[powerlifter]

Originally Posted by Gargoyle

Currently I have an Italian vodafone sim to use in Italy, and I use an AT&T sim in the U.S.
I need to find a way to receive SMS messages sent to an Italian phone number (either my current sim, or I can set up a new number for the purpose) when I am in the U.S; often I'll need to receive them right away.

I don't want to leave the sim in a phone that is plugged in and sitting in Italy when I'm not there. Vodafone won't forward them, running an app on the phone won't work if the phone is off, and if I don't retrieve them after 30 days they get deleted, so I never see them.

Going the other way it's easy, a google voice USA number will forward SMS to e-mail or to another phone number, but I can't find any method or any virtual number service in Italy that forwards SMS to the US, to e-mail, or to a web interface.

Any ideas?

Have you tried whats app. I have used it quite a bit. It will go to foreign numbers after you put the number in. If at night, and someone sends you a text when you are asleep it will be waiting for you when you get up. It is also free, and you can make voice calls on it for no charge over wifi.