International Roaming Sim Cards

[rsn]

Does anyone have anything to say, based on personal experience, about onesimcard, telestial, or any other international//world roaming sim cards?

[schmutzie]

I don't have personal experience, so you can stop reading now.

I looked into one of those cards before (not on your list but the name evades me right now) and the specific rates weren't that great.

I would be realistic about needs/usage and find deals that cover those, a mix of skype, local sim, pre-dial numbers. But yes, excludes the convenience of having an always-on number.

I'm with you though. The world needs a truly global carrier. We'll get there eventually, but the incumbents will fight it tooth and nail.

Problem is, people who travel a lot and use mobile are usually on business and will simply have their bill covered by the company.

I wonder what kind of deal structure Amazon has in place for the Kindle...

Edited September 20, 2010 by schmutzie

[rsn]

I don't have personal experience, so you can stop reading now.

I looked into one of those cards before (not on your list but the name evades me right now) and the specific rates weren't that great.

I would be realistic about needs/usage and find deals that cover those, a mix of skype, local sim, pre-dial numbers. But yes, excludes the convenience of having an always-on number.

I'm with you though. The world needs a truly global carrier. We'll get there eventually, but the incumbents will fight it tooth and nail.

Problem is, people who travel a lot and use mobile are usually on business and will simply have their bill covered by the company.

I wonder what kind of deal structure Amazon has in place for the Kindle...

This will be for my MIL during her journey to the U.S. She doesn't speak English and we wanted her to have an easy way to call us if she has a problem.

[schmutzie]

A UK perspective:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/phones/cheap-roaming-calls

[schmutzie]

I don't have personal experience, so you can stop reading now.

I looked into one of those cards before (not on your list but the name evades me right now) and the specific rates weren't that great.

I would be realistic about needs/usage and find deals that cover those, a mix of skype, local sim, pre-dial numbers. But yes, excludes the convenience of having an always-on number.

I'm with you though. The world needs a truly global carrier. We'll get there eventually, but the incumbents will fight it tooth and nail.

Problem is, people who travel a lot and use mobile are usually on business and will simply have their bill covered by the company.

I wonder what kind of deal structure Amazon has in place for the Kindle...

This will be for my MIL during her journey to the U.S. She doesn't speak English and we wanted her to have an easy way to call us if she has a problem.

Probably too complicated to have your MIL pick up a PAYG sim on arrival, so I would mail/courier her one.

But:

Just ask her to top up plenty before departure. One emergency call at the airport to say she can't find you is surely worth the expense. After that you can just give her a US PAYG sim.

Just check her Thai network roams on a US network.

Edited September 20, 2010 by schmutzie

[rsn]

I don't have personal experience, so you can stop reading now.

I looked into one of those cards before (not on your list but the name evades me right now) and the specific rates weren't that great.

I would be realistic about needs/usage and find deals that cover those, a mix of skype, local sim, pre-dial numbers. But yes, excludes the convenience of having an always-on number.

I'm with you though. The world needs a truly global carrier. We'll get there eventually, but the incumbents will fight it tooth and nail.

Problem is, people who travel a lot and use mobile are usually on business and will simply have their bill covered by the company.

I wonder what kind of deal structure Amazon has in place for the Kindle...

This will be for my MIL during her journey to the U.S. She doesn't speak English and we wanted her to have an easy way to call us if she has a problem.

Probably too complicated to have your MIL pick up a PAYG sim on arrival, so I would mail/courier her one.

But:

Just ask her to top up plenty before departure. One emergency call at the airport to say she can't find you is surely worth the expense. After that you can just give her a US PAYG sim.

Just check her Thai network roams on a US network.

Yep, I planned on mailing her a phone and a SIM card. She will likely need both. I already checked one network in Thailand, True Move. Their roaming rates are insane. I'm interested in onesimcard.com as their rates are pretty decent, compared to all the other options at least, but I wan't to make sure I'm not signing myself up for a headache as there are not many reviews for this product on the internet. The positive reviews I discovered are suspicious.

[schmutzie]

I don't have personal experience, so you can stop reading now.

I looked into one of those cards before (not on your list but the name evades me right now) and the specific rates weren't that great.

I would be realistic about needs/usage and find deals that cover those, a mix of skype, local sim, pre-dial numbers. But yes, excludes the convenience of having an always-on number.

I'm with you though. The world needs a truly global carrier. We'll get there eventually, but the incumbents will fight it tooth and nail.

Problem is, people who travel a lot and use mobile are usually on business and will simply have their bill covered by the company.

I wonder what kind of deal structure Amazon has in place for the Kindle...

This will be for my MIL during her journey to the U.S. She doesn't speak English and we wanted her to have an easy way to call us if she has a problem.

Probably too complicated to have your MIL pick up a PAYG sim on arrival, so I would mail/courier her one.

But:

Just ask her to top up plenty before departure. One emergency call at the airport to say she can't find you is surely worth the expense. After that you can just give her a US PAYG sim.

Just check her Thai network roams on a US network.

