Hello all. I read over a lot of older posts (year or more old) about telestial and other services. Does anyone have experience using the Passport SIM cards from Telestial and/or their phones? We have regular plain US cell phone service and don't want to upgrade to another plan that would include international just for a 2-week trip to Europe (Paris) so we were thinking their service is perfect for our needs- I want to take 1 cell phone that I can use en route and once we get there and get back to the US airport to call family. Basically just need it for emergencies and very quick calls to family. Their rates on the Passport Sim seem very reasonable compared to what most of the US cell phone companies charge. I also like the non-contract option and I like the idea of buying the phone versus renting. They have a package right now for $119 for phone and SIM plus $10 of phone time(which isn't much, but we can add more as we need it) The SIM card only expires if you don't use it for 9 months. At any rate does anyone have any experience? I think I'm concerned about the phone itself- a Motorola v196-whether it works fine or not, cell phones are always a crapshoot! and the SIM coverage once I'm in Paris.
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2758 posts
HI, Natalie. I bought a cell phone and sim card from Telestial. I've used the phone on four trips to Europe. For the first trip, I got a sim card for Great Britain. For the second trip, I got a passport sim that works in multiple countries, and I used it for the last three trips. They e-mail you when your nine months are up, and you can keep it active by adding a small amount of minutes.
I've found it works just fine. It's easy to add minutes. I think the rates are okay. I can't say they are the best -- since we don't do much calling, I didn't spend hours trying to find the best rate. I just thought their web site was the easiest to understand.
We got a really cheapo phone. It's tiny and it works and has lasted through four trips. It doesn't have texting ability, which is the only thing I don't like about it.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9369 posts
You could also consider a post-paid service like Mobal. You buy the phone and permanent SIM card that works in something like 140 countries for $49. Then the calls you make are charged to your credit card as you make them. Details of your bill are available online once you're home. No running out of minutes, no switching SIM cards (and phone numbers) when you change countries.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32324 posts
natalie,
You might also have a look at the plans and phones offered by Call In Europe, Roam Simple and Cellular Abroad.
From what I remember, Telestial has one of the "higher" price structures.
Good luck!
Posted by
OP
roanoke
36 posts
Thanks Carol for your direct and to-the-point reply! That's what I thought too, about their site being easy to understand, etc. Hopefully we will have the same great experience with our phone!