I leave tomorrow for 5 weeks in Italy. I bought a plan with lots of data from T-mobile. Then yesterday a neighbor told me T-mobile is 2 G in Puglia and Sicily. I can’t live with 2 G. I have An unlocked GSM iPhone; if I get an Italian SIM card , which company for So Italy. I assume I’ll get a different phone number????? Suddenly confused over an issue I thought was settled and no time left. Thx for help!!!
Posted by
🏝️ Hobe Sound, FL⛱️
3262 posts
There are two main carriers in Italy - TIM and Vodafone. Both offer tourist SIMs for €30 good for 30 days. Click on the links and see what each offers. TIM has a counter in near the exit of Term3 at FCO. You can easily google them for locations. They each have many stores throughout the country. I’ve used TIM on 3 trips and find it as good as major carriers in the US.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
That's sort of true about the 2G and T-Mobile. Your phone will connect to the fastest 4GLTE or 3G networks it can find. But T-Mobile will "throttle" the data down to 2G speeds. On the other hand, it is unlimited. Some people find it frustratingly slow; others can get by with it.
As an alternative to buying an Italian SIM, T-Mobile also sells high speed data bases for set periods of time, in case you find their 2G throttling too slow. Then you can get faster data for a few days, a week, whatever, if you need it. See their website for details. That may be easier for you and may not cost much more than buying an Italian SIM.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15900 posts
If you travel with a mini iPad with a SIM slot, you might opt to buy an Italian SIM card for your IPad for faster data needs, and leave your phone with your T-Mobile SIM. When I go to Italy I use the phone data primarily for GPS navigation and the occasional search for info. My T Mobile Magenta plus is adequate for that. But I also buy an Italian SIM for my iPad which I prefer to use for emails, TV streaming, etc. (I prefer thr bigger iPad screen for that). You can also use it for navigation if you download google maps to your iPad. The iPad plan is also cheaper with both TIM and Vodafone, compared with the phone plan for tourists. I think the Vodafone tablet plan costs 10€ for 30Gb per one month+the cost of the SIM (which is also 10€). The international phone plan doesn’t give you nearly as many Gb and it costs 30€. Both Vodafone a d Tim have 5G where available.