Does anyone know if your Iphone with AT&T works in Italy? Does AT&T get good coverage in Italy?
Also, does anyone know if Verizon phones work in Italy?
We are debating on renting International Cell Phones, or just setting up our AT&T and Verizon phones to work there.
Thanks for your help!
Kristy and Mark
Thanks for your help!
Verify your plan with your carrier, but I have ATT international roaming, and that costs me about $1.25 a minute. If you have an international plan, it is less, but not much. I will note that Data Plans may be more, then internet access much more. Coverage is very good, just need to nail down what your costs are. I will also mention, when I go, the phone is only a rare use item, off most of the time, then only used for short calls home, not within Europe.
If your phone has a sim card then more than likely it will work in Italy. For Verizon you must have one of their special "global" phones that uses a sim card. I have a vzw global phone and it works just fine. I've been as far as Prague and it still works. You should be able to go to ATT's or Verizon's website and see all of this information.
Mark and Kristy,
As the others have mentioned, your AT&T IPhone will work fine in Europe however a "normal" Verizon phone will NOT (unless it's one of the "international" models mentioned by Tim).
If your IPhone is "locked" you only have one option for travelling in Europe - roaming with AT&T. This can be a reasonable solution if you're only planning to use it for very occasional voice calls and texting. Arranging an international roaming plan with AT&T will reduce the costs somewhat.
However, it's NOT ADVISABLE to use the data portion of the IPhone, as it's gets to be VERY EXPENSIVE! Prior to arrival in Europe, it's a good idea to disable the data portion and E-mail as the phone will check periodically, which you'll be charged for.
"Does AT&T get good coverage in Italy?" When roaming in Italy, you won't be accessing the AT&T network per se, but rather one of the Italian networks (and the coverage is usually excellent). As you travel around Italy, you'll probably find that the phone chooses different networks, depending on signal strength. You'll receive an itemized bill from AT&T when you return home.
If your IPhone is "unlocked", you'll have the option of using either PAYG SIM's with an Italian network or a SIM with one of the "travel phone" networks such as Call In Europe, Roam Simple, Cellular Abroad, Mobal or Telestial.
If the Verizon phone is not an "international model", two choices to consider: purchase an unlocked GSM quad-band phone on E-Bay or purchase or rent one from one of the firms mentioned above.
Happy travels!
Thanks for the information! So basically, everyone agrees that AT&T DOES have good coverage in Italy?
as Steve says, cell phones with an ATT SIM in them are roaming while in Europe. Coverage is fine, roaming prices can be expensive. If you just carry the phone to make a few brief calls home and to be available in case there is an urgent need to be contacted, then just carrying your phone will be fine. If you plan on doing a lot of calling, either home or to each other, consider getting a SIM from one of the companies that sells them or an International Phone.
I spent a month last summer traveling to various parts of Italy. I have my cellphone service through ATT. I called ATT for the code number to unlock my cellphone. I then ordered a Sim Card for Italy through Rebelphone, so I had an Italian number that I left with friends and relatives before I left for Italy. All incoming calls were free. Calls to the US were 45cents a minute. Another inexpensive option is to still unlock your ATT phone and buy a Sim card when you get to Italy. All calls and texting within Italy are cheaper.
I have used my iPhone abroad and did not unlock or otherwise utilize a different SIM card. You will be on international roaming using whatever local carrier has a contract with AT&T. You will be billed through AT&T. I would not recommend using your iPhone abroad with the exception of using a WiFi connection to check mail, or browse the internet, use Google Maps, etc... The past two years I have traveled in Italy and used my iPhone SPARINGLY to make calls, yet have ended up with a bill of around $600.00 each time. I utilized International Roaming and Data Roaming which give you a discounted roaming rate and fixed rate for a set amount of data (Mb) respectively. However all calls, incoming, outgoing, local, or long distance are billed at the international long distance rate. Add to that the roaming charges and you will end up with quite a hefty bill. Next time, I will get some sort of prepaid phone to use while in Italy and reserve the iPhone for WiFi only connections for data.
