MAXroam- SIM VOIP card

[viewfly]

What do you guys think of this way to reduce international roaming charges? Basically an Irish company that sell a SIM card for $40 and that you can place up to 50 numbers on (any country) and save a bundle of $$ while roaming internationally? Uses VOIP (voice over internet) to your GSM phone to reduce cost. Esp good to the more expensive roaming countries like Japan, etc.

MAXroam's web page: MAXroam - the sim that doesn't know that you're travelling

Works with any unlocked GSM phone.


An article withe some errors in the NYTimes: You don't need to buy the phone, only the SIM card.
Plus you can always have people reach you via your local phone number with ATT or Tmobile while travelling.

A Cellphone Without Borders - New York Times

[Andy]

This really is not a bad offer, especially since you can chose 50 incoming numbers, if I'm reading this correctly...This is great for people that travel through multiple countries and have people from multiple countries calling them.

I purchased a SIM Card from AceTelecomStore.com before my last Trip and loved it....

[RJB]

Originally Posted by Andy

This really is not a bad offer, especially since you can chose 50 incoming numbers, if I'm reading this correctly...This is great for people that travel through multiple countries and have people from multiple countries calling them.

I purchased a SIM Card from AceTelecomStore.com before my last Trip and loved it....

OHHHH how many minutes did you get.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by RJB

OHHHH how many minutes did you get.

No free minutes, lol, but incoming calls were billed at 35 cents per minute in the countries I visited and outgoing calls were 60 to 69 cents per minute from the countries I called from so this is kinda close to what this is offering.

[RJB]

Oh that is not bad at all.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by RJB

Oh that is not bad at all.

Considering the girl I went with paid something like $1.29 per minute (incoming or outgoing) on her AT&T phone, I think I got a pretty good deal, lol.

[RJB]

Originally Posted by Andy

Considering the girl I went with paid something like $1.29 per minute (incoming or outgoing) on her AT&T phone, I think I got a pretty good deal, lol.

To bad there is not more education out there for people on this.

[viewfly]

Originally Posted by Andy

This really is not a bad offer, especially since you can chose 50 incoming numbers, if I'm reading this correctly...This is great for people that travel through multiple countries and have people from multiple countries calling them.

I purchased a SIM Card from AceTelecomStore.com before my last Trip and loved it....

That seems like a good deal too. It is amazing how on both cards, more nearby, but international countries can have horrible rates.

For example Mexico is $3.00 a minute with these otherwise great plans. That is more then ATT

So how does it work Andy. Do you pick your country and get a local number there? Or do you just get an European number, but no choice which country. It makes a difference if you want people or friends to only make a local call to your phone.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by viewfly

That seems like a good deal too. It is amazing how on both cards, more nearby, but international countries can have horrible rates.

For example Mexico is $3.00 a minute with these otherwise great plans. That is more then ATT

So how does it work Andy. Do you pick your country and get a local number there? Or do you just get an European number, but no choice which country. It makes a difference if you want people or friends to only make a local call to your phone.

You know that is a good question...I am not completely sure...This is what I read on their website:
-When you first sign up you can choose a phone number for your SIM in the USA, France, UK or Ireland free of charge. You can add as many as 50 numbers to your SIM from any of the following countries.
...but no countries follow...am I reading this correctly that you can simply chose a phone number and then add 50 more phone numbers to your SIM????

The SIM Card that I own from AceTelecom has a phone number based out of Estonia. They also give you a free 800 number for callers that want to call you from the U.S. and this service has worked flawless for me across Europe. As you mention, it is crazy how the "cheap" rates in some countries turn into horrible rates in some nearby countries, like North America...I wonder why??? Also, my SIM Card never expires and does not require a minimum usage or anything.

I will see if I can find out more information about this MAX Roam SIM, because I may get myself one of those too.

[Andy]

Alright, here is something else I found on their website...this really does more and more sound like a good deal:

Can I have more than one number on my SIM?

Yes you can, another amazing new feature from MAXroam. You can have up to 50 numbers associated with your MAXroam service. You can have numbers from 28 different countries and if someone rings any of them your mobile will ring wherever you are.

You can also have 50 numbers from the same country. Just think you can give one number to your close friends, another number to your business colleagues and another number to cute guys you meet ;-)

[Andy]

Here is a great article that talks about this SIM Card...it does seem like they have a ways to go to get all the information straight and everything up and running smoothly...sounds like a very, very interesting SIM Card and something I will definitely consider upon my next travels overseas.
The New York Times > Log In

[viewfly]

Originally Posted by Andy

Here is a great article that talks about this SIM Card...it does seem like they have a ways to go to get all the information straight and everything up and running smoothly...sounds like a very, very interesting SIM Card and something I will definitely consider upon my next travels overseas.
The New York Times > Log In

Hey Andy, that's the same article I put in my OP!!!

LOL, anyway it does sound very interesting, the MAXroam SIM card. If you don' t use it , there is a 1euro a month fee, but that really is not too bad, unless there are lots of dead time between trips.

Thanks for looking more deeply into this, and your experience in general with these kind of things.

Best,
VF

[viewfly]

Originally Posted by Andy

Alright, here is something else I found on their website...this really does more and more sound like a good deal:

Can I have more than one number on my SIM?

Yes you can, another amazing new feature from MAXroam. You can have up to 50 numbers associated with your MAXroam service. You can have numbers from 28 different countries and if someone rings any of them your mobile will ring wherever you are.

You can also have 50 numbers from the same country. Just think you can give one number to your close friends, another number to your business colleagues and another number to cute guys you meet ;-)

Yes, this is a great feature because then it is a local call for the countries that you are in.

Very interesting. I do like the feature though with ATT, that people have one number, local to them, to call you anywhere in the world. I once got a reminder call from my dentist to come in tomorrow for a cleaning...while I was in Paris. Couldn't make that one!

[Andy]

Lol, sorry about the double posting of the article, not sure what I was thinking.

There sure is a benefit of having a local number for people in the U.S. to call you on, but in most countries you actually save money by going this route than using your T-Mobile or AT&T internationally...

Lol, that is funny about your dentist call in Paris. When I go overseas, I actually don't mind not having my normal number, since I don't want everyone that usually calls me to call me and rack up my roaming bill, so this MaxRoam SIM could come in handy, especially since it does allow for local U.S. numbers and you can chose whom to hand it out to.