card, (and this has nothing to do with citizenship or not,) is if you're buying a device with multiple payments, where they may take the whole chunk out in one lump sum. But most Israelis don't even buy phones in Israel because of the exorbitant cost - why would a visitor?!

I don't know whether or not the MVNOs have prepaid. I do know that prepaid is really being phased out. However, Orange, Cellcom, and Pelephone do take foreign credit card in their service centers.

Golan special 59 shekel a month for a year until December 31

I referred a friend's daughter to Golan. She is an American spending a year in Israel. She ported her US mobile number to Google Voice, got a virtual number from Golan and mostly keeps her former US mobile number forwarded to it. She still can text her friends, using Google's callback mobile has dirt cheap calling to the US with her US caller-id and effectively has two phones in one.

Benefit of Golan over HOT Mobile is the free virtual international number. (You can get up to 2, and so you can have an American number, should you choose.) Benefit of HOT Mobile is better cellular reception and faster 3G.

Both include free, unlimited calling to USA

What network does Hot use and is it significantly faster?

Hot Mobile 69.90 shekel a month with first month free.

I know Golan lets you purchase a line with USA credit card and USA passport. A few months ago Hot Mobile would not allow it.

HOT Mobile has its own network coupled with tower-sharing agreements with Pelephone, which has a national footprint.
HOT is very schizophrenic. I opened my line with an American credit card and a passport number, and they gave me ZERO problems. I've added lines, removed, etc. Since then, I have changed my passport number to a TZ number. However, I continue to pay with an American credit card, as I've paid Orange in the past, Golan, and Bezeq. They have no issue with this, but apparently claim it's an issue for others.

Where did you try opening? At a kiosk, service center, internet, or over the phone?

I tried opening online.

Golan December special unlimited dropped to 59 shekel a month includes VAT.

The 59/plan is good for 1 year before returning to the standard 99 shek

Meanwhile, HOT Mobile has raised their prices to 99.90/month (up 90 agurot) - with first 2 months free

Just trying to find something with the most data - could care less about having a number/voice service. Any recommendations for this?