mobile phone question.

You can buy a SIM card for your phone. If you know how to change out your own SIM card, you can just get one at a tabac.

Thanks...that is what I thought and just needed some reassurance!

You might check to see if it'll work in France first. Even some of the cheap mobile phones are Western Europe capable, you just have to keep putting in minutes from a pay as you go card. We have a cheapy cell phone we got for $25 that is Western Europe capable, just have to put more minutes in as we need them.

On our trip in October, my husband bought a sim card and minutes at a grocery store in Germany. However, we had to go online and "register" it. That took a few hours to decipher the German (and my husband has some knowledge of the language). Later, someone said that if we would have bought the sim and minutes at a phone store, they would have registered it for us. Hope this helps.

Terry, It's quite likely that the phone is "unlocked", however it would be prudent to check that before the trip. If you know someone that presently has a phone with either AT&T or T-Mobile, ask if you can "borrow" their SIM card for a few minutes. If the phone is also a quad-band model, it should connect to the network right away. Another option you could consider is using a SIM from one of the "travel phone" firms such as Roam Simple, Call In Europe, Cellular Abroad, Telestial or Mobal. Their plans provide consistent calling rates throughout most of western Europe and fairly good rates for calls to the U.S. Check their respective websites for specific rate information, or give them a call on the toll-free numbers. The advantage of using a "travel SIM" is that you'll be able to make calls or send texts as soon as you step off the plane, and won't have to worry about finding a cell shop, "registering", language issues setting up the phone or topping up (as the travel SIM's are post paid, and charged to your credit card). I used one of these plans on my trip this year, and it worked well! Cheers!

I have no idea why some people on this forum repetitively push plans that are so much more expensive than local sim cards. It is simple to get and install a cheap local sim card. In France, check out Lebara which has free incoming calls, local calls for 0.15€/minute and calls to the States for 0.09€/minute. The sim is €10 which includes €7.50 in call credit.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to provide some clarification regarding my previous comments. I often advocate the "travel SIM" option, as I tried one of the firms this year, and I found that the product worked well, exactly as advertised. I believe it's a good idea to at least make posters aware of this option, in case they haven't considered it. I tend to promote travel methods or products that have worked well for me. Others on the HelpLine frequently suggest using "in country" SIM's, so it's not really necessary for me to duplicate that information. It's highly unlikely that I'll ever use a SIM from Lebara or any similar company for a number of reasons: > While these provide may provide slightly cheaper rates when used in the country of origin, calls made from other countries will be "roaming" and therefore the rates will be higher. Using a different SIM in different countries is a goofy idea, as the number changes each time, so my contacts would have a difficult time keeping track of which number I'm using at any given time. Travel SIM's provide one number for the entire trip, with the same rate for all the countries in western Europe. > Using a PAYG SIM would be a nuisance! I don't want the hassle of running out of minutes in the middle of a call or having to to top-up as that's something I can do without! The post-paid option is much easier. > My typical calling pattern is such that I don't make a lot of voice calls to North America, only minimal calls "in country" and a moderate amount of texts. While the "travel SIM" plans may be slightly more expensive than local plans, the difference in cost is not an issue for me. Which SIM to use depends to a large extent on the anticipated calling pattern, which will vary for each person. Cheers!

Terry simply inquired about a sim card for France. A local sim like Lebara is the obvious, inexpensive answer. It seems goofy to tout services that are even more expensive than the international plans of US carriers. Mobal charges $1.25/minute for incoming and local calls, and $1.50/minute for calls to the States, which people unable to write off as a business expense would hardly consider slightly more expensive than the local sim rates in my previous answer. Actually, Lebara's roaming rates for calls within Europe, except Switzerland, beats Mobal if roaming were relevant to the inquiry which it isn't. Besides higher calling rates, the other problem with post-paid sims is the potential for abuse if the phone is lost or stolen. Calls that are made before the service is notified and cancelled will be billed to the credit card on file.

Although the original question refers to a SIM in France, I felt it was prudent to provide a brief description of several options, and let the OP decide whether one of these or a local SIM would work best for their situation and calling needs. I provided a list of several "travel SIM" firms (including Mobal), in order not to have a perceived bias towards any of them. That way the OP could look at the rate structure for all of them and decide whether any/none would meet his/her needs. On past trips, I've used international roaming with my home cellular carrier, however their rates have increased substantially in the last year or two, so I decided to try a different option this year as an "experiment". Mobal was not the service I used for my trip this year, as I found their rates to be noticeably higher than their competitors. Others here on the HelpLine have used Mobal, and seem to be generally pleased with the service. My cellular costs during travels are not something I can "write off as a business expense", so it's important I keep these at a "reasonable level". Given the fact that I primarily use text with occasional "in country" voice calls, the costs are quite manageable. However, this is something I review each year when planning trips, so I may or may not use a travel SIM again next year. I agree that the travel SIM's have an inherent risk if the phone is lost or stolen, however for me that's preferable to the annoyance of having to register and get a SIM when I arrive, deal with language issues, topping up or running out of minutes in the middle of a call. Each of us has to determine which system works best for our particular travel circumstances, but it's still wise to look at all the options. Cheers!