Will be in Florence/Tuscany with a bunch of friends in May...was wondering about cheapest and best way to grab cell phones (rentals, prepaid etc) that will work there so we can reconnect when we split up while touring. Where and how to get etc?
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA, USA
1449 posts
I don't know if someone has worked out all the options to find the absolute cheapest, but here's my suggestion. If you have a T-Mobile or ATT phone it is already on the GSM network, the kind they use in Europe. You need to get it unlocked from the carrier, then buy a SIM chip in Italy. At the official stores of the major carriers they may not be willing to sell you a SIM chip (legally you're supposed to have a Codice Fiscale issued by the Italian gov't) but many other shops will sell you the SIM after making a photocopy of your passport.
If you don't have those 2 carriers, buy a cheap unlocked GSM-band phone on Ebay.
Posted by
OP
Res
8 posts
Thanks...what I found out this afternoon is...as a verizon wireless customer...through their global program...they will send me a global phone ...i can continue to use my own number...and I am not charged for the use of the phone...just per minute charges for each call...(.99 per minute which sounds high but given that I am not renting or buying a phone and don't plan on using it a lot was the best deal to me) then I send them back the phone when I return home...so for verizon customers...this is pretty painless...no need to buy a SIM card or worried about unlocked phones etc...they provide a phone that works in the country you will be in and that's that.