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Cell phones

Can anyone recommend where or should I rent a cell phone while in England. Is it worth it?

Posted by
32336 posts

Jean,

I'm assuming that your existing Cell phone is with one of the networks that doesn't work in Europe? If you have a contract plan with either AT&T or T-Mobile, you can "roam" in Europe (subject to a few conditions).

The suggestion in the previous post is one option. You could also look at www.cellularabroad.com, Telestial or other "travel phone" vendors. You could also buy an inexpensive PAYG phone when you arrive in England, but keep in mind these tend to become "inactive" if not used for six months or more, so you'd have to buy a new SIM card for each visit to England. Also, unless the phone was unlocked you would only be able to use it with the network where it was purchased.

If you choose to buy a phone in the UK, I'd suggest checking the various websites, so that you're familiar with the plans they offer. The costs can vary between plans. The networks are T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2, Virgin and Orange (I haven't included Hutchison as this is 3G)

Good luck and happy travels!

Posted by
43 posts

Hi Jean,
This is what we use, and it's been a lot cheaper for us. http://www.mobalrental.com/gsm/handsets.asp. You purchase the world phone (pretty cheap, in our opinions) and only pay for the calls you make. We've used other cells in the past, but this was such a better deal. So now that we're going to England again, we recently dragged it out of the closet so we can recharge it before we leave. No monthly fees.