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MATHA531 · 13-12-2005, 07:31

There's no one size fits all answer without knowing other facts...for example is your US carrier GSM and what kind of phone do you have...is it tri band with at least one but preferably both European frequencies (900 and 1800)...is it unlocked or can it be unlocked...do you travel often to Europe, some parts of Asia Australia, South Africa...do you make calls back to the US often and do you wish to be reachable 24/7....do you want the mobile phone just for emergencies so the dog sitter can reach you....

And one must report the industry is changing rapidly and the right answer today might be the wrong answer 6 months from now...

My current suggestions for France are not to use local prepaid sims because as of today rates to call North America are not great but it might pay if you are going to be receiving a lot of calls and want to use call back services such as callbackworld and/or enlinea which you can read about in other responses on the forum. Of course, the problem comes up that cbw and/or eninea have been subject to going down more often than to make them very very reliable...when they work the service is very good and cheap...when they don't you can almost feel as if you are up the creek without a paddle.

Of course if you will be going to other places in the future, you might wish to get a United-Mobile international sim card (www.united-mobile.com)...not terribly expensive (?39 with ?15 of call credit) and 1 call every 9 months keeps the card active indefinitely...you get the free reception of calls throughout almost all of Europe, Australia, South Africa among other places and paid with callbackworld and/or enlinea you get to make calls for as little as 12?/minute and as well can get a US 800 number that will ring to your phone wiherever you are for the same rates but again that is relying on the technology working and it doesn't always do so.

If you want to elaborate a bit more, perhaps we can really come up with good ideas but remember what I said at the beginning. I used to help my friends set up computer configurations and get them great systems for not too much only to find 6 months later their systems were almost obsolete and worth a fraction of what they paid and then they blamed me so I stopped making suggestions and it almost seems mobile phone techmology and services are going the same way.

Whatever you do, don't fret. If it works for you, it's fine.

	(#3)
MATHA531 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Specialist Posts: 869 Join Date: 15 Oct 2004 Country:	13-12-2005, 07:31 There's no one size fits all answer without knowing other facts...for example is your US carrier GSM and what kind of phone do you have...is it tri band with at least one but preferably both European frequencies (900 and 1800)...is it unlocked or can it be unlocked...do you travel often to Europe, some parts of Asia Australia, South Africa...do you make calls back to the US often and do you wish to be reachable 24/7....do you want the mobile phone just for emergencies so the dog sitter can reach you.... And one must report the industry is changing rapidly and the right answer today might be the wrong answer 6 months from now... My current suggestions for France are not to use local prepaid sims because as of today rates to call North America are not great but it might pay if you are going to be receiving a lot of calls and want to use call back services such as callbackworld and/or enlinea which you can read about in other responses on the forum. Of course, the problem comes up that cbw and/or eninea have been subject to going down more often than to make them very very reliable...when they work the service is very good and cheap...when they don't you can almost feel as if you are up the creek without a paddle. Of course if you will be going to other places in the future, you might wish to get a United-Mobile international sim card (www.united-mobile.com)...not terribly expensive (?39 with ?15 of call credit) and 1 call every 9 months keeps the card active indefinitely...you get the free reception of calls throughout almost all of Europe, Australia, South Africa among other places and paid with callbackworld and/or enlinea you get to make calls for as little as 12?/minute and as well can get a US 800 number that will ring to your phone wiherever you are for the same rates but again that is relying on the technology working and it doesn't always do so. If you want to elaborate a bit more, perhaps we can really come up with good ideas but remember what I said at the beginning. I used to help my friends set up computer configurations and get them great systems for not too much only to find 6 months later their systems were almost obsolete and worth a fraction of what they paid and then they blamed me so I stopped making suggestions and it almost seems mobile phone techmology and services are going the same way. Whatever you do, don't fret. If it works for you, it's fine.