Germany and France

wco81 · **Germany and France -** 17-06-2007, 15:44

Never purchased any SIMs in Europe. Going to Berlin and Nice for a week each at the beginning of July.

Looked at the rate pages on prepaidgsm.net for national SIMs for each country and for the international SIMs.

The info. raises a lot of questions still:

1. Some SIMs in some countries are activated instantly but in others it takes time? So it's advisable to purchase in advance before leaving the US but better deals are available in-country?

I was hoping to pick up something at the airport but that may not be the best option?

2. The per-minute charges, especially from the main network operators and especially in France, aren't that great? Not as bad as Europe roaming costs from US carriers, which can be 99 cents a minute but the French national operators are charging around 60 euro cents per minute?

Some international SIMs aren't that much more expensive if at all?

Meanwhile, MVNOs using those same networks often undercharge the main network operators?

3. Roaming between countries is way expensive, like around 2 euros a minute? EU is trying to change that but does that apply to prepaid SIMs or only to people with monthly plans?

4. What is CSD?

5. I have an unlocked Nokia E61i, which has a QWERTY keyboard, quadband and supposedly WCDMA 2100.

Some SIMs offer UMTS but they list voice and data calls? The UMTS voice rates seem higher than the regular voice rates (even though 3G supposedly has lower operating costs)?

Data rates seem prohibitive, like several cents for a few kiloBYTE as well as per-minute connection charges? A web page can load several hundred kBs so you could be paying several euros just to load a web page? Is that right or am I missing something? GPRS isn't any cheaper either.

I had heard that some UK plans have flat fee for 3G data and assumed European plans might be similar but it seems if they offer data at all on prepaid plans, it's always metered for data and often for connection time.

If I could have done some 3G surfing occasionally and paid say 10 euros each week, it might be worth trying out, since in the US, my phone doesn't support the 3G data bands. But it sounds really prohibitive just to sample even a little bit.

Anyone find things any different as far as UMTS data?

Regarding the overall strategy for 2 countries for 2 weeks, it seems picking up a MVNO of E-Plus and then whatever the cheapest in France would be the best idea. I'm more likely to return to France before the SIM and credits expire. Don't anticipate having to recharge so getting the cheapest SIM seems to be an idea and just letting them expire.

The international SIMs may be of value to Americans going to several countries but wouldn't people trying to call you from a French phone have to pay a lot to call a UK or Lichtenstein number? Maybe they see that country code and doesn't bother making the call, instead expect you to call back?

	(#1)
wco81 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 304 Join Date: 17 Jun 2007 Country:	Germany and France - 17-06-2007, 15:44 Never purchased any SIMs in Europe. Going to Berlin and Nice for a week each at the beginning of July. Looked at the rate pages on prepaidgsm.net for national SIMs for each country and for the international SIMs. The info. raises a lot of questions still: 1. Some SIMs in some countries are activated instantly but in others it takes time? So it's advisable to purchase in advance before leaving the US but better deals are available in-country? I was hoping to pick up something at the airport but that may not be the best option? 2. The per-minute charges, especially from the main network operators and especially in France, aren't that great? Not as bad as Europe roaming costs from US carriers, which can be 99 cents a minute but the French national operators are charging around 60 euro cents per minute? Some international SIMs aren't that much more expensive if at all? Meanwhile, MVNOs using those same networks often undercharge the main network operators? 3. Roaming between countries is way expensive, like around 2 euros a minute? EU is trying to change that but does that apply to prepaid SIMs or only to people with monthly plans? 4. What is CSD? 5. I have an unlocked Nokia E61i, which has a QWERTY keyboard, quadband and supposedly WCDMA 2100. Some SIMs offer UMTS but they list voice and data calls? The UMTS voice rates seem higher than the regular voice rates (even though 3G supposedly has lower operating costs)? Data rates seem prohibitive, like several cents for a few kiloBYTE as well as per-minute connection charges? A web page can load several hundred kBs so you could be paying several euros just to load a web page? Is that right or am I missing something? GPRS isn't any cheaper either. I had heard that some UK plans have flat fee for 3G data and assumed European plans might be similar but it seems if they offer data at all on prepaid plans, it's always metered for data and often for connection time. If I could have done some 3G surfing occasionally and paid say 10 euros each week, it might be worth trying out, since in the US, my phone doesn't support the 3G data bands. But it sounds really prohibitive just to sample even a little bit. Anyone find things any different as far as UMTS data? Regarding the overall strategy for 2 countries for 2 weeks, it seems picking up a MVNO of E-Plus and then whatever the cheapest in France would be the best idea. I'm more likely to return to France before the SIM and credits expire. Don't anticipate having to recharge so getting the cheapest SIM seems to be an idea and just letting them expire. The international SIMs may be of value to Americans going to several countries but wouldn't people trying to call you from a French phone have to pay a lot to call a UK or Lichtenstein number? Maybe they see that country code and doesn't bother making the call, instead expect you to call back?