Italy SIM Help

[jgrahamiii]

Hi. I'm travelling to Itlay from the USA this summer and have purchased on EBay an unlocked quadband Motorola V188. When I did that, I didn't realize buying the phone would be only 1/4 of the issue! There seem so many choices for SIMs and despite a lot of reading, I still don't understand some things.

I will probably be calling the US more than Italy, but I estimate that my total usage will probably amount to 30-50 euro's based upon the rates listed on this site if I figured it correctly. So I don't think paying for a SIM before I leave or an international SIM makes sense. Better to buy one of the Italian National SIM's when I get there.

That's my first question. I generated a 'codice fiscale' on line and will have a copy of my passport. Will I have any problem buying a SIM in Italy? Is there any reason not to buy it right at the airport in Rome?

Second is which system and which plan. I estimated my various usages and the cost based on the prices listed in this site for each plan (hard to figure exactly, since I will never know if I'm calling a landline or what kind of mobile in Italy). My next question is that where there is a per minute charge and a setup charge, do you get charged both the setup fee and the per minute fee for the first minute?

Next question is about the WIND "Call My Country" promotion. Because many of my calls will be to the US, that is clearly my best option(.35 instead of .50 per min). It is also free if activated within 24 hours of buying a new SIM. How do I activate this? Will the person at the WIND store do it for me? Is it available with each of the WIND plans? In addition to larger Cities, where I am not worried, I will also be in Sorrento, Pompeii, Positano and the Tuscan countryside. Should I be concerned about coverage in these areas with WIND (vs. TIM or Vodafone)? Lastly, how hard is it to find a WIND store? Is there one in the Leonardo DiVinci airport?

With an Italy SIM card, how do you set up and retrieve voice mail? Is there an initial password on the card?

As a last question, I've seen several cards offered for sale on TIM either on EBAY or sites like Telestatial. I probably won't spend the extra money for these, but some of the rate plans I've seen are not the same as any on your website. Is the plan built into the SIM card? Can you change plans if you want? How do you do that? Do you need to buy a recharge card for your particular plan or does it recharge whatever plan you have?

Sorry for all the questions. I just don't want to spend half my vacation figuring out how to get my cell to work or get hit with large bills! Please note, I'm not interested in internet or data. Thanks very much for any help anyone can offer! -Jen

[Effendi]

1) No problem... if you find the shop! For example I fear there's only a Vodafone shop at FCO airport, maybe TIM, hardly Wind or 3... (but I could be wrong)

2) Yeah, first minute you pay set-up plus full minute (or usually 30 second). Of course with 1/1 tariffs you pay by the second.

3) Ask the customer to activate it (BTW it's "Call YOUR country", not my :P), it's free and there's no problem with any plan (I suggest you Wind12 or SenzaScatto). Consider that it could take up to 24 hours before the option is active. Also tell the customer to set you the English menu when calling 4242. Wind should have the best coverage in Tuscany while should have no big problems in the other places you are visiting.

4) Uhm... I never use it, but usually with Wind you just have to dial 4040 and follow the instructions, which I hope are in English too... but I used it last time really much time ago. Calling 4040 has a fee, while receiving messages is of course free for you.

5) Buy it in shops here, it's much cheaper and much better for registration problems. With Wind you have to choose which plan you want (there are just 2, plus Wind5 which has a different starting kit) at the moment of the activation, the same should be with Vodafone, while with TIM you should have a preactivated one. Of course you can change, but you pay (7 euros with Wind).

I hope it's all, since I'm leaving in 1 hour! Anyway if you need other help there are other good Italians here!

Enjoy your trip!

[jgrahamiii]

Thanks very much! That is a big help. Looks like all I need to do is to find a WIND store in Rome when we get there. I've tried to find a store locator on line, but my Italian is not good enough to understand much of the www.mondowind.it website (as you can see, I at least found out that the Wind stores are probably called MondoWind). Is there a way to find addresses on line? Perhaps even an on-line Roma phone book?

Also, I'm assuming that the two places you wrote "customer" in the very helpful reply you meant "salesman". Your english is excellent, so a translation error like that makes me wonder if in Italian the word for saleman translates more directly to customer in English. I'm trying to learn as much Italian as I can before our trip, and I find it fascinating sometimes how an Italian term sometimes translates litterally into English. Such as "l'angolo", for "the corner" would probably directly translage to "the angle". My current favorite, though it's not a translating issue, is a term I found on the WIND website -- Passa a Wind. I don't know what that means in Italian (I think it has something to do with "passing" your current TIM or Vodafone number to a WIND account), but in English it would mean "pass gas" (is a gently as I can put it). Mille Grazie! -Jen.

[Effendi]

Hi Jen, sorry if I reply only now, but I was in Belarus and Lithuania till this morning.
Of course I meant salesman or dealer, I don't know I wrote customer!

Anyway you can locate Wind dealers here:
http://www.wind.it/it/privati/rivenditori.php

and if you need help with Italian just ask!

[jgrahamiii]

Thanks very much. That's a big help. -Jen