Rome Cell Phone Rental

You are going to pay a lot in per-minute charges if you use a phone with a non-Italian number. To get an idea of the cost for renting a phone with Italian number, you might want to consider emailing the main Italian carriers, TIM, WIND and Vodaphone and ask if they will do it. They all have stores everywhere (like our U.S. carriers). But if you plan to go back, getting a used unlocked phone is the way to go. It can be used on multiple trips and, with the proper SIMS each time, for use on trips anywhere in the world.

And you can possibly find someone who is willing to do what I have done - offer to loan my SIMs so you know your number before you go - asking only that the card be recharged with the amount used. (I have scheduled it to be loaned in March and again in May so don't ask until after that).

You will find that they are so convenient and helpful for two people, you will wonder how you ever traveled to Europe w/o them.

More info -

Another advantage of a phone usable everywhere is at the beginning an end of your trip. Instead of taking your regular cell phone (assuming it doesn't qualify as GSM tri/quad band), you can get a U.S. SIM card. We did so we could call my brother who was meeting us in Atlanta as we each were coming from another city. We also used it to call the neighbors from Newark airport to tell them we would be late arriving. It beat having to take another phone/charger just for that. We simply popped out one SIM for the other.

Note that if you have T-Mobile, AT&T or Cingular service and your cell phone is tri/quad band, the carrier will give you unlock code FOR FREE. Just tell them you are going to Europe.

Thanks John; I am looking at several options, from rental, to International roaming on my phones, to SIM cards (with my provider doing a temp unlock), to doing the unlocked phone/SIM card thing. Normally a phone is not an issue but I will be in meetings all week and my wife will be roaming alone during the day. The phone will be security, not used unless I get done early, or she gets lost (high probability). Even enabling international roaming on my phones may be the most efficient, but I am looking at everything.

Just for pun, I guess my wife will be "Roming" alone. We have ATT/Cingular, so they can unlock my phone, meaning I need to get an Italian SIM card, but my roaming charge is only $1.29 a minute, so for limited use may be fine, just watch incoming calls.

Just a clarification. The term unlocked gets tossed around alot and is used incorrectly in most cases.

If you are a ATT/Cingular or T-Mobile customer you need to call them to activate international roaming. This is not unlocking your phone. This allows you to take your phone out of the US and make and receive calls using your US phone number. Roaming rates range from $.50 to $5.00 per minute around the world.

If you unlock your phone, this means that you will need to change your sim card with that of another provider (ie vodophone) when outside the US. This gives you a local phone number and rates the locals pay. Just topup the minutes at the local tabac. You lose your US service until you change your sim back.

Cell phone rental sites give you a cell phone usually with a UK phone number. Basically you are roaming through europe with it and it can cost a fortune in per minutes. The Orange network in france can charge you $10 per minute on that rental phone use from cellhire!!!

Paul, unless you're going to be making frequent trips to Italy the simplest thing is to have your provider allow you to use your phone for international roaming. This is free with all the US carriers I know about that have GSM phones that will work abroad.

You have the option with Cingular of paying about $5/mos extra to get a discounted rate of $.99/min instead of $1.29/min, and you can remove this extra service when you return from your trip.

Unlocking your phone, as others have said, is different; it means you can plug a different SIM card into your phone and use a different carrier. This is great if you're placing enough calls in-country; for example with TIM you can call anywhere in Italy for about .10E/min. However it means your contacts have to call your Italian number instead of your familiar US number.

For what you've described, the occasional panic call from your wife, I'd say just stick with your US number and phone.

BTW there is no such thing as a "temp unlock" to use a different SIM. US providers are required to unlock your phone on request, after (I believe) you've had it for 90 days. Nothing temporary about it. They give you some magic numbers to type in, you do it, the phone is permanently unlocked.

You can buy a simple phone in Italy for about 40 euro with a SIM card - which is probably cheaper than renting. With the Italian SIM card you will only pay for outgoing calls, incoming calls are free. You can add more credit buy purchasing a recharge card at a tobacco store.

My understanding is that there is one catch to buying a cell phone once you arrive in Italy - it can take 24 hours for the built in SIM card to be activated. Plus you probably have to charge the phone before you can use it.

So keep that in mind if you were planning on buying one at the airport and then calling your hotel.

When I bought my SIM card the phone was ready & active within 15 minutes. Not use if this is standard or not. You may be better off buying from a TIM store where they can make sure the card is activated immediately.

Just to add one more option to the mix (as if you didn't already have enough!)...I found in response to another query that test-messaging abroad is only $.50 a min. through AT&T (haven't checked w/them to verify)...& $.15 to receive...as in, "meet me Piazza Navona by Fountain of 4 Rivers 5:30." ;-)

You can't buy a SIM card at the company-owned stores of one of the national operators (TIM, Vodafone, etc) without a number called a "codice fiscale", essentially an ID number issued by the Italian government. I know, I tried. And you can find this info online.

However if you go to one of the reseller shops and have a passport many will sell you a SIM card if you show them your passport.

You do not need a codice fiscale to purchase a SIM card. Show your passport and you can buy one.

Paul,

In your situation (assuming you and your Wife both have AT&T phones), the simplest (and probably cheapest) option would be to just use roaming with your home provider.

There are a few important things to check though. First, are the phone handsets both quad-band (ie: with the Euro frequencies)? Second, ensure that both phones have "world" chargers.

If you use text messaging (SMS) to keep in touch with your Wife, the costs should be VERY reasonable. Try to use voice calls sparingly, as that would be the most expensive option (both phones would be charged at about $2.00 per minute!).

One other VERY important point - be sure to notify all friends, relatives and business associates NOT to call during the time you'll be in Europe. Receiving calls at 03:00 from people that don't know you're travelling can get annoying VERY quickly!

Happy travels!

Paul,

I disagree with Ken. If your phones are usable with AT&T in Europe, you can call AT&T and they will unlock them for you if you have had a contract with them for 90 days and it is still in force. Then stop at first Italian phone place and get a SIM. They'll install it for you. Much cheaper than doing the roaming thing. When you leave, you put your SIM back in. It is a lot easier than it sounds.

I returned to the US with my SIM card from a trip to Italy last year and did not cancel the telephone number that they gave me in Rome. Does that mean that the number is still valid? When I return to Italy this year and try to activate the same card/number, will I be hit with a huge bill for a year's worth of service for the number?

BTW, the service was with TIM and it was very reasonable, sales people spoke English and were knowledgeable, friendly and fast. Plus, the Tim office on Emanuele a block from Campo di Fiori made all of the changes one needed while you waited and gave you one domestic call free to make sure the phone was working. The problem was, I didn't know whom to call on the spot. I bought time in increments of €25 for minute usage.

Tom,

You had pay as you go service so NO, there are no accrued charges. You simply buy a block of time by paying a set amount. You use part of that amount for each call you make. The cost per call depends on who you call, where they are (and possibly their carrier). So, calls to other TIN number might be one rate, calls to other carriers and to land lines at another, and international calls at a third (or fourth). What WIND did was after each call was to send a msg saying how much was used. I could send a free msg at any time to see how much was left.

You owe nothing. If you don't refresh the card within a year (I believe TIM is 1 year), you lose your credits and your number is deactivated. You probably will then have to get a new number.

To prevent this, do what I am doing. Loan your SIM to others who are going. Ask that they return it with as much credit as it had when you left. They save the cost of buying a SIM and have a known number before they go. You keep your card active.