Pay as you go Cell Phone?

check out mobal world phone www.mobalrental.com you can buy the phone for 49$ and have it forever, and you only pay for calls. Its WAY cheaper then renting a phone, and if you travel a lot, its probably a good idea. I am probably going to get one for my upcoming trip to Italy, because when I went the last time, I came across only 2 pay phones the whole time I was in Rome, and I couldn't find any phone cards while I was there (not like Paris where there are phones everywhere and you can easily find a phone card) . I think this is because most people it Italy have a cell phone. I will definately never go to Italy without a phone again!

Kristen, like most of europe, cell phone stores are everywhere. There are places here in the US that you can get (unlocked) cellphone which works in Europe.

Companies such as RailEurope, and one fellow Rick travler posted a student site, sells inexpensive cell phones for as low as $39. They provide the SIM but the # is a UK one.

You can get an unlocked phone without the SIM (make sure its a tri or quad band) and pick up the SIM in Italy.

Some Rick users suggested Verizon or the US Cell company. They will rent the phone (with a nominal deposit) and they'll charge you base on usage. If you don't plan on keeping the phone, that's one option.

I personally have my own phone that I picked up in London. The rates aren't bad, even outside the UK, and its my number to keep. When I make reservations, I can use the number which is also handy.

I came across this site: http://www.callineurope.com

Kristen,
We have three cell phones we bought over the past few years for Europe. All are UNLOCKED cell phones, purchased through eBay in the US. Once we had the phones we purchased SIM cards. In the past I've had cards for the UK and France, as we traveled there 1-2 times a year.

Now we all have Italy SIM cards. We're on the "TIM" network. There's also "WIND" and Vodaphone here in Italy. Rates on TIM for calls to other TIM customers are about 12-15 cents a minute. Calling the States costs us about 60-65 cents a minute. Rates to other European cities JUST CHANGED and were cut in HALF by new European Union legislation (Hooray!).

If you use your phone once every 6 months the number you have stays active. I thus have about 6 phone numbers available to me, although as of late we rarely use the UK and France SIM cards. You can purchase "re-charges" at Tabachi shops, grocery stores, electronics stores, some cafe's, and so on. For TIM, they come in 10, 30, 50, and 100 Euro increments. I've also bought SIM cards through the web and on eBay so I would already have a phone number BEFORE I left the country - needed my kids (22 & 26) to be able to find me in case of emergency.

Again, there are good prices here in Europe for phones but you can match or beat them with patience on eBay! Just make sure to get an unlocked, and at minimum, a tri-band phone!

Ciao,
Ron

T-Mobile said we can use our phones all over the EU & UK $0.99 a min to call and $0.35 for text.
I hope the phones and my ATM's work next week.

Kristen,

I purchased a phone from TIM for 39 euro with a SIM card and 5 euro talk time. I assume Vodephone and Wind would have similar deals.
I have also borrowed a quad band phone and got it unlocked and put a TIM SIM card in it.
A SIM card from TIM will cost you 10 euro with 5 euro talk time. See privati.tim.it/template/…00.html for locations of TIM stores.

I travel once every year or two and bought a Mobal phone. For me it was the least involved and had excellent reception and I am very satisfied. I pay as I go and only use it abroad. For an entire month in one place I would definitely follow the other posters advice. For occasional travel, the Mobal is great.

I currently use Verizon for my cell phone in the US. Upon researching, I found they have a Global Travel program which provides free rentals for a duration of less than 21 days. More info available on their web site: http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Global_Travel/index.html

Thanks to you all for your help.

Ron,
I got a cell phone and SIM card on E-bay for just under $60. It was very easy to do. Your information let me know just what to look for when buying. The SIM card came with 5 Euros ready to talk, so we can just recharge if we need more. Thanks so much!

Hi there,
Cell phone rental is the best option for you. You'll have a local italian line, that means incoming calls free of charge and cheap outgoing calls. If you buy a phone, you don't have rental fees, but you pay more expensive calling rates. One good option is www.phonerentalusa.com, it has also the first week free of rental. Hope this helps!

Jeremy, I looked at rental a few years ago and the fees were crazy - so we bought cheap phones on eBay. We paid less than $20 for our first GSM phones years ago! Before moving I will confess I upgraded to an International Blackberry 8830 ...

I looked at the site you recommended .... and referring to Italy - Yes, they give you a "free" week but then you pay $.99 a minute for all incoming calls; $1.75 a minute for calls in country; and $1.75 a minute for all international calls. And on the bottom is says that SMS rates are the same as calls - So every text message will cost $1.75 in country - OUCH... (THAT'S WHAT THEIR CHART SAYS???) We pay 12-15 cents a minute for in-country calls and 12-15 cents a SMS message in country depending on who we are sending to...

Insurance, which you ALMOST have to have on a rented phone is $ .99 a day and shipping to you is $20. So if you make minimal calls you'll pay almost the same. If you lose or damage the phone without insurance you WILL GET SMOKED! I guess I'd rather have something I could use, either in the States or, on my next vacation!

Jeremy, if there's a cheaper rental site out there, please send it on as I've never seen one that did not have "fine-print" charges.... and I have many friends who come over and get hammered when they use their US based Verizon phones... so I lend them my 3rd phone but often we have multiple couples here - I would like more info on rentals... but not at these rates.

Ciao,
Ron