Hi. I am going to be living in Italy for 6 months starting in September. I am going to be living with a family and working as an au pair. I am trying to figure out the best cell phone plan to have while over there. I would like to be able to get in touch with family and friends in America from time to time without having to pay a fortune. I have talked with my cell phone company but the fees for calls and text messages are very high. I have heard you can get a world phone.. does anyone have any advice? Thanks!
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA, USA
1449 posts
If you are spending 6mos in Italy, you need a plan from an Italian carrier. You also need a GSM phone with a SIM (in other words phones from AT&T or T-Mobile, or a cheap phone you buy on eBay) that will work on the frequencies they have in Europe. A quad-band GSM phone is sure to work. Your phone needs to be unlocked, which rules out an iPhone unless you jailbreak it. With a SIM issued by an Italian carrier incoming calls will be free, the rates will be low calling within Italy, and beat the rates you'll get from a US or world carrier when calling back to the States (which you shouldn't be doing on a cell, anyway; use Skype or equivalent). Here is a website that lists the national carriers; look at the plans and see which one is best for you http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/operators.html
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32220 posts
Caitlin, if you presently have a quad-band, unlocked GSM phone, you could simply buy a SIM with one of the Italian networks when you arrive. As you're going to be living there for six months, that would probably be the best (and cheapest) solution. Using roaming with your home carrier (if available), or one of the travel SIM's will likely not be as cost effective. TIM is one of the largest networks in Italy. Try and find a Cell phone shop that has English-speaking staff, as you'll probably need help in figuring out which plan to buy and setting things up. Good luck!
Posted by
Tuscaloosa, AL
1152 posts
Definitely set up a Skype account. Unfortunately, Italy is not a country that Skype offers a "Skype To Go" number for (a local number you call that then permits calls to the U.S.), but the rates for calls from the U.S. to Italy are good enough for your family to use and if you have access to a computer with an Internet connection, you can use Skype to call home. What you want is an international calling card that lets you call a local number and then, once connected, call a U.S. number at discounted rates. Or a call back service where you register your local number. When you call the call back number and hang up, it calls you back and gives you a dialtone so you can make international calls. Nothing is super cheap, though, so tell you family to email you (if you have access to the Internet) or text your local Italian cell phone. Just remember each text will still cost a bunch so learn how to express yourself completely in just 140 characters.
Posted by
Tuscaloosa, AL
1152 posts
I forgot an important piece of this advice: With most European phone plans, incoming calls are free to the recipient. You only pay for outgoing calls. So, if you have a call-back service, you only have a short outgoing call. When it calls you back, it is treated as an incoming call (free) even though you stay on the line and call out with it. At least that is how I understand it is supposed to work. I've personally not used one because I've not been gone long enough to make it worth the trouble. For a six months stay, however, it sounds like it is worth investigating.