Quick Facts
Country: Greece
Network Name: Cosmote
Website: http://www.cosmote.gr
Owned by/Major partner: NTT DoCoMo
Operational Frequency: 1800 GSM and 2100 UMTS
Prepaid Package Cost (Just SIM): 20 Euro
CSD access: Yes
GPRS access: Yes
SIM applications: Yes
Manual included: Yes
Refill amounts: 9, 18 Euro (Higher available in Airports)
Availability: Cosmote Stores, OTE stores, Independent Dealers, Kiosks, "Psilikatzidika"
Program Name: Cosmokarta, What's up?
Competitors: Vodafone, TIM, Q-Telecom
More In-Depth Information
Buying:
The Good:
I do not own a Cosmote prepaid account but a lot of my friends do in Greece and I have looked into getting one next time I go to Greece. You can get a cosmote prepaid package at any Cosmote store, at Germanos or other Technology stores and at OTE (state run landline telecom) stores which exist in every city! I do not believe that you have to give out any information like address, landline number and so on which expedites the process. There are two packages, Cosmokarta and What's Up? What's Up? is described as "the youth tool" which I would assume gives you more services geared toward trendy, young, hip people. Price is 19.90 Euro and you get 8 euros worth of airtime.
The Bad:
You cannot yet buy UMTS prepaid in greece.
Usage:
The Good:
From what my friends have described, signal is good and they have had no problems with communication. I think that the Athenian metro system (underground) has some reception problems but so do other carriers I believe (with the exception of vodafone I think). Their GPRS is called i-Mode and it is usage on prepaid which makes these two prepaid packages good for the internet users. They also have a SIM application set called "My Cosmos", which are services which include Voice services, SMS based services, and a WAP portal called "My Cosmos" with info such as Airport and Port itenerary information (is my flight delayed? is it on time? what about my ship?). I also believe that they have lotto, horoscope, news and more info provided by other providers like TIM and Vodafone. Roaming is a no-hassle deal. You can roam to other networks abroad without problems. For making phone calls I think you might have to call customer service. With i-mode you've got access to over 130 services on your cellphone (newspapers, banks, entertainment etc.)
The Bad:
Need to call customer service to activate GPRS (I think). I believe that the My Cosmos services are in Greek only, I hope they are in English too by now. I do believe that i-Mode is in Greek, so if you do not speak Greek you might be left out in the cold.
TIPS:
1) Decide which package is for you, What's Up? and Cosmokarta are not identical. Check the website out, it is in Greek and English, look at the tariffs and decide.
2) Get your CSD and GPRS settings before you leave.
3) if you want GPRS, go buy the package at a Cosmote store, have them activate it for you and have the store clerks activate GPRS for you, chances are that they speak English.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I would give cosmote a try - I know so many people that use them without problems. They weren't the first in the UMTS business in Greece but they are quite innovative. The Airport and Port info is a nice service for travelers (after all, you are going to Greece for traveling, right?).