Thanks for any information on which company to buy a sim card from. Last year we used Vodaphone in Spain and Portugal and the service was good and price reasonable.
We arrive in London next week and hope to purchase phone and data service from a company. Would also like to know if these companies are located at Heathrow. We have an unlocked Iphone 4. Thanks for your help. Donna
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
Vodaphone is in the UK, too. You might also see a Lebara kiosk. It's been a few years since I went through Heathrow, so I don't know what is there now.
Posted by
OP
9 posts
Thank you for the information. I knew Vodaphone was in UK as well, but wondering if one service provider is better than another or less expensive. We will be in York area for a week , as well as London , and wondering if there would be cell service there. We live in Costa Rica, where one does not always have cell service depending on what part of the country you are in. Donna
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32198 posts
donna,
You won't have any problems with cell coverage in just about any part of the U.K. (or other parts of Europe). Cell towers are ubiquitous and coverage is excellent. I've used O2 Telefonica in the past and always found their service to be good.
Last time I was through LHR, I noticed vending machines selling SIM cards. However I don't know if they had all sizes of cards (the iPhone 4 uses a Micro SIM, rather than a standard size). You might wait until you get into London and find the nearest Carphone Warehouse or other shop.
Rather than go through this every time you travel, you could also consider a travel SIM from firms such as iRoam, Cellular Abroad, Telestial, Mobal or EuroBuzz. Some can be renewed from year-to-year and that way you could have the same number during all travel (makes it easier for people to contact you).
Posted by
Hampshire, England.
1069 posts
" You might wait until you get into London and find the nearest Carphone Warehouse or other shop."
Absolutely, it's often reported on TA that buying a sim card at Heathrow (or any airport) is a rip-off, they charge you for the card (often free anywhere else) in addition to the call time that you have to put on it. It's also been reported that some cards bought at Heathrow don't work.
Posted by
824 posts
I had good luck with O2 while in London a couple years ago. The coverage was good and the 3G network was fast (for 3G). I did the base PAYG plan with a 2GB data "Bolton" and it worked our really well.