Yep, I planned on mailing her a phone and a SIM card. She will likely need both. I already checked one network in Thailand, True Move. Their roaming rates are insane. I'm interested in onesimcard.com as their rates are pretty decent, compared to all the other options at least, but I wan't to make sure I'm not signing myself up for a headache as there are not many reviews for this product on the internet. The positive reviews I discovered are suspicious.

But the costs of mailing her that mobile and sim would be equiv or more than one or two brief calls in the US on her existing Thai sim (or she doesn't have one??), surely. I think you're engaging in overkill, but it's good to be prepared. You're picking her up on arrival, right? Like I said, if I understand you right, your only concern is the time between departure and arrival in the US. After that you can just give her a US mobile and sim and she'll be fine. Are you worried she'll get tangled up in immigration? Give her a letter from you to hand over with details of how to contact you, just in case.

Just track she got on the plane and then wait for her to drop in your lap in the US. It'll be fine.

[rsn]

Hmm, you actually made me think about this a bit more. I assumed her phone and/or SIM card wouldn't work in Europe (she has a stopover in Frankfurt on her way to the U.S. and a stop at Heathrow on her return trip) but it certainly is possible. However, this trip is an unusual one, as on subsequent trips I would expect her to transit through Japan or S. Korea. Those two countries do not have any GSM networks so you need a phone that supports 3G-UMTS 2100. My plan was to get her a phone that will work in Europe and Japan/Korea, but perhaps that is not something I need to worry about now if her current phone will work in Europe. I'll look into that some more and hopefully save myself some money. I estimated the total cost to be about $150 to buy a SIM, charge it, buy a phone, and mail it to her. This may be cheaper if her current phone will work in Europe. Thanks again.

[rsn]

I just checked out the AIS site (her provider) and, as with many Thai websites, the site is beyond confusing. Does anyone know anything about international roaming with AIS? Does my MIL have to do anything to set this up? How much does it cost/minute for roaming calls (receiving and dialing), etc?

[rsn]

oh, and does anyone know what the difference is between "GSM advanced" and 1-2-call? They are both listed under AIS w/ different roaming rates.

[rsn]

n/m. I have a bad feeling about intl roaming w/ AIS. I might look into True Move again instead.

[glassdude007]

from the us anyways best way for Cheap international calls is use an International calling card that best suits the country that you will be calling....7\11 sells all the cards then you just go to a phone booth and can call international with card very cheap ...also can buy the 7\11 trac phone and use that instead of phone booth with top up minutes and international calling card works well and you can call them too.

thats what most of the illegal immigrants and drug dealers use in my neighborhood back in USA are using no id needed to buy and use....

here in Asia i use my 1 to call and happy sim card when i travel and set up roaming here in Thailand and load up on minutes because you can not top up from other countries that i can see..

it works but is very expensive ...a sms from Singapore to mobile in Thailand is about 50 baht...

i tried blueFire global sim card that i bought duty free on airplane one time IT WAS TERRIBLE....very difficult to use had to dial loads of numbers to make a call and then wait for a call back to complete the call....i never really did figure out how to use the stupid thing......out 75 bucks....

so YES an Affordable global SIM card would be nice......

[lomatopo]

I'm may be a bit confused about your/MiL's requirements and applications.

For FRA/LHR layovers a GSM900/1800 phone and a One-2-Call (pre-paid brand of AIS here in Thailand) SIM would suffice. You have to enable international roaming. Tariffs are high, but she can call you (presumably the sole application) and you an ring her back.

In the U.S. a GSM1900 phone will roam onto T-Mo or AT&T. The One-2-Call SIM will work on these networks but rates are high so maybe better to get a T-Mo or AT&T pre-paid SIM for her in-country calls.

So a tri-band phone (GSM900/1800/1900, not expensive at all), a One-2-Call pre-paid SIM with ~ 600 THB and a T-Mo pre-paid SIM would suffice. In this scenario nothing to mail; have her get the One-2-Call SIM here, charge it up, enable international roaming (call 1175 from the phone to enable), then give her the T-Mo SIM when she lands.

Sorry, just saw the subsequent trip detail; for those (Korea/Japan) give her an AT&T calling card.

Edited September 21, 2010 by lomatopo

[lomatopo]

For FRA/LHR layovers a GSM900/1800 phone and a One-2-Call (pre-paid brand of AIS here in Thailand) SIM would suffice. You have to enable international roaming. Tariffs are high, but she can call you (presumably the sole application) and you an ring her back.

I just reviewed the One-2-Call international roaming tariffs, and usage, and now see that your MiL will have to pay for incoming calls, 55 baht per minute in Germany for example, and 78.54 baht/min for an outbound call. Making a call is a bit challenging as well, you actually send an SMS-like service message (*131*12125551212#) and wait for a call back.

An AT&T calling card might just be the best solution?

[rsn]

For FRA/LHR layovers a GSM900/1800 phone and a One-2-Call (pre-paid brand of AIS here in Thailand) SIM would suffice. You have to enable international roaming. Tariffs are high, but she can call you (presumably the sole application) and you an ring her back.

