Traverller's Mobile/cellurlar Options In England?

iCarianThoughT · 22-08-2006, 04:13

Going to be in and around London for two weeks with family, wondering what some options are for having a mobile with me, phone cost and usage fees, not sure really what to do and a bit confused by the options (not familiar with current mobile technologies, read through the FAQ here on GSM & W-CDMA overiew though). If some one would be so kind as to direct me to some option breakdowns that would be great, what I can make out so far would be a phone around $20, activation though a carrier maybe $5-10 and a sim card for $5, but not sure. Trying to keep it as light on the wallet as possible.

~Thanks.

unlocked · 22-08-2006, 19:58

First, welcome to prepaidgsm.
I'm a frequent visitor to the UK so I'll give you my thoughts.

For a few weeks, getting pay-as-you-go service is fairly cheap and very easy. Most of the main carriers will sell you a SIM card (without a phone) for not much money. One place to look is Carphone Warehouse, which has stores all over the UK--here's their page on sim-only offers: http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/commerce/...N&NODE_ID=10373. The price plans vary but not by a whole lot if you're just going to be a light user inside the UK. They do vary a lot, though, in the cost of calls to the US: for that I use Orange which is 20p/minute, not bad for the convenience though if you're really pinching pence you'd be better off buying a phone card at a newsagent shop.

The bigger problem is the phone itself. If you use a GSM carrier in the US (Cingular most places, T-Mobile and some regional ones) you MIGHT already have a usable phone but it needs to be at least "tri-band" and "unlocked." Check with your carrier and you might already have what you need or could upgrade at a reasonable price (thus landing a better phone for US use, too). If you have a little time, check out GSM phones on ebay--you want phone-only, tri- or quad-band, unlocked. You can get really good new ones for around $100, older models for much less if you're willing to take some risk on condition. You could buy from a UK carrier when you arrive but that will take a little time and may end up being fairly pricey: Orange right now has nice basic phones with prepaid sims for ?30 to ?60 but they won't be triband (ie won't work in US) and to double the price in pounds to get dollars. Similar deals at Carphone Warehouse (http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/com...&NODE_ID=10372).

Others may have more specific advice on carriers or phones but I hope this helps.

Triband81 · 22-08-2006, 20:02

You can get a prepaid phone bundled with a SIM in a wide variety of places in the UK. Virgin Mobile UK tends to be the best deal for roamers.

This question has been discussed below in the included links:

http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/uk.html
http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/index.php?...323&hl=sim+card
http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/inde...topic=1301&hl=
http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/inde...wtopic=395&hl=

Furthermore, here are some links to prepaid packages in the UK:

Virgin Mobile:
http://www.virginmobile.com/vm/payAsYouGoPhones.do
http://www.virginmobile.com/vm/genericCont...rrif.shop.sm018 (UK usage prices)
http://www.virginmobile.com/vm/genericCont...uk.howdoi.sm032 (Calling abroad from the UK)

Carphone Warehouse:

Prepaid SIMs only: http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/commerce/...N&NODE_ID=10373

Prepaid Phone & SIM packages (all in one):
http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/commerce/...LD=MinimumPrice

Special offers:
http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/commerce/...B&NODE_ID=10372

MATHA531 · 04-09-2006, 12:45

For a short visit, I would say the best bet right now today is Mobile World offered by carphone warehouse...currently the sim is free and you prepay for 5ime.

Their rates to the USA, Canada are 5p/minute...you pretty much can't beat that...Australia and New Zealand are 6p/minute.....other international destinations are pretty cheap also.

Within the UK, calls to other networks are 15p/minute cheaper than most...local calls within the UK are also only 15p/minute certainly very competitive although you can do better withother carriers if you use more than 5 minutes a day (see Virgin Mobile for example|.

Downside of Mobile World...they charge you to check your balance...they don't allow roaming outside the UK and they have a very limited shelf life (90 days) and since you can't roam outside the UK, you can't keep the sim alive by sending a SMS or some other cheap event.....but then again since the sim is free it's not a big deal to pick up a new one every time you go to the UK (although you lose any unused credit...just keep it low when you leave the UK and it's no big deal).

