Prepaid SIM in Italy?
 

Hello All

My wife and I will be traveling around Italy for a couple of weeks in May and I would like to get a prepaid SIM card for my phone to use in case of emergencies, possibly call a TI or a museum if needed, and to check in with my 'parental units' in the US and with my wife's folks in Belarus.

My planned route is as follows:
Arrive to Rome's Fiumicino Airport, rent a car, don't stop anywhere in Rome (I hear Rome's traffic is a bear) drive to Rimini -> Venice -> Milan (and possibly Lake Como) -> Florence -> back to Rome.

I am looking for advice on:
- Which provider and plan to go with for best rates?
- Where can I buy said provider's SIM?
- Are there instructions in English for activation/refill? (with my non-existent Italian unfortunately it's a must)

Any advice would be much appreciated! :)

In Italy there are 3 GSM+W-CDMA operators (TIM, Vodafone, Wind) and 1 W-CDMA only (3) operator. There are also some virtual operators, but not so convenient. I'd go with a GSM operators (you need at least a dual-band 900/1800 phone; an American quad-band is perfect) It's very easy to get a prepaid sim-card, just go to a TIM, Vodafone or Wind shop and ask for a new "carta prepagata" (prepaid card).

Wind is the cheapest of the 3; coverage is a bit worse than TIM and Vodafone, but usually it's good (very good for US standards, I'd dare to say). I'd go with a Wind prepaid card with "Super Senza Scatto" plan.
When you buy the card ask the dealer to activate the "Call Your Country" option. With this you have cheaper tariffs to call Belarus (€ 0.20/min) and the US (€ 0.35/min). Activating the "Call Your Country" option is free of charge when you buy a new card, that's why you have to ask them to activate it at once.
BTW all information about Wind is here:
http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/italia/wind.html

To refill it's very easy, most Tabacchi shops have electronic recharge: you choose the amount you want to recharge (i.e. 10, 25, 50€...) and tell them your phone number (32x.xxxxxxx) and they will recharge it automatically. Very easy.
In any case, when you activate a new Wind card, calling 4242 you can choose English for voice prompts and SMS communications. Ask the dealer to do it for you if you want, but it's really easy, just wait to hear something in English after a lot of info in Italian! :)

Hi Effendi,

Thank you much for the info! I was able to extract info on the store locations from Wind's website. I think I shall pick up a SIM in one of their Rimini stores. :)

- While in UK 2 yrs ago, I bought a prepaid SIM card and I remember a portion of the cost was unusable for the actual service, for out of 10 pounds cost say only 5 pounds worth was actual talk time. Is it the same way in Italy?

Thanks!

I think in the UK now you get what you pay for, while in Italy sim-cards usually cost 10€ and include just 5€ of credit. But sometimes, expecially in summer, you can get some promotions with more credit.

I have had a TIM 'carte prepagata' for nearly four years. I usually buy a Ricarica card before I go home and top up my SIM after 6 months to keep it valid. I tried to register on the TIM web site to top up my sim but the system would not accept a non Italian credit card. I have recently discovered that I can now top up my TIM sim in Spain which is helpful. Do you know of any other means to ricaricare, other than Ebay, from outside Italia?

Thank you.

In the past I think it was possible to refill with vouchers from the FreeMove alliance operators also outside of Italy, but I cannot find any information about it on TIM website now... BTW the validity of the credit is 12 months, you don't need to refill after 6.

Vodafone annoyingly went up to 15 euro minimum topup on their website (but they do accept foreign cards). It used to be 3, then 5. Small-value cards are available on eBay, though, and I suppose one can always stock up on small-value topups while in Italy, provided they don't expire for several years.

Can you comment on the procedures for getting a codice fiscale?

Is the online web site still valid? Why is Telestial in this country asking for a copy of your passport? Do the Italian authorities need your passport if you use a prepaid SIM?

Also, are any of these prepaid cards any good for UTMS data? I see the rates there but will loading a couple of web sites cost me like 10 Euros or something?

On a related note, looks like Italy may be getting iPhone from both TIM and Vodaphone. Wonder if they will have an unlimited data plan. iPhone tends to encourage a lot of data usage.

I have a real codice fiscale, and it wasn't any trouble to get it. Took about half an hour at the tax office. BTW, my CF was slightly different from the previous "fake" one that I had worked out with pen and paper (they used my full name, whereas I'd used just first and last to generate it).

You have to use the full name, that's sure.
BTW for registration they require codice fiscale and passport/ID card.

There are several data options with Italian providers if you want to use bigger quantity of data. The best offers are usually with Wind, but consider also 3 for its much much wider UMTS HSDPA coverage...

So when you buy the SIM, you provide the codice fiscale and passport?

No real advantage to generating a CF ahead of time then, right?

Also, from the Italy SIMs page, you have to choose a particular plan when you activate?

