Best way to get mobile data in Rome

1. In May, i purchased a Tim Welcome plan and it worked very well for us.

2. As long as your phone allows you to create a wifi hotspot, your other devices will be able to use the wifi. I put the tim sim in my phone and my wife's phone, and my netbook and tablet were all able to use the wifi. Just keep in mind your battery usage is very high.

3. I used Tim Welcome, but that was in May. The plans change all the time.

4. Lots of little shops eg tobacco or money exchange will display a TIM sign and should be able to set you up. You can ask your hotel and they may be able to direct you to the closest one to your hotel. It is a good idea to find a close one and a sales person who speaks English. My sim took almost a full day to activate and i had to go back to the store a few times to get things properly set up. Text messages from TIM are in Italian and my original setting would have sent me a text to tell me how much time i used each time i was on a call and would have eaten up my money credits. The store was able to turn this feature off for me.

Vodaphone and Wind will also do the job for you.

"Text messages from TIM are in Italian and my original setting would have sent me a text to tell me how much time i used each time i was on a call and would have eaten up my money credits."

Unless this changed recently, these texts from TIM do not use up any credits - they're free. (This is similar to texts I get from T-Mobile in the US; even when I was on a plan paying $0.10 per text received, texts from T-Mobile were free).

Both Vodafone and TIM have a data plan for international tourists.
One is called Holiday the other Welcome.
I'm a Vodafone customer. It's €30 for 2Gb, 300 outgoing SMS text messages, 300 outgoing minutes (including to anywhere in the world). Incoming minutes or texts are always free.
Tim Welcome is €20, but less data, fewer minutes and no texts.
If you need lots of data there is also TIM EXPO. 4Gb, 100 anywhere minutes, 5€ credit, no SMS texts (buy separate package).

I am talking about two problems.

1. The information texts from TIM are in Italian. So if you do not understand Italian, you will have a problem.

2. There is a feature in the TIM plan which, when turned on, will send you a text notification to let you know how many minutes you used everytime you make a call. This feature costs money and used up my credits.

For me, problem 1 may have lead to problem 2. I think i mistakenly turned on the costly notification feature when i received and misunderstood the activation text from TIM.

Luckily, the TIM dealer was close by and spoke English. She was able to fix the problem by turning off the notification feature.

Thank you all for your input. They are very helpful :)

Why not just rent a mobile wifi for your stay? Since you have a family possibly with multiple devices, everyone can join the network, and they have unlimited data options. I booked one with witourist based on reviews. They deliver to your hotel and you mail it off before you leave.