TheMadBrewer · 11-09-2006, 08:12

FYI, I was in a similar situation the past summer -- my Dad and I were going to visit London and I wanted a way to co-ordinate things. I needed the SIMs and numbers before I left (for other reasons) and bought 2 Virgin Mobile SIMs off ebay. It came to under $30 with shipping and each had GBP 5 worth of airtime. It worked like a charm. The included airtime covered our 10 days there (I think it was 15p for Virgin to Virgin calls)

Motel75 · 11-09-2006, 18:38

Don't bother buying off eBay. Just go shopping when you get there. Have a look at Carphone Warehouse (which is everywhere) or one of its competitors, or just go to a Virgin store (also everywhere). You can always call your friends in the US and tell them your number; it's 20p a minute from Virgin. (Be sure your American friends have an "international calling plan" or an international calling card; my sister did not, and using her home phone to check my German voicemail and say hi to friends cost just under $4.50 a minute instead of 8 cents. This is apparently common practice with several phone companies, in this case Verizon.)

If you have a GSM phone that supports BOTH 900 and 1800 MHz, you're in luck, you don't need to buy one. However, several networks now require dual-band (900/1800) phones, although depending on their legacy frequencies, you might be able to get it to work anyway if you only have one of these.

However, if your phone is not quad-band, my recommendation would be to look for a phone with SIM, as these can be very cheap, sometimes GBP 20 or so. On the whole, I'd recommend Virgin, because it has reasonable prices (first 5 minutes of every day is 15p, thereafter 5p), international roaming, and you can keep the account going forever just by placing a single call once a year, in case you're planning a return trip. OTOH, if you've got a phone that works (or can get one cheaply), are just planning a single trip, and are primarily calling abroad, go for the mobileworld card from Carphone Warehouse. 15p national calls and low international rates, though no way to keep the account from dying if you're outside the country for 6 months as there's no international roaming.

If you don't know your way around London, you can always go to Tottenham Court Road on the Underground, which is at one end of Oxford Street, and you have Virgin Megastore, Carphone Warehouse, and several other stores withing a short distance.

TheMadBrewer · 12-09-2006, 06:07

One of my phones was a "US TriBand" (850/1800/1900) but it worked fine with Virgin as I believe they are only 1800. If you don't need the phones to coordinate arrivals (as I did) then, yes do buy the SIMs when you arrive. If you are like we were -- groups arriving at different times and needing the phones to meet up, then order them ahead of time -- its not all *that* much more expensive.

MATHA531 · 12-09-2006, 09:55

Virgin requires one chargeable event every 180 days I think not a year (at least that's what the literature says) so instead of making an expensive phone call while roaming to keep it active, why not simply send a text message...virgin charges ?1.40/minute to make a call while roaming in the USA but only 35p for a text message (even cheaper, I set up GPRS on my virgin phone, went to www.polyphonicringtonez.com\wap, downloaded a free ring tone, and it cost me all of 9p even though I was in the USA and that should do the trick!

But you're right about Mobile World although prices for calls to the USA are incredibly cheap (5p/minute although rounded up to the next highest minute) but last time I was in London, the sim card was free and you only had to buy air time ( believe 10 quid minimum so I used almost all of it so it was no big deal that the card expired...I didn't feel I had lost anything)...I rarely have people reach me via calling the UK number anyway...I have calls forwarded and use my USA number either through my ld carrier (AT&T) or if voicestick can ever resolve the issue of being charged for a 5 minute call when the call goes to voicemail that would be better as the caller hears a message "we are connecting your call"...as a matter of fact on some mobile plans in the UK it is cheaper for my friends to call my USA number (although I pay a bit) than to pay the high cross network fees on their plans.

Finally, Motel 75, if whomever is calling you in the USA doesn't have a good ld plan for foreign calls, tell them to prefix the call with 1016868 (fron a landline)...cuts the price to a German mobile to something like 13?/minute; at least I think that's what it is (you can check current rates)....

Motel75 · 12-09-2006, 13:05

Thanks for the tip.

