Where can I get italian sims at reasonable price?

[christicc@gmail.com]

Looking to get 4 italian sims with italian number

[wolfbln]

Hi Christi
This question sounds a bit strange for people from continental Europe. The first answer they'd give you is: 'In Italy of course.'

Now, I should know if you are unsure, where to buy a SIM card in that country or if you rather like to buy a SIM in advance through the internet (which is very common for Irish or UK-issued SIM cards).

In Italy look for the operator's shops: TIM, Vodafone, Tre (3) or Wind. You can get Poste Mobile in any post office and some other operators in (larger) supermarkets of Coop and some even at kiosks (for Lycamobile or Ringo).

The reason for this is a very strict registration policy in Italy. You need to show up on location showing your ID (or passport). They will register your name and activate the SIM card for you. This registration has no loopholes and is pretty strictly enforced in the country. This totally dried up the market through the internet.

That's why it's hard to find any reasonable priced SIM card on the internet to be purchased before your journey. They are either overpriced roaming SIM cards from other countries or might be some black-market and therefore illegal SIMs registered on somebody else's name that you can never be sure of, that they are really going to work.

So my advice: Wait until you get to Italy. There like in your country, some SIM cards are free, but require a plan or an immediate top-up, some will be for up to €10 with some credit preloaded.

The problem is that most airports don't have operator's stores. So you need to get to downtown and it may be hard to find a local SIM on Sundays. If you need data, text or voice from the start, you may bring a Three IE or Meteor prepaid (or rather PAYG in Ireland) SIM from your country to bridge this gap. They have good roaming offers for Italy too.