Smart Phone plans from Italian mobile providers

I'm really interested on what all the other competitors would offer for this service.
Until the providers here in the states offer competitive rates for overseas use...cost conscious folks will use the option of using a SIM from a service provider in the country they're visiting.

We will need to purchase a Sim plan in Italy for our 23 day stay.
Any advise on the best available plan and carrier?

I'm really interested on what all the other competitors would offer for this service.
Until the providers here in the states offer competitive rates for overseas use...cost conscious folks will use the option of using a SIM from a service provider in the country they're visiting.

T-Mobile and Sprint both offer decent international roaming plans: 20 cents/minute calls, free texting, and free unlimited 2G roaming data. Some people may find the 2G data a tad slow, but others will get by with it just fine.

Not saying you shouldn't buy a SIM, but I'd say those two are competitive.

As much as those free 2G roaming services are good.....I'm afraid that 2G technology will not be acceptable for how we use our data as a family of four.

We used Vodafone Big Value bundle (we got in UK) last month during our trip to Italy. They had a special of 4GB for £10.
That's £40 for all of us compared to Verizon's $10/day x 4 phones x 12 days = $480.

As much as those free 2G roaming services are good.....I'm afraid that 2G technology will not be acceptable for how we use our data as a family of four.

Just to be clear: Sprint and T-Mobile don't limit users from connecting to 4G or 3G networks when roaming. They let your phone connect to the fastest data networks your phone is capable of connecting to, wherever you are. For many phones, that means connecting to 4G in Europe with Sprint or T-Mobile. But they "throttle" your data speed to slow it down - sometimes referred to as "2G speeds." But you don't have to connect to the old slow 2G "edge" networks that are by today's standards impossibly slow. (Is that what you meant by "2G technology?") 4G throttled to slow it down is still acceptable to many people. I used my Dutch Vodafone SIM in Portugal recently only because I could get 2GB of fast data for only 10 euros. I would have lived with the Sprint data speeds had it cost say 50 euros.

Just to be clear: Sprint and T-Mobile don't limit users from connecting to 4G or 3G networks when roaming. They let your phone connect to the fastest data networks your phone is capable of connecting to, wherever you are.

Yeah...but at what cost?

For many phones, that means connecting to 4G in Europe with Sprint or T-Mobile. But they "throttle" your data speed to slow it down - sometimes referred to as "2G speeds." But you don't have to connect to the old slow 2G "edge" networks that are by today's standards impossibly slow. (Is that what you meant by "2G technology?") 4G throttled to slow it down is still acceptable to many people.

I completely understand how the the capabilities on mobile devices work. And I completely understand that I don't have to be connected to the 2G; but understand as well that anything faster than that is gonna cost more.

I used my Dutch Vodafone SIM in Portugal recently only because I could get 2GB of fast data for only 10 euros. I would have lived with the Sprint data speeds had it cost say 50 euros.

The point I'm trying to make is I want to connect at 4G speeds but at the most economical way as possible. I don't know how much Sprint or T-Mobile charges for these services since I'm with Verizon....but I'm willing to bet that what I paid for my Vodafone SIM would be much cheaper than what Sprint or T-Mobile are offering for their rates.

I guess I was trying to make clear to anyone else reading that "2G technology" doesn't mean "2G/edge networks." If I had read that two years ago, that's what I would have assumed you meant, even if you meant something else.

Roberto, Does the Vodafone plan include roaming in other countries?

Yes Laurel. Since June 2017 European providers are no longer allowed to charge roaming within the EU.

Used the Tim tourist plan and all worked great!

A little late to the game but we have Sprint and the Global Roaming worked fine for us in Prague this past September - even though we were on 2G, it worked just fine for the two of us - I was the one using it rather extensively with City Mapper and uber. My wife had no issues with Facebook. If we wanted to upgrade to 4G LTE, it would have been an additional $5/day or $25/week.

Going to Rome in March and don't anticipate any issues......

My Sprint phone worked fine in Portugal back in May, but the 2G was a little slow for me. So I popped in my Dutch Vodafone SIM and added 10 euros to buy a bundle of data that lasted me for the rest of the 9 day trip. Noticeably faster and worth the upgrade for that amount of money.

Better currently best offer also about quality / price is the one of Iliad. 7 Euros monthly plus 10 Euros for the new SIM. Offer includes unlimited minutes / texts and 50GB (4G/4G+). Moreover, unlimited minutes may be used in over 60 countries including Alaska, Canada, USA, Hawai... Just give a look!

Roberto, On our first trip to Italy we bought a cheesy little flip phone and used it with the tourist Tim card then and on a return trip. On the last visit my husband used that phone again and I used my daughter's old unlocked iphone with the Tim for Tourists plan. It was fine and even after the 30 days I was able to communicate with family here at home as long as they also had an iphone. Now my husband wants us both to get newer iphones for this trip. I have always been a pay-as-you-go mobile phone user and unwilling to get sucked into "plans". Obviously am not tech savvy and am wondering if you have suggestions/recommendations about this for our trip in late April. Thanks.

Until moving here we never considered a SIM card but used expensive Verizon plans and wifi at hotels when traveling to Europe. I guess we just assumed it was too complicated. Well it’s not!

We've been using pay as you go Vodafone plans for everything, Internet, phone, streaming (some)

1) in Iphone SE- SIM card is 18GB per month for €12 /month. Includes 500 minutes calls within Italy and 300 minutes to other countries including US. Chat is unlimited (what’s app, messenger,etc). Phone defaults to 4G so the first month we burned through data way too quick. 2G is way too slow, 3G is just right. Allows my husband to call his Mom, who only has a land line.

Vodafone does not directly accept US credit cards, so can not set up automatic plans. (Ok with me) To recharge we just stop at the tabacchi store and pay cash (only in increments of (€5). A way you can pay on line with a US credit card is to select the PayPal option (but do not log into PayPal account)

2) we have a second SIM that we use in a router (D-link) so any device -iPhone, computers, iPad, Roku stick on tv can log on as wifi. For €15 Euros we get 20GB (no phone).

If either Sim runs out there are usually specials to add more data (last month we added another 10gb for €7.) Alternatively we can use the personal hotspot to share data, if one sim runs low or runs out.
Be careful with automatic downloads (photos, updates, and maps) as those can burn through data at a surprising rate. With the d-link we turn off wifi on devices unless we are actually using.