As far as Virgin goes, their website says 180 days, but staff have told me that it's really 365, although after that it's really dead. True, an SMS would be a better idea. I just said "place a call" because my brother in Mississippi is in the same situation, and I'm not sure he knows how to send a text message, so that was the advice I gave him...

iCarianThoughT · 12-09-2006, 19:25

Wow, great response, sorry I should have made metion where the calls would be, mainly local once in the UK, land lines and other mobiles, England for the majority. Calling US for decent $ would be nice but if anything the calls would be well < 5 min.

How would I figure what a call from a disposable Int'l phone would be calling from Italy, I mean what would the rate be headed under for it to call me in England?

I'll go over the info when I get in, just wanted to see what I had to work with.

~Thanks much.

	(#1)
iCarianThoughT (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 2 Join Date: 22 Aug 2006	22-08-2006, 04:13 Going to be in and around London for two weeks with family, wondering what some options are for having a mobile with me, phone cost and usage fees, not sure really what to do and a bit confused by the options (not familiar with current mobile technologies, read through the FAQ here on GSM & W-CDMA overiew though). If some one would be so kind as to direct me to some option breakdowns that would be great, what I can make out so far would be a phone around $20, activation though a carrier maybe $5-10 and a sim card for $5, but not sure. Trying to keep it as light on the wallet as possible. ~Thanks.

	(#2)
unlocked (Offline) Member Advanced Member Posts: 77 Join Date: 01 Apr 2004 Location: North Carolina Country:	22-08-2006, 19:58 First, welcome to prepaidgsm. I'm a frequent visitor to the UK so I'll give you my thoughts. For a few weeks, getting pay-as-you-go service is fairly cheap and very easy. Most of the main carriers will sell you a SIM card (without a phone) for not much money. One place to look is Carphone Warehouse, which has stores all over the UK--here's their page on sim-only offers: http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/commerce/...N&NODE_ID=10373. The price plans vary but not by a whole lot if you're just going to be a light user inside the UK. They do vary a lot, though, in the cost of calls to the US: for that I use Orange which is 20p/minute, not bad for the convenience though if you're really pinching pence you'd be better off buying a phone card at a newsagent shop. The bigger problem is the phone itself. If you use a GSM carrier in the US (Cingular most places, T-Mobile and some regional ones) you MIGHT already have a usable phone but it needs to be at least "tri-band" and "unlocked." Check with your carrier and you might already have what you need or could upgrade at a reasonable price (thus landing a better phone for US use, too). If you have a little time, check out GSM phones on ebay--you want phone-only, tri- or quad-band, unlocked. You can get really good new ones for around $100, older models for much less if you're willing to take some risk on condition. You could buy from a UK carrier when you arrive but that will take a little time and may end up being fairly pricey: Orange right now has nice basic phones with prepaid sims for ?30 to ?60 but they won't be triband (ie won't work in US) and to double the price in pounds to get dollars. Similar deals at Carphone Warehouse (http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/com...&NODE_ID=10372). Others may have more specific advice on carriers or phones but I hope this helps.

	(#3)
Triband81 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Pioneer Posts: 529 Join Date: 01 Dec 2004 Location: Köln Country:	22-08-2006, 20:02 You can get a prepaid phone bundled with a SIM in a wide variety of places in the UK. Virgin Mobile UK tends to be the best deal for roamers. This question has been discussed below in the included links: http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/uk.html http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/index.php?...323&hl=sim+card http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/inde...topic=1301&hl= http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/inde...wtopic=395&hl= Furthermore, here are some links to prepaid packages in the UK: Virgin Mobile: http://www.virginmobile.com/vm/payAsYouGoPhones.do http://www.virginmobile.com/vm/genericCont...rrif.shop.sm018 (UK usage prices) http://www.virginmobile.com/vm/genericCont...uk.howdoi.sm032 (Calling abroad from the UK) Carphone Warehouse: Prepaid SIMs only: http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/commerce/...N&NODE_ID=10373 Prepaid Phone & SIM packages (all in one): http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/commerce/...LD=MinimumPrice Special offers: http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/commerce/...B&NODE_ID=10372