I think for a week trip, I would try to get by without topping off. But it would be nice to top off over the web later to prevent the card from expiring.

yes

well, I think it helps indeed, since you need a CF and you cannot know in advance if the shop dealer will be smart enough to create one (unofficial) for you...

if you say nothing they will activate you the default plan, but of course you can choose it, at least with Wind, 3 and Vodafone, I don't think it's possible with TIM.

it's very hard to do it without an Italian credit card, I suggest you to buy a scratch card and then use it also later when you are out of Italy. In this case Wind is surely good since you can refill for free outside of Italy, having a scratch card of course.

scratch card?

A topup card. You buy it, scratch off the gray stuff, and there's a topup code underneath, which you use to add credit to your phone. They are sold by vendors who do not have a register that prints out a receipt with a code on it. (FWIW, AT&T and T-Mobile, and others, have their own scratch cards in the U.S.)

Things may have improved

I topped up a Wind SIM online with a UK Visa debit card in February

What about the Poste Mobile plans?

The MVNO seems to provide full credit for the cost of the SIM, unless there's some high activation charge?

The Poste Mobile appears to be 16 Euro cents per minute and apparently available at all post offices?

Yes Poste Mobile can be cheaper for activation (15€ with 15€ of credit). Consider that it's not convenient for data, but using it just for voice calls and SMS it's not bad.

When you say it's not convenient, you're referring to it not having special options for data like WIND?

It does seem to charge .0055 Euro cents per KB of data (compared to .003 Euro cents for WIND if not using one of the special data options).


More questions:

1. Read somewhere that it may take 72 hours to activate a SIM?

2. Also read that with lower roaming within EU, the max. for outgoing should be 49 Euro cents and you'd also have to pay incoming up to 24 Euro cents. But the Italian operators page list higher roaming costs within EU?

How would one buy a Wind prepaid card without actually being in Italy? there is nothing on ebay right now.
I am planning on going to greece this summer and it looks like that the new italian wind roaming option is the best bet for my iphone. (if anyone has a better idea for Greece, i am open for suggestions ;-)

However, since i won't travel via Italy, i can't buy a sim card in Italy.

Does anybody know of an Internet site that sells activated wind prepaid cards to non Italians for a reasonable price?

thank you for your help!

yes, with Poste Mobile there are no data options and the per KB rate is higher (almost the double and with 10KB increments).

1. It can happen also with the other operators (Poste is the same as Vodafone). Usually in a couple of hours it's all working, sometimes also faster. But you can be unlucky. BTW I think 48 hours should be the maximum (unless it's on a weekend).

2. Those prices you listed are without VAT. Adding Italian VAT (20%) you get exactly € 0.588 and € 0.288.

Thanks Effendi.

It appears there are stores which sell the WIND on the same street as my Hotel in Siena on Strada Massetana Romana.

There is also a Conad supermarket.

Siena post office seems to be a few hundred meters north of Piazza Campo so I may look for that as well.

Try www.ebay.it , you will find many offers there. You should be able to find someone willing to mail you one.

Cost of a Tim Sim
 

Can anyone update me on the cost of a Tim Sim? I thought it was 10 euro with a 5 euro credit but the English language Tim site is quoting 40 euro with a 20 euro credit.

They also talk about something called Timmy and Timmy Tacs where they sell you a phone with a 20 euro credit and no activation fee but I can't find any information about what the phones cost.

Many thanks.

Oh god, it seems the English version of TIM website is quite outdated if they are still talking about an ETACS handset...

I don't know why you should be willing to buy a TIM card, but you can surely get it in any shop with 10 euros, including 5.

Hmm, waited about 30 minutes at the Siena post office to try to buy Poste Mobile. There are signs for it all over the office. I'd also dropped into the post office in Volterra earlier but didn't see any signage and didn't want to wait. Figured a bigger office would be more likely to have it, although, I have to say I couldn't find any mention of carta prepagata Posta Mobile on the poste.it site at all.

While I was waiting there was a clerk opposite the counters. They had a little area there where they sold books, DVDs, video games and apparently TIM, Vodaphone and other top up cards. We tried to communicate, she barely knowing any English and me knowing no Italian. When I mentioned I was interested in the Poste Mobile, pointing at the signs, she seemed to be trying to tell me the TIM top up cards were a better deal. So I told her "carta prepagata" and so she said to wait for someone at the counter.

Well waiting about 15 minutes or so, I got up and asked for that and the clerk at the counter gestured me towards the girl who'd first tried to help me. They went back and forth and the girl said they didn't have any, they'd have it tomorrow.

Oh well, I could have used it, but I will just see if I can find another post office in one of the other towns I plan to visit. But I'm not going to go out of my way looking for it.

Thanks
 

Thanks Effendi for the info. We are going to be activating 4 or 5 phones between a couple of families and I was kind of freaked out about a possible price increase. 10 euros sounds a lot better.

Does anyone know if they ever run a promo where Tim Club or something like it is included or reduced price? All our calls will be between the cell phones with only a few to land lines so a discounted rate would be quite nice.

Only other calling besides the occasional land line will be back to the US.

BTW if anyone is headed off to Italy in the next few months I'd be happy to send them the sims since I don't think we will get to use them again before they expire.

HELP!

I am going to italy for about 25 days and I am so confused about prepaid sim cards.

Should I get a prepaid sim in the US before I go, or over there? I have heard that it's hard to get over there?

