Irish visitors needing sim cards

[lcarbrey]

I have some friends coming from Ireland to visit. They all have unlocked Nokia Vodafone phones. I'm looking to get sim cards for them, pre paid kind of thing. Any suggestions? I should mention I'm in southern NJ. I use verizon for my own cell, just because coverage is better at my house.

Lisa

[n2jtx]

T-Mobile To Go. $15 will get you a SIM with 60 minutes good for 60 days.

You can also find prepaid SIM's on eBay as well for a bit less.

[lcarbrey]

That's just the kind of thing I need... Doesn't look like T-mobile will work at the house but elsewhere would be ok. I see they do the 'kits' with the phones included. Do you know if any of them do just the sim card?

[Matt]

You can buy a SIM card from T-Mobile for about $20 for a postpaid plan, but you may as well take the phone.

[lcarbrey]

Are there other companies besides t-mobile that have a similar plan? T-mobile's site doesn't show coverage at my house.

[dmarkson]

Cingular is really your only other choice. Their starter kits are $25 in stores with a SIM and a $10 airtime card good for 30 days (at least that is what they used to have). Deals are available on eBay, but not quite as cheap as the T-Mobile ones.

[vroberts]

Originally Posted by Matt

You can buy a SIM card from T-Mobile for about $20 for a postpaid plan, but you may as well take the phone.

Where do you see a new SIM card from T-Mobile for $20.00? Before I visited Ireland a few years back I purchased an unlocked tri-band GSM phone and wanted to test it before I left. T-Mobile wanted somegthing like $50 just for a new SIM card. I know that refills can be purchased for $20 or less, but not new cards.

When I went to Ireland I purchased a new Vodaphone SIM card for 30 Euro at the Vodaphone store at the Dublin airport and it came with 30 Euro worth of time. We don't understand GSM phones as well as the Europeans

[Matt]

I don't know how much SIM cards are for prepay only - I think they are $20 for replacements for contract customers. Usually for prepay it is cheaper to take the kit.

[vroberts]

Originally Posted by Matt

I don't know how much SIM cards are for prepay only - I think they are $20 for replacements for contract customers. Usually for prepay it is cheaper to take the kit.

I would assume that a visitor from Ireland who is a Vodaphone customer back home wants to purchase a pre-paid card, not sign a contract for a 1 or 2-year plan in the US.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by vroberts

I would assume that a visitor from Ireland who is a Vodaphone customer back home wants to purchase a pre-paid card, not sign a contract for a 1 or 2-year plan in the US.

Excellent assumption, and that was mine as well. My reference to the postpaid price was made b/c it was the only one I knew, and I thought it might be similar for prepay. Evidently not!

[lcarbrey]

Thanks all for your ideas. Cingular *sort* of works at the house, sometimes... if those are my two options maybe Cingular is the way to go.

BTW, I agree about the difference between the Europeans and US with the phones. I go to Ireland a few times a year, and have a vodafone (prepaid) phone. The convenience with the prepaid is so much easier than here, the phones seem so much better.... if only we'd catch up over here It seems a little nuts that I can be in very rural Ireland and have coverage, and not at my house that's not far from Atlantic City or Philadelphia....

[Fire14]

Originally Posted by lcarbrey

It seems a little nuts that I can be in very rural Ireland and have coverage, and not at my house that's not far from Atlantic City or Philadelphia....

There are a couple of reasons for this,
1 is the amt. of providers there vs here.
2. 1 common standard for their cellphones/towers vs 4+ (GSM, CDMA, TDMA, Analog) for us here, with lack of roaming abilities on the different standards
3. The size of Ireland vs the US and how much it takes to put up a network in the size of the country.
4. NIMBY'ers fighting towers going up

We will eventually get there, and I am sure there are more then these 4 reason's I have posted, but I do understand what your saying and that South Jersey is a decent population area & growing fast and you would think coverage would keep up with the growth.

[James30154]

Prepaid SIM cards : T-Mobile $52 for SIM 60 minutes for 60 days.
Cingular Free SIM in corporate store if you but a $15 refill card 60 minutes for 30 days.

Use the T-Mobile website to check coverage by street address.
Also, check Cingular website for coverage area-not as detailed as T-Mobile.

Hope your friends have a pleasant stay in the US.

[lcarbrey]

Originally Posted by James30154

Prepaid SIM cards : T-Mobile $52 for SIM 60 minutes for 60 days.
Cingular Free SIM in corporate store if you but a $15 refill card 60 minutes for 30 days.

Use the T-Mobile website to check coverage by street address.
Also, check Cingular website for coverage area-not as detailed as T-Mobile.

Hope your friends have a pleasant stay in the US.

Thanks James. I have looked at the T-mobile web site, my address doesn't have coverage. I know Cingular phones *sort of* get coverage at the house I had them as my carrier up to a year ago. I don't see anything on the cingular site about the free sim in the corporate store if I buy the refill card, that sounds exactly what they need. Could you send me a link to that?

Lisa

[COtech]

Do you know if your visitors' "unlocked Nokia phones" have both North American bands, 850 and 1900 MHz? They should have both for Cingular use in southern NJ.

If you are close enough to Philadephia to be in the area that Cingular's blue network (former ATTWS PCS 1900 MHz network) served, they might be fine without 850. Of course, T-Mobile operates 1900 MHz only, but is adding 850 MHz roaming with operators other than Cingular (like Dobson in Dutchess County, NY).

COtech