	(#4)
MATHA531 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Specialist Posts: 869 Join Date: 15 Oct 2004 Country:	04-09-2006, 12:45 For a short visit, I would say the best bet right now today is Mobile World offered by carphone warehouse...currently the sim is free and you prepay for 5ime. Their rates to the USA, Canada are 5p/minute...you pretty much can't beat that...Australia and New Zealand are 6p/minute.....other international destinations are pretty cheap also. Within the UK, calls to other networks are 15p/minute cheaper than most...local calls within the UK are also only 15p/minute certainly very competitive although you can do better withother carriers if you use more than 5 minutes a day (see Virgin Mobile for example\|. Downside of Mobile World...they charge you to check your balance...they don't allow roaming outside the UK and they have a very limited shelf life (90 days) and since you can't roam outside the UK, you can't keep the sim alive by sending a SMS or some other cheap event.....but then again since the sim is free it's not a big deal to pick up a new one every time you go to the UK (although you lose any unused credit...just keep it low when you leave the UK and it's no big deal).

	(#5)
TheMadBrewer (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Fan Posts: 127 Join Date: 01 Jun 2005 Location: Marina del Rey, CA Country:	11-09-2006, 08:12 FYI, I was in a similar situation the past summer -- my Dad and I were going to visit London and I wanted a way to co-ordinate things. I needed the SIMs and numbers before I left (for other reasons) and bought 2 Virgin Mobile SIMs off ebay. It came to under $30 with shipping and each had GBP 5 worth of airtime. It worked like a charm. The included airtime covered our 10 days there (I think it was 15p for Virgin to Virgin calls) Whole bunch of SIMs, mostly dead, some still working...

	(#6)
Motel75 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Pioneer Posts: 573 Join Date: 15 Jun 2006 Location: Berlin Country:	11-09-2006, 18:38 Don't bother buying off eBay. Just go shopping when you get there. Have a look at Carphone Warehouse (which is everywhere) or one of its competitors, or just go to a Virgin store (also everywhere). You can always call your friends in the US and tell them your number; it's 20p a minute from Virgin. (Be sure your American friends have an "international calling plan" or an international calling card; my sister did not, and using her home phone to check my German voicemail and say hi to friends cost just under $4.50 a minute instead of 8 cents. This is apparently common practice with several phone companies, in this case Verizon.) If you have a GSM phone that supports BOTH 900 and 1800 MHz, you're in luck, you don't need to buy one. However, several networks now require dual-band (900/1800) phones, although depending on their legacy frequencies, you might be able to get it to work anyway if you only have one of these. However, if your phone is not quad-band, my recommendation would be to look for a phone with SIM, as these can be very cheap, sometimes GBP 20 or so. On the whole, I'd recommend Virgin, because it has reasonable prices (first 5 minutes of every day is 15p, thereafter 5p), international roaming, and you can keep the account going forever just by placing a single call once a year, in case you're planning a return trip. OTOH, if you've got a phone that works (or can get one cheaply), are just planning a single trip, and are primarily calling abroad, go for the mobileworld card from Carphone Warehouse. 15p national calls and low international rates, though no way to keep the account from dying if you're outside the country for 6 months as there's no international roaming. If you don't know your way around London, you can always go to Tottenham Court Road on the Underground, which is at one end of Oxford Street, and you have Virgin Megastore, Carphone Warehouse, and several other stores withing a short distance. Current DE: Vodafone, Netzklub; PL: Klucz, Virgin; UK: Giffgaff, Vodafone; US: T-Mobile; CA: 7-Eleven; IT: Vodafone; UA: Kyivstar; FR: Bouygues; GR: Vodafone Former DE: Vodafone, T-Mobile, O2, Blauworld, 01051mobile, Solomo, Lycamobile, Simyo, Congstar, Fonic, Edeka Mobile, Lidl Mobile; PL: Heyah, Era, Virgin, Sami Swoi, Orange, POP, iPlus, Carrefour Mova, Telepin Mobi, Play, Lycamobile, T-Mobile; UK: Vodafone, T-Mobile, Virgin; US: T-Mobile, AT&T, Lycamobile; CZ: Vodafone, Oskar; ES: Lebara; GR: Vodafone, Wind; UA: Vodafone; IL: Orange; TR: Turkcell

