lower rates from July 1?

[davidtheprof]

The new EU-mandated rates are due to start July 1, and I see that some of the UK carriers are lowering their data rates, but closer to £1/MB than the 50p/MB that the EU requires. (Orange has not announced yet, though has adjusted its rates a bit in last few months). And mostly in various bundles, so you end up spending more per MB. Won't they be in violation of new law?

I live in the US, and use PAYG orange sim card when visiting. Want to be able to use it throughout Europe.

[davidtheprof]

Giffgaff just announced lower rates to comply with the July 1 deadline, looks like one of the simplest solutions.
Still waiting to see what Truphone does (I have two of their simcards!)

the major UK carriers are offering complex bundles that don't help PAYG visitors much

[fsotirop]

i am not quite sure that Truphone will lower their rates... even with today's market standards, their rates are higher than competition. i wouldn't recommend them.

have a look at maxroam simcard, they now offer a true UK number (Vodafone). http://www.maxroam.com/Info/Custom/M...3.aspx?cur=EUR

their roaming rates can be found here: http://www.maxroam.com/Info/Rates.aspx?cur=EUR

you can also attach on your sim a US number..costs 6eur.per month with no extra charges when be called on the US number

another good alternative with a true UK number prefix (not IOM or Jersey numbers) would be piranha mobile http://www.piranha-mobile.com/ .their prefix is +4474185 plus they offer a US number for free, automatically attached to the simcard.
you can also attch local landline numbes for almost all countries for just 4pounds per month, with no extra charges when be called to these numbers.
local uk+german landline numbers cost just 1.75 uk-pounds /month

[inquisitor]

Truphone is registered as a company in NY, USA, so they are not subject to EU regulations despite they may offer numbers from an EU member state.

[fsotirop]

Originally Posted by inquisitor

Truphone is registered as a company in NY, USA, so they are not subject to EU regulations despite they may offer numbers from an EU member state.

that's true, i can't recommend these guys.

[davidtheprof]

thanks for pointing me toward Maxroam and Piranha - lots of innovation going on!

by coincidence, this just appeared on the Truphone blog, perhaps signalling something forthcoming:
Final Countdown for high roaming charges in Europe - The Tru Blog

Truphone does well with very low rates for calls and data in the US, UK, and Australia, and decent rates for short term roaming in rest of Europe. Also very easy to add a UK number for $8 for a month when I visit. But Truphone seems to have been asleep for 2 years while other companies are busy innovating.

I like the way Piranha integrates VOIP, I'd try it just to see how that works. But don't like callback when roaming, (wife wants to keep things simple!)
Also, have to watch the data costs, as costs vary a lot by local provider, and it seems they work with multiple ones in each country.

Interesting that Truphone is officially US-based, originally appeared to be a UK outfit.

[ccplus]

Thanks for the advice, after reading countless blogs and forums about what to get for my trip, decided on the Piranha option Piranha Mobile At first thought it was not working right as every time I logged in to view my usage it was making the calls and texts. But seemed to hardly make a dent in the balance. I contacted them to check and was told that that is correct, what a surprise . I also setup the VoIP as we were staying in a free Wi-Fi hotel and that worked a treat and overall what I thought was going to be an arm and a leg after reading so many blogs worked out to be a really good deal.

[davidtheprof]

And Truphone has now confirmed that they don't plan to reduce rates for non-EU residents.
I can imagine this will be tough to implement, and maybe they’ll eventually be forced to compete with other sim cards that have lowered their rates.
But disappointing in the meantime....

[fsotirop]

truphone rates are out of market, not only now but since last year.

[Bossman]

Outside of Europe, truphone and especially Maxroam are very expensive. So, unless their EU rates are very competitive, I do not see most EU folks considering them at all. Maxroam is a no no for non Eu travelers.