Thanks!!!

NOI Wind pack?
 

I'll be in Italy next month with my family; I would like to get SIMs both for my phone and for my son's. I see that Wind has a promo on called the "Noi Wind Pack" which offers:If I am reading it right, this lets me buy 3 SIMs for 15 euros, with 5 euros talk time (on just one, or 5 euros apiece?) and exceptional rates between the 3 SIMS. My questions are (a) Am I interpreting this offer correctly? I do not trust my Italian on this, the deal seems too good to be true. (b) It seems to auto-renew after the first month; if I only need it for a month, would the right strategy be to simply cancel the plan after a couple of weeks? (c) My son (and his phone) will actually not be joining me until a week after I'm there; is this a problem w/r to activation (eg, can I activate all the SIMS just in the one phone)? A thousand thanks in advance for any advice. - DR

Uhm, you should have 5 euros on each sim but they activate you the NoiWind and NoiWind SMS options on all 3 sim-cards, so you have to pay 8€/month for these option. That means that you loose your 5 euros at once, you have to refill and loose other 3 euros after you refilled to get the "free" options, which are free only on the activation fee, but you have to pay for the whole month in advance. So it's not a great deal if you don't need those 2 options.

Thanks; this makes sense (I knew my interpretation was too optimistic). Since I only need the service through June, only need 2 SIMs, and do not expect to be generating all that much traffic between the phones, I guess I'm better off just buying two 10EU sims. - DR

Yes, and maybe you are lucky enough to find some other promotion, maybe simcards at 5 euros including 5...

I found this my last two trips to Italy, but I don't see it on Wind's promotion page, and there's no Auchan near where I will be. Now, if PAM starts offering cheap GSM service, I'm in great shape!

Thanks again for your help. - DR

Anyone familiar with setting up Internet with a prepaid SIM on a Nokia E61i? It's running Symbian S60.

So there are a bunch of access points -- Vodaphone Internet, Vodaphone Live, Vodaphone Live Streaming, Vodaphone MMS.

This phone/OS calls both Wifi and mobile packet data connections access points.

Under Vodaphone Internet, which is called the connection name, the access point name is listed as web.omnitel.it.

Under Vodaphone Live, the access point name is wap.omnitel.it. It has a homepage of live.vodaphone.com while the other one didn't have a homepage.

I suppose you have a Vodafone Italy prepaid card, or did you buy a Vodafone branded E61i? BTW if you have a Vodafone prepaid card you have to use the "web.omnitel.it" APN to connect to internet. But beware that Vodafone has terrible data tariff, and you could have the "timed" data tariff activated, which is even worse.... I suggest you get a Wind or 3 card.

I have the poste mobile SIM.

I don't know what APN are and my Nokia was purchased in the US. The Nokia calls different connections "access points" whether they're cellular data or Wifi.

I wonder if maybe they don't have mobile data where I am (CittÃ* della Pieve in Umbria)? I do get a full signal though if I try to dial a voice call.

Looking for a little help. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

I have an unlocked HTC Shadow which is quad-band so I should be covered on that end. I am flying into Venice tomorrow and need some help with getting a pre-paid SIM card. From what I gather Wind sounds like the cheapest provider and I only really need voice functionality. Do I really need to provide my passport information in order to purchase a card? Is there any way around this? How about my drivers license from the states?

Can anyone recommend a place in Venice to purchase a SIM card? I assume the little shops will have them, but are larger stores better?

Thanks in advance!

Look up codice fiscale.

When I bought mine, I had to provide a CF and also my passport. Most hotels in Italy ask for your passport. Or car rental offices.

Even if you go to a Internet cafe, they will ask for you passport (some have taken my drivers license with photo), because of anti-terrorism laws.

On the front page of the operators page for Italy, there is a link to a web site which will generate a codice fiscale for you. I did it and took down all the info.

Thanks for the tip of the CF. I went to the site but got an error saying

"ATTENZIONE
Il numero generato corrisponde alle regole del D.M. del 12.3.1974
Non si può avere l'assoluta certezza dell'esattezza del codice perché nel raro caso in cui il sistema genera due codici identici (caso di due persone con nome e cognome molto simili, nati lo stesso giorno, nello stesso comune), il Ministero delle Finanze provvede alla sostituzione di uno dei numeri con una lettera progressiva. "

I think it's telling me that there is similar record in their system and I can't have a CF. Anybody know specifically what the problem is?

I figured it out. I must have spelled the Italian translation of the US wrong. I corrected it and got my CF. Sweet!

Poste Mobile: here is a list of configurations for most handsets:
http://www.postemobile.it/PosteCusto...iguration.aspx
Here are the "general" parameters for data:
http://www.postemobile.it/PosteCusto...osteMobile.pdf
Everywhere there's network there's also data coverage.
Rates are horrible, BTW:
- Poste Mobile Wap portal: € 0.28 per connection
- Wap outside the portal: € 0.28 per connection, plus € 1.00 every 15 minutes
- Internet: € 0.0055/KB (10KB increments)


How to buy: you NEED to show your passport AND your Codice Fiscale. Regitration in Italy is required.