Data in Europe?

robert11111 · **Data in Europe? -** 22-03-2007, 17:19

I am traveling throughout Europe, presently in Italy, then to Switzerland, Austria, Greece, etc.

I need data download and upload everywhere, perhaps 100 Mb/month, or preferably 300 Mb/month or more. Most of the time, I just need email and some internet browsing. But a few times per month, I need to upload or download files that are, perhaps, 50 Mb in size.

I need a data card (or cellphone that can also be a modem) and a reliable plan that can get high-speed data coverage all over Europe, falling back to a lower speed, such as GPRS, when necessary.

Can anyone recommend a good data plan, either prepaid or subscription? Also a necessary data card or cellphone?

I will probably spend a month or two in each country, sometimes more or less.

So far, I have seen Cingular/AT&T's Global DataConnect plan using the Sierra 875 PC card, which allows unlimited 3G/UMTS/HSDPA/EDGE/GPRS data in the USA, or 100 Mb/mo of data in Europe, at a cost of $139.99/mo, with a one or two year contract. Does anyone know if this service is reliable, and does it work everywhere in Europe? This plan seems all right, except for the 100 Mb limit.

I also found an offer in Italy from TIM, where you buy a Huawei E620 card for 249 euros, and then pay 25 euros for a one-month sim that allows 9 Gb/mo of evening and weekend data. The TIM rep in Italy said that similar sims were available in other countries, but the Greek rep denied this possibility. Does anyone know if this plan is useful everywhere, or only in Italy?

Thank you.

Effendi · 22-03-2007, 18:01

That plan works in Italy only. When you are here in Italy I suggest a prepaid card of the UMTS operator 3. With 9 euros per month you can get up to 50MB per day, which is not bad at all. 3 has the widest 3G HSDPA coverage in Italy. And it's also the most reliable 3G network here. They also have a 5GB/month plan too...

Another option is the Mega15000 offer by Wind: you have 5GB/month in Italy or 50MB outside of Italy, which is not much, but could help. All for 30 euros per month. Unfortunately Wind has almost no HSDPA coverage and 3G only in bigger towns. They have anyway several 3G roaming agreements outside of Italy (I just used it once again in Germany on several networks).

AFAIK in Greece there is no similar offer, while in Switzerland there's surely something and in Austria maybe there could be some offer by 3 Austria, but their coverage is quite ridiculous... surely there's some offer with A1 Mobilkom but they are generally very expensive.

I suggest you to buy ad PC card on eBay which supports UMTS/HSDPA on the European frequency (2GHz). I fear the card sold by Cingular works only on the American 3G frequency (1.9GHz) and in Europe is useable only on GSM/GPRS/EDGE.

Anyway in several places you can find "open" Wifi networks...

unobtrusive · 23-03-2007, 09:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Effendi

AFAIK in Greece there is no similar offer, while in Switzerland there's surely something and in Austria maybe there could be some offer by 3 Austria, but their coverage is quite ridiculous... surely there's some offer with A1 Mobilkom but they are generally very expensive.

I can confirm that, there are no good offers for PAYG data in Greece. In fact, the only network to even allow "full" Internet (not just WAP) on PAYG is TIM, with a charge of 6.14 EUR/MB.

There is also a TIM contract based data SIM which offers 20GB of usage for 99 EUR/month but getting a contract SIM in Greece is not an option for a traveller and is obviously not suitable for a short term stay.

robert11111 · **More on Europe data.. -** 26-03-2007, 19:32

Thank you for the replies. I have some more questions:

1. Can anyone recommend the best unlocked PC data card for the immediate future, one that is useful on various systems in Europe, one that will work with subscription-based or prepaid SIMs? Is the Huawei E620 or 600 a good bet?

2. You mentioned that I need a 2 GHz card. Do you mean 2.1 GHz, i.e., 2100 MHz?

3. Are there any no-contract data SIMs available that will work in Europe? I know of the one offer from Tim in Italy, but that is only useful in Italy. I think that it cost about 25 euros for 9 Gb/mo, evenings and weekends only. The SIM is good for one month only. I wonder if I can buy the one data card, and then buy prepaid SIMs in other European countries.

4. I called www.three.co.uk, and they said they have a subscription plan that works in UK, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, and a couple of other countries, without roaming charges. It costs 20 £/mo for 100 Mb, 30 £/mo for 256 Mb, and 45 £/mo for 1 Gb, with a one-year minimum contract and a free data card. Does anyone know if this works well? Any comments on it?

5. I attempted to find Wind's data offerings on the wind.it site, but I did not find anything. Does anyone have the specific URL for this information? Also a Wind data phone number, for English-speaking people?

Thank you.

real_goose · **Data in Greece -** 26-03-2007, 21:16

The Sierra 875 does support UMTS/HSDPA frequencies in both the US and Europe. Make sure it is unlocked if you want to use other than Cingular SIMs. (These are just starting to show up on Ebay.)