I just reviewed the One-2-Call international roaming tariffs, and usage, and now see that your MiL will have to pay for incoming calls, 55 baht per minute in Germany for example, and 78.54 baht/min for an outbound call. Making a call is a bit challenging as well, you actually send an SMS-like service message (*131*12125551212#) and wait for a call back.

An AT&T calling card might just be the best solution?

That may work if she can find a payphone in the airport. Also, I assume using a phone card will be just as challenging for her as attempting to dial when roaming from her Thai phone service. I think my best bet is to go with something like onesimcard.com and have her use her Thai phone and simply swap out the SIM card. I'll have to mail her the SIM card, but I think her current phone will be sufficient for this trip.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

HAPPY DTAC Foreigner friendly.

HAPPY GO Inter

SIM card 49 baht from 7/11.

Service Rate

85 baht per minute to call USA. 55 baht per minute to receive calls. 12 baht to send SMS.

A decent top up will see her through. On the way back, I'm sure they will have payphones at the airport. SEOUL has one of the world best airports.

Simple to set up for International Roaming. You can also check that all is done via Web Services.

[lomatopo]

DTAC's (Happy) calling seems the easiest, +12125551212, for example, and their rates seem the same as One-2-Call. (TRUEmove's roaming rates are indeed absurdly high.) The onesimcard rates seem pretty good, usage is straight-forward and free incoming calls! This would be a no-brainer, she rings your phone, you don't answer then call her back.

Payphones and free local access to AT&T USADirect numbers are ubiquitous in international airports, but usage could be challenging to a non-English speaker (dial local access number, enter PIN, enter phone number, but lots of prompts and options).

[doggie888888]

I just checked out the AIS site (her provider) and, as with many Thai websites, the site is beyond confusing. Does anyone know anything about international roaming with AIS? Does my MIL have to do anything to set this up? How much does it cost/minute for roaming calls (receiving and dialing), etc?

I use the AIS 1-2-call card in Thailand. When I go overseas, I just pop in at their office (happens to be close to me in Tesco North Pattaya) and instruct them to activate roaming. If my balance runs low whilst I am overseas, a friend can actually top up for me easily here, either using his phone or else going to the AIS office.

Apparently I can do it online also using credit card, but I have not done this before.

Hope this helps. Roaming rates seem to be high though but I can't be bothered shopping around for only short time emergency use whilst overseas.

[lomatopo]

I use the AIS 1-2-call card in Thailand. When I go overseas, I just pop in at their office (happens to be close to me in Tesco North Pattaya) and instruct them to activate roaming. If my balance runs low whilst I am overseas, a friend can actually top up for me easily here, either using his phone or else going to the AIS office.

Apparently I can do it online also using credit card, but I have not done this before.

Hope this helps. Roaming rates seem to be high though but I can't be bothered shopping around for only short time emergency use whilst overseas.

You only have to activate international roaming one time. You can do this a number of ways, without going to an office:

Freedom Planet

Activate Int'l Roaming

How to apply for FreedomPlanet

AIS encourages you to discover new experiences and you can apply to use FreedomPlanet without any fee. Simply apply through one of the following channels while you are in Thailand.

1. Via the automatic response system, press *125 Call and follow the instructions.

2. Via the speedy number system, press *125*1# Call and you will receive an SMS confirming your application.

3. Via AIS Call Center 1175

4. Via One-2-Call! e-Service

With e-Service you get a one-time PIN and can do just about anyhting.

[doggie888888]

You only have to activate international roaming one time.

I know... but I do that each time before I go overseas to ensure it is indeed activated because on one occasion it was de-activated (for unknown reasons) even though it had always worked before that time. Call me paranoid but I'd rather be sure of a hassle free roaming experience.

[rsn]

DTAC's (Happy) calling seems the easiest, +12125551212, for example, and their rates seem the same as One-2-Call. (TRUEmove's roaming rates are indeed absurdly high.) The onesimcard rates seem pretty good, usage is straight-forward and free incoming calls! This would be a no-brainer, she rings your phone, you don't answer then call her back.

Payphones and free local access to AT&T USADirect numbers are ubiquitous in international airports, but usage could be challenging to a non-English speaker (dial local access number, enter PIN, enter phone number, but lots of prompts and options).

Generally I agree with you regading onesimcard. Here are some problems:

1. Your onesimcard.com SIM card number is an Estonian number. Good luck finding a cheap call on any service to Estonia. However, they do offer a toll-free number you can dial from the U.S. to call a onesimcard.com member's phone. Using this toll-free number adds $0.29/minute to incoming calls, so they are no longer free. $0.29/minute is probably cheaper than any direct call to the Estonian # though.
2. Some cards charge you even if no one answers when roaming. I don't know if onesimcard levies such a charge - I'll have to ask them.
3. Calls inside the U.S. are very high - starting at $2.50/minute.
4. The few positive reviews I found for onesimcard.com are suspicious. For example, the same user posted almost identical reviews on Amazon 4 months apart. Another user posted similar reviews also 4 months apart (the same months as the first user).