If you are in Milano, Italy or plan to travel there. Take your unlocked GSM phone. At the Stazione Centrale TIM store, you can buy a SIM card for €12 and comes with €11 of air-time included. People in the US or any where in the world can call you and your incoming calls are for free!! Outgoing calls to Italy are ~€0.15 and you can recharge your SIM online at www.tim.it. This is a great way to keep in touch with your friends and family while they travel in Europe. Roaming charges outsite Italy are not expensive at at all. From your cell phone you can call 119 and get rates and info. have fun!
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32307 posts
George,
"From your cell phone you can call 119 and get rates and info."
Just curious, are the rates and info provided in Italian?
One point to clarify, it's important to have an unlocked quad band GSM Phone! I've encountered travellers in Italy that were completely mystified that their "GSM Phone" wouldn't work in Italy. When I checked the settings, I found the phone was a dual band model with only the North American frequencies.
Thanks for the info!
Posted by
OP
Denver, CO, USA
7 posts
Hi Ken, Yes you are right. There are many GSM phones in the US that are not Quad-Band and those will probably not work in Europe. The reason is that the GSM frequencies they use in Italy are not the same as the ones used by GSM carries in the US i.e. AT&T and T-Mobile. This is very easy to check, just get the specs for your phone from the Web and verify that has the GSM 850/GSM 900/GSM 1800/GSM 1900 bands and you will be ready to go. In Europe the use GSM 900/1800. If your phone is not QB-GSM, just get one from eBay or Craiglist. They have great deals on there. I have had great results with Motorola Phones like the RAZR and the KRZR. For English in Italy, just dial 4916 from your phone. Happy Trails!
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32307 posts
George,
I've been travelling with my GSM Cell phone for several years, but just wanted to clarify for others that a quad band model is mandatory. I'm very familiar with the technology.
So far I've just been using roaming with my home network, but the rates have just increased considerably so I might consider using a European SIM or one of the "travel SIM's" on future trips, so your information is very timely.
Cheers!
Posted by
OP
Denver, CO, USA
7 posts
Ken...you had no idea I bet... LOL. Of course all this info is meant for all the folks that come to this forum.
When you purchase a SIM card in Italy or any other country, be ready to show your passport. They will make a copy of it and get all your information. After the train bombings in Spain, the laws changed regarding the purchase of prepaid SIMs/phones. In some stores they won't even sell them to you if you are not a citizen. Your are always better off going to a main outlet that is used to deal with tourists like the Stazione Centrale. Ciao!