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Posted on 15/05/13 06:43:20 AM |
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vibeke
Kreative Kiwi Posts: 2166 Reply  |
Pre-Paid mobile data in Europe
Hi I know from looking at posts that we have many travellers among our members. When I travel I usually buy a sim card when I arrive in a country, but it occurred to me, that I will probably be able to get a sim card that covers all of Europe. I had a quick look at the net and am now even more confused. So please tell me, who gives the best prices. I will be going to UK, Denmark, Italy, and a cruise to Greece and Turkey. Advice would be most welcome. Vibeke _________________ Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize. |
Posted on 15/05/13 07:52:16 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 6987 Reply  |
Re: Pre-Paid mobile data in Europe
You'd have to buy a separate Sim card for each country, I'm afraid. I don't believe there are international cards that cross borders. We may all be in the EU, but really we're just a collection of small fiefdoms. That said, when I travel to Europe my O2 account gives me up to 15Mb of data a day for £1.50, but I believe you have to be on a monthly contract to get that. Not sure if Denmark is included - it's not in Europe! |
Posted on 15/05/13 11:24:46 PM |
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Artwel
Satire Supremo Posts: 607 Reply  |
Re: Pre-Paid mobile data in Europe
Hi Vibeke, I'm sure you know most of this info already, maybe some useful tips on there though. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/phones/cheap-roaming-calls I would buy the sim cards for each country in advance, just to be safe. Personally for UK I would say 3 network is cheap. I've heard GiffGaff is good too. |
Posted on 16/05/13 09:32:10 AM |
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vibeke
Kreative Kiwi Posts: 2166 Reply |
Re: Pre-Paid mobile data in Europe
Thanks, I can see I need to put it all into a spreadsheet. I'm not to worried about calls and TXT, it's more all the other things I use my phone for. _________________ Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize. |
Posted on 16/05/13 09:42:06 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 6987 Reply |
Re: Pre-Paid mobile data in Europe
Only stay in places with WiFi! |
Posted on 16/05/13 10:16:48 AM |
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Jota120
Ingenious Inventor Posts: 2615 Reply  |
Re: Pre-Paid mobile data in Europe
My Irish Vodafone with Passport gave me same rate in UK when roaming. Only problem was when on train can lose Vodafone base station. The mobile then can register with any other available network e.g. O2 or 3, but then I get roaming charges! Inter-operators have their own shared deals, but the EU clamped down on excessive charges when roaming. You still will pay for incoming calls though! For data I'd use WiFi, as I think Steve implies. The charges/connection for that can be very varied. Be careful. In a hotel it can be rip-off. Then on the other end of the scale it is free in some café's or e.g. Weatherpersons restaurant/pub. When doing international standards we always had Wifi, set up by us and/or the host, but that not option much help I guess unless you have friendly Wifi enabled friends/colleagues. I'm not sure you know, but to get 3G/4G connection you will need a "dongle" if using laptop. Quite a few trains now have Wifi, but I don't know the cost. One other thought. The data costs for pay-as-you-go are all over the place i.e. difficult to workout and predict especially when roaming. I guess Artwell's link may give more info on that, but the charges change frequently, usually down, but need to get best option for you when set up. I'm not sure I would trust most sellers though (they work on commission, so have bias) Well I think you have a lot of information to consider! Good luck! WiFi my recommendation for data. |
Posted on 16/05/13 10:37:28 AM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 3959 Reply  |
Re: Pre-Paid mobile data in Europe
Hi Vibeke, I agree with Steve about WiFi. It's not as convenient as a phone but it's free. And if you just want to chat rather than make an urgent call then Skype or Facetime is excellent. WiFi coverage in the UK is pretty good. If your niece is a BT customer then she may well have access to the BT WiFi set up which means that she can connect to any BT Hotspot anywhere in the country. You should be able to join that network with a laptop or smart phone. You will need to download the app and use her BT address and password. http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/broadband/free-wifi _________________  |