Vodafone.gr also has a prepaid data only option, but it is ultimately quite expensive. It is hidden in the Business section of the website. 43 € for the Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G Prepaid Connection pack and usage is 0,0042€/Kb or about 4.20€/Mb. (When you select English ignore the 'coming soon' and select Business , then Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G Broadband.)

You purchase the connection kit at Vodafone shops and then use scratch off cards to refill.

Darrell in Detroit

Effendi · 27-03-2007, 07:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by robert11111

1. Can anyone recommend the best unlocked PC data card for the immediate future, one that is useful on various systems in Europe, one that will work with subscription-based or prepaid SIMs? Is the Huawei E620 or 600 a good bet?

2. You mentioned that I need a 2 GHz card. Do you mean 2.1 GHz, i.e., 2100 MHz?

Yeah, the Huawei E620 is good for Europe and Asia, not much for the US. 2GHz or 2.1 GHz it's the same (the frequency in Europe starts from high 1900 to 2100 if I'm not wrong, so usually we call it 2GHz or 2.1GHz, while the American one is 1.9GHz only).

Quote:

Originally Posted by robert11111

3. Are there any no-contract data SIMs available that will work in Europe? I know of the one offer from Tim in Italy, but that is only useful in Italy. I think that it cost about 25 euros for 9 Gb/mo, evenings and weekends only. The SIM is good for one month only. I wonder if I can buy the one data card, and then buy prepaid SIMs in other European countries.

4. I called www.three.co.uk, and they said they have a subscription plan that works in UK, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, and a couple of other countries, without roaming charges. It costs 20 £/mo for 100 Mb, 30 £/mo for 256 Mb, and 45 £/mo for 1 Gb, with a one-year minimum contract and a free data card. Does anyone know if this works well? Any comments on it?

5. I attempted to find Wind's data offerings on the wind.it site, but I did not find anything. Does anyone have the specific URL for this information? Also a Wind data phone number, for English-speaking people?

While are you looking on sites in strange language when you have everything written in English here?

Anyway, not every page is updated, but you can get an idea about what is the current situation, and it's usually not so good for data. In Italy you don't have problems, all 4 operators have flat rates at some reasonable prices (excepct Vodafone of course, which is more expensive). In other countries you have some other solutions too. Not officially, but I think that also Three Italy offers much cheaper data rates which work on other Three networks outside of Italy... the problem is that they have very little coverage...

unobtrusive · 27-03-2007, 13:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by real_goose

Vodafone.gr also has a prepaid data only option, but it is ultimately quite expensive. It is hidden in the Business section of the website. 43 € for the Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G Prepaid Connection pack and usage is 0,0042€/Kb or about 4.20€/Mb.

Yes you're absolutely right, I forgot about that one.

BTW the 43 euros cost includes 43 euros of usage and billing is in 10kb increments.

You can probably lower the cost a bit by refilling in a Vodafone store, which currently gives you 50% extra credit.

robert11111 · **Feedback on Cingular's data offer? -** 29-03-2007, 18:25

I have seen Cingular/AT&T's Global DataConnect plan using the Sierra 875 PC card, which allows unlimited 3G/UMTS/HSDPA/EDGE/GPRS data in the USA, or 100 Mb/mo of data in Europe, at a cost of $139.99/mo, with a one or two year contract. Does anyone know if this service is reliable, and does it work everywhere in Europe? This plan seems all right, except for the 100 Mb limit. Will it pick up GPRS everywhere in Europe?

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	(#1)
robert11111 (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 3 Join Date: 22 Mar 2007 Country:	Data in Europe? - 22-03-2007, 17:19 I am traveling throughout Europe, presently in Italy, then to Switzerland, Austria, Greece, etc. I need data download and upload everywhere, perhaps 100 Mb/month, or preferably 300 Mb/month or more. Most of the time, I just need email and some internet browsing. But a few times per month, I need to upload or download files that are, perhaps, 50 Mb in size. I need a data card (or cellphone that can also be a modem) and a reliable plan that can get high-speed data coverage all over Europe, falling back to a lower speed, such as GPRS, when necessary. Can anyone recommend a good data plan, either prepaid or subscription? Also a necessary data card or cellphone? I will probably spend a month or two in each country, sometimes more or less. So far, I have seen Cingular/AT&T's Global DataConnect plan using the Sierra 875 PC card, which allows unlimited 3G/UMTS/HSDPA/EDGE/GPRS data in the USA, or 100 Mb/mo of data in Europe, at a cost of $139.99/mo, with a one or two year contract. Does anyone know if this service is reliable, and does it work everywhere in Europe? This plan seems all right, except for the 100 Mb limit. I also found an offer in Italy from TIM, where you buy a Huawei E620 card for 249 euros, and then pay 25 euros for a one-month sim that allows 9 Gb/mo of evening and weekend data. The TIM rep in Italy said that similar sims were available in other countries, but the Greek rep denied this possibility. Does anyone know if this plan is useful everywhere, or only in Italy? Thank you.

