For our trip , we plan on getting a prepaid SIM card . Our primary use would be for internet .Any suggestions on a network with good internet data plan ?
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area
5697 posts
Just remember that when you have a WiFi connection (in your hotel, for instance) you can use your phone as a WiFi device to connect to the internet without needing data.
Posted by
NYC
380 posts
Where in Austria are you going? I just came home from Vienna, and on a whim decided not to activate my data plan. I was fine without it. I used Ulmon CityMaps2Go, which tracks your location via GPS and doesn't need a live connection, to map out all the places I wanted to visit. I found that nearly every museum and most cafes and restaurants had free wifi, as well.
Give it a try!
Posted by
OP
114 posts
Yes the hotel would have WiFi , but I wanted net while traveling as well.We are going to Salzburg and Vienna .
Posted by
1902 posts
In Austria there are three mobile carrier companies which operate their physical networks respectively, but there are about 15 other companies offering mobile services by using in fact the network infrastructure of the other three. So there is virtually no difference in network quality whatever SIM card you have.
To find the "best" data plan is rather tricky because there is a wealth of different offerings, depending on the number of minutes for voice calls, the number of SMS, the amount of download data, the download speed, roaming in other countries of the European Union, and the support for LTE technology (4th generation mobile).
The German word for "prepaid SIM card" is "Wertkarte". That is what you have to look for. Most prepaid cards have a minimum commitment period of two months, but beware, the price advertised is for one month. Larger companies require a photo id to be presented when buying a prepaid SIM card.
This plan caculator for prepaid offerings may help you:
https://durchblicker.at/wertkarte
Although in German it is straightforward, i.e. you enter your requirements and get a comparison of different plans.
Always ask for extra costs only shown in the fine print, like activation fee, internet base fee, etc.
Also make sure that you get the right SIM card size. There are also certain features like NFC communication and contactless payment which are not supported by all SIM cards.