	(#7)
TheMadBrewer (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Fan Posts: 127 Join Date: 01 Jun 2005 Location: Marina del Rey, CA Country:	12-09-2006, 06:07 One of my phones was a "US TriBand" (850/1800/1900) but it worked fine with Virgin as I believe they are only 1800. If you don't need the phones to coordinate arrivals (as I did) then, yes do buy the SIMs when you arrive. If you are like we were -- groups arriving at different times and needing the phones to meet up, then order them ahead of time -- its not all that much more expensive. Whole bunch of SIMs, mostly dead, some still working...

	(#8)
MATHA531 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Specialist Posts: 869 Join Date: 15 Oct 2004 Country:	12-09-2006, 09:55 Virgin requires one chargeable event every 180 days I think not a year (at least that's what the literature says) so instead of making an expensive phone call while roaming to keep it active, why not simply send a text message...virgin charges ?1.40/minute to make a call while roaming in the USA but only 35p for a text message (even cheaper, I set up GPRS on my virgin phone, went to www.polyphonicringtonez.com\wap, downloaded a free ring tone, and it cost me all of 9p even though I was in the USA and that should do the trick! But you're right about Mobile World although prices for calls to the USA are incredibly cheap (5p/minute although rounded up to the next highest minute) but last time I was in London, the sim card was free and you only had to buy air time ( believe 10 quid minimum so I used almost all of it so it was no big deal that the card expired...I didn't feel I had lost anything)...I rarely have people reach me via calling the UK number anyway...I have calls forwarded and use my USA number either through my ld carrier (AT&T) or if voicestick can ever resolve the issue of being charged for a 5 minute call when the call goes to voicemail that would be better as the caller hears a message "we are connecting your call"...as a matter of fact on some mobile plans in the UK it is cheaper for my friends to call my USA number (although I pay a bit) than to pay the high cross network fees on their plans. Finally, Motel 75, if whomever is calling you in the USA doesn't have a good ld plan for foreign calls, tell them to prefix the call with 1016868 (fron a landline)...cuts the price to a German mobile to something like 13?/minute; at least I think that's what it is (you can check current rates)....

	(#9)
Motel75 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Pioneer Posts: 573 Join Date: 15 Jun 2006 Location: Berlin Country:	12-09-2006, 13:05 Thanks for the tip. As far as Virgin goes, their website says 180 days, but staff have told me that it's really 365, although after that it's really dead. True, an SMS would be a better idea. I just said "place a call" because my brother in Mississippi is in the same situation, and I'm not sure he knows how to send a text message, so that was the advice I gave him... Current DE: Vodafone, Netzklub; PL: Klucz, Virgin; UK: Giffgaff, Vodafone; US: T-Mobile; CA: 7-Eleven; IT: Vodafone; UA: Kyivstar; FR: Bouygues; GR: Vodafone Former DE: Vodafone, T-Mobile, O2, Blauworld, 01051mobile, Solomo, Lycamobile, Simyo, Congstar, Fonic, Edeka Mobile, Lidl Mobile; PL: Heyah, Era, Virgin, Sami Swoi, Orange, POP, iPlus, Carrefour Mova, Telepin Mobi, Play, Lycamobile, T-Mobile; UK: Vodafone, T-Mobile, Virgin; US: T-Mobile, AT&T, Lycamobile; CZ: Vodafone, Oskar; ES: Lebara; GR: Vodafone, Wind; UA: Vodafone; IL: Orange; TR: Turkcell

	(#10)
iCarianThoughT (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 2 Join Date: 22 Aug 2006	12-09-2006, 19:25 Wow, great response, sorry I should have made metion where the calls would be, mainly local once in the UK, land lines and other mobiles, England for the majority. Calling US for decent $ would be nice but if anything the calls would be well < 5 min. How would I figure what a call from a disposable Int'l phone would be calling from Italy, I mean what would the rate be headed under for it to call me in England? I'll go over the info when I get in, just wanted to see what I had to work with. ~Thanks much.