	(#2)
Effendi (Offline) The great Dictator! Prepaid Prophet Posts: 2,487 Join Date: 13 Jan 2004 Location: Trieste/Trst Country:	22-03-2007, 18:01 That plan works in Italy only. When you are here in Italy I suggest a prepaid card of the UMTS operator 3. With 9 euros per month you can get up to 50MB per day, which is not bad at all. 3 has the widest 3G HSDPA coverage in Italy. And it's also the most reliable 3G network here. They also have a 5GB/month plan too... Another option is the Mega15000 offer by Wind: you have 5GB/month in Italy or 50MB outside of Italy, which is not much, but could help. All for 30 euros per month. Unfortunately Wind has almost no HSDPA coverage and 3G only in bigger towns. They have anyway several 3G roaming agreements outside of Italy (I just used it once again in Germany on several networks). AFAIK in Greece there is no similar offer, while in Switzerland there's surely something and in Austria maybe there could be some offer by 3 Austria, but their coverage is quite ridiculous... surely there's some offer with A1 Mobilkom but they are generally very expensive. I suggest you to buy ad PC card on eBay which supports UMTS/HSDPA on the European frequency (2GHz). I fear the card sold by Cingular works only on the American 3G frequency (1.9GHz) and in Europe is useable only on GSM/GPRS/EDGE. Anyway in several places you can find "open" Wifi networks... Working Prepaids: IT: Wind, Vodafone IT, UNO Mobile; SM: Prima; UK: 3, Virgin; INT: TravelSIM, Truphone. Deceased Prepaids: CZ: Oskar, Eurotel; SK: Orange; DE: E-Plus, Aldi, Simyo; GE: Geocell; AM: Armentel; PL: Heyah, Plus; LT: Tele2; LV: Amigo; EE: Elisa; UA: Kyivstar; NZ: Vodafone; INT: UM, UM+, ICQSim. GSM/3G Phones: Nokia Lumia 630 dual sim

	(#4)
robert11111 (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 3 Join Date: 22 Mar 2007 Country:	More on Europe data.. - 26-03-2007, 19:32 Thank you for the replies. I have some more questions: 1. Can anyone recommend the best unlocked PC data card for the immediate future, one that is useful on various systems in Europe, one that will work with subscription-based or prepaid SIMs? Is the Huawei E620 or 600 a good bet? 2. You mentioned that I need a 2 GHz card. Do you mean 2.1 GHz, i.e., 2100 MHz? 3. Are there any no-contract data SIMs available that will work in Europe? I know of the one offer from Tim in Italy, but that is only useful in Italy. I think that it cost about 25 euros for 9 Gb/mo, evenings and weekends only. The SIM is good for one month only. I wonder if I can buy the one data card, and then buy prepaid SIMs in other European countries. 4. I called www.three.co.uk, and they said they have a subscription plan that works in UK, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, and a couple of other countries, without roaming charges. It costs 20 £/mo for 100 Mb, 30 £/mo for 256 Mb, and 45 £/mo for 1 Gb, with a one-year minimum contract and a free data card. Does anyone know if this works well? Any comments on it? 5. I attempted to find Wind's data offerings on the wind.it site, but I did not find anything. Does anyone have the specific URL for this information? Also a Wind data phone number, for English-speaking people? Thank you.

	(#5)
real_goose (Offline) Junior Member Amateur Member Posts: 16 Join Date: 26 Mar 2007 Location: Tampa Country:	Data in Greece - 26-03-2007, 21:16 The Sierra 875 does support UMTS/HSDPA frequencies in both the US and Europe. Make sure it is unlocked if you want to use other than Cingular SIMs. (These are just starting to show up on Ebay.) Vodafone.gr also has a prepaid data only option, but it is ultimately quite expensive. It is hidden in the Business section of the website. 43 € for the Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G Prepaid Connection pack and usage is 0,0042€/Kb or about 4.20€/Mb. (When you select English ignore the 'coming soon' and select Business , then Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G Broadband.) You purchase the connection kit at Vodafone shops and then use scratch off cards to refill. Darrell in Detroit

	(#8)
robert11111 (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 3 Join Date: 22 Mar 2007 Country:	Feedback on Cingular's data offer? - 29-03-2007, 18:25 I have seen Cingular/AT&T's Global DataConnect plan using the Sierra 875 PC card, which allows unlimited 3G/UMTS/HSDPA/EDGE/GPRS data in the USA, or 100 Mb/mo of data in Europe, at a cost of $139.99/mo, with a one or two year contract. Does anyone know if this service is reliable, and does it work everywhere in Europe? This plan seems all right, except for the 100 Mb limit. Will it pick up GPRS everywhere in Europe?