CelTrek - a new int'l SIM

[Bossman]

I agree, a lot of global sims do not work there. And, I was a litlle surprised when I saw they offered coverage at that rate too. BTW, UM just started to offer free incoming in the Bahamas. Of course, that's if you can actually get coverage. Also, sincce Celtrek is very similar to Yackie, and we should note that yackie offered very generous rates initially, and within a few months almost doubled their incoming rates in most of the countries, and increased their outgoing rates also. For now, Celtrek's rates look good. But, that does not mean it will not change.

[djhak]

Originally Posted by Bossman

BTW, UM just started to offer free incoming in the Bahamas. Of course, that's if you can actually get coverage.

Thanks for the info.
I just checked United Mobile's website and it does not indicate any coverage (or free incoming) in the Bahamas.
Are you sure about that?

[Przemolog]

Originally Posted by djhak

Thanks for the info.
I just checked United Mobile's website and it does not indicate any coverage (or free incoming) in the Bahamas.
Are you sure about that?

It's here: http://www.united-mobile.com/downloa...tes_en_eur.pdf
and in the rate calculator, however not here:
http://www.united-mobile.com/cms/web...2&idcatside=38

BTW, what the hell does * mean at some countries in the UM roaming list - incoming calls only?

[djhak]

Thank you for the information.
Is UM one of the companies that charges a service charge or initiation fee for outgoing calls?
or is the per minute rate the only charge for calls?

[Bossman]

Yes. UM charges a connection fee of $0.30 per call.

The free incoming in the Bahamas is just recent. Here is an email they sent to current customers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
We are constantly expanding our coverage. We are happy announce that we can offer our services in the following three countries as of 1st May 07:

Receive now calls free of charge also in


Bahamas
Kyrgyzstan

From now on you can call with United Mobile also in

Ethiopia
Please find the current rate plan here.

Originally Posted by djhak

Thank you for the information.
Is UM one of the companies that charges a service charge or initiation fee for outgoing calls?
or is the per minute rate the only charge for calls?

[prion]

Originally Posted by Przemolog

It's here: http://www.united-mobile.com/downloa...tes_en_eur.pdf
and in the rate calculator, however not here:
http://www.united-mobile.com/cms/web...2&idcatside=38

BTW, what the hell does * mean at some countries in the UM roaming list - incoming calls only?

Because they have recently added the 3 countries you can not find them there yet. But they are at the calculator. The star (*) means that service level varies.....Is not guaranted I assume

[jp0803]

I am torn between purchasing the Celtrek SimCard and the Travelsim Card. It seems like it would be nice to have free incoming calls, but how annoyed will people in the US, especially if they are trying to call from a US cell number be if they have to call an Estonian number to reach me? I was going to purchase 2 cards as a bunch of us are traveling together to France (but we also travel to Germany, Italy, Mexico and the Caribeean frequently) and will want to keep in touch with one another throughout the day. Does anyone have some advice as to what card would be the best?

[Bossman]

Tough one. You'lls notice that a lot of us here have more than one international sim. No one particular sim gives you the best deal in all countries. Some are better than the others ion certain countries obviously. As for me, I have 3 (yackie, freeGlobalsim, and UM), and just use the appropriate one depending on the situation. Planing on a Southern Carribean cruise for the summer, UM and probably yackie seem to provide the best deals in the countries I will be visiting, so I will likely be using those. When I traveled Europe and Nigeria late last year, my freeGlobalSim was the one I used extensively. So, it all depends.

Originally Posted by jp0803

I am torn between purchasing the Celtrek SimCard and the Travelsim Card. It seems like it would be nice to have free incoming calls, but how annoyed will people in the US, especially if they are trying to call from a US cell number be if they have to call an Estonian number to reach me? I was going to purchase 2 cards as a bunch of us are traveling together to France (but we also travel to Germany, Italy, Mexico and the Caribeean frequently) and will want to keep in touch with one another throughout the day. Does anyone have some advice as to what card would be the best?

[jp0803]

Thanks for the info. But do you ever encounter issues with friends/family from the US not being able to contact you because they don't have a plan on their cellphone that allows them to dial an international number? My thought is that if we get the Celtrek card that will never be an issue, and the incoming call rates are not that bad for Europe. However, Travelsim says that they offer you the use of an 800 number as a way around the issue of people having to call an Estonian number, have you any experience with that? The Travelsim card seems like more of a tested card, the Celtrek seems a bit questionnable to me since it is newer with less info available out there.

Originally Posted by Bossman

Tough one. You'lls notice that a lot of us here have more than one international sim. No one particular sim gives you the best deal in all countries. Some are better than the others ion certain countries obviously. As for me, I have 3 (yackie, freeGlobalsim, and UM), and just use the appropriate one depending on the situation. Planing on a Southern Carribean cruise for the summer, UM and probably yackie seem to provide the best deals in the countries I will be visiting, so I will likely be using those. When I traveled Europe and Nigeria late last year, my freeGlobalSim was the one I used extensively. So, it all depends.

[Bossman]

Well, what I did was forward my voicestick (free US number) number to whatever sim I ma using in the foreign destination. you may want to check voicestick.com for more info. Specifically, I forwarded voicestick to my freeGlobalsim number. I only pay for the forwarded calls at $0.15/min.