Cell phone in Europe

[FiguringItOut]

I just found out that my cell service provider, My Family Mobile, does not have any service that I can use in Europe. 

I will be in Germany and France for two weeks starting this Thursday and I need to be reachable.  I will need some use of calls and/or txt and I was hoping to have data to use for gps, directions, looking up attractions and such.

Will I be able to just buy a prepaid sim card once I get to Tegel Airport?  Or will I need to get a prepaid phone?  I will need prepaid service that will work in both Germany and France.  What should I look for?  Provider?  Package?

[daverobev]

Any prepaid sim will work in DE and FR.

You will need an unlocked, GSM phone.

You can probably get a cheap one at walmart (anything AT&T I think) and an unlock code off ebay. Check first, though.

Oh, these are unlocked already, how convenient:

"Just a phone": http://www.walmart.com/ip/BLU-Tank-II-T193-GSM-Dual-SIM-Cell-Phone-Unlocked/42119556

Android: http://www.walmart.com/ip/BLU-Dash-J-D070X-GSM-Smartphone-Unlocked/50159405

[FiguringItOut]

thanks.  my phone is already unlocked GSM phone, so I should be fine.

[alsoknownasDean]

Truphone could work, but the data rates are expensive.

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

[rachael talcott]

I was in France last month and bought a prepaid sim card from lefrenchmobile.com.  The only problem I had with it is you can't activate it until you are in France and have 3G service, which the airport in Nice did not have.  Also, it was pretty expensive.  You can get cheaper rates (and even phones) from Le Post (French Post Office)

[SimplyMarvie]

I'd just buy something at the airport when you arrive and then e-mail your number to interested parties -- maybe let a trusted friend at home update your voicemail, if you really need people to get ahold of you.

In my experience cell service in Europe is stupidly affordable, easy to get, and easy to refill. We in the USA are officially Doing It Wrong in this area.

[2buttons]

I'd just buy something at the airport when you arrive and then e-mail your number to interested parties -- maybe let a trusted friend at home update your voicemail, if you really need people to get ahold of you.

In my experience cell service in Europe is stupidly affordable, easy to get, and easy to refill. We in the USA are officially Doing It Wrong in this area.

+1

Tmobile works in germany. You might be able to grab a card before you leave the states with details on prepaid rates - they might operate in france as well.  Otherwise, it might actually be cheaper buying a prepaid sim on the ground, and is simple in both locations. I would avoid airport kiosks and see if there is a store in the airport or nearby.  I think Orange is the big company in France. 

[cerat0n1a]

Tmobile works in germany.

T-mobile is a German company :-)

EU regulation basically means that your phone works all around Europe without worrying about crossing borders. The networks all have roaming deals with each other, so that you can go from country to country and pay about the same (or sometimes less) as you would in the country where you got your SIM card.

Call & Data plans are typically cheaper here than in America. Unless you really need to keep your US number for the duration of the trip, your best option is (assuming you bring an unlocked GSM phone) either to pick up a sim card when you arrive at the airport, go shopping for one in Berlin, or pre-order one off the internet.

[SimplyMarvie]

Call & Data plans are typically cheaper here than in America. Unless you really need to keep your US number for the duration of the trip, your best option is (assuming you bring an unlocked GSM phone) either to pick up a sim card when you arrive at the airport, go shopping for one in Berlin, or pre-order one off the internet.

This is true. I pay nearly as much to keep my US number in 'suspend' while I'm overseas ($5 per month) as I do for unlimited local, intra-EU, and US calls and 5 gigs of data per month. (7 Euro) It's gonna HURT when we go back to the States for training next year and I have to pay US Cell Service prices again. :(

[daverobev]

Call & Data plans are typically cheaper here than in America. Unless you really need to keep your US number for the duration of the trip, your best option is (assuming you bring an unlocked GSM phone) either to pick up a sim card when you arrive at the airport, go shopping for one in Berlin, or pre-order one off the internet.

This is true. I pay nearly as much to keep my US number in 'suspend' while I'm overseas ($5 per month) as I do for unlimited local, intra-EU, and US calls and 5 gigs of data per month. (7 Euro) It's gonna HURT when we go back to the States for training next year and I have to pay US Cell Service prices again. :(

Petrol prices :P

[SimplyMarvie]

Call & Data plans are typically cheaper here than in America. Unless you really need to keep your US number for the duration of the trip, your best option is (assuming you bring an unlocked GSM phone) either to pick up a sim card when you arrive at the airport, go shopping for one in Berlin, or pre-order one off the internet.

This is true. I pay nearly as much to keep my US number in 'suspend' while I'm overseas ($5 per month) as I do for unlimited local, intra-EU, and US calls and 5 gigs of data per month. (7 Euro) It's gonna HURT when we go back to the States for training next year and I have to pay US Cell Service prices again. :(

Petrol prices :P

Yeah, they're about $5 a gallon... but since I'm in the country on a diplomatic visa I get a huge chunk of that back in tax rebates.

What is really gonna kick me in the behind is the difference in metro/bus prices between here (10-25 cents a ride) and DC. (up to $2.75 a ride, and a measurable percentage of the time you don't get where you're going because the train isn't running or you get smoked out or flooded out...)