Cell Phones in Great Britain - Pasy as you go Sim for USA

Author

Pasy as you go Sim for USA

David Smithz

2006-12-20, 10:33 pm

Hi there,

Off to New York for the new year period. I would like to stay in touch and
my Vodafone roaming is far too much.

However, If I could buy a US sim before I go, I could receive incoming calls
a whole lot cheaper.

I could even set up a UK number via a VOIP service that diverts to the US
number and let people call me locally, but I pay overall a lot less to
receive the call.

Anyone done anything like this?

Cheers

www.simcard.me.uk

2006-12-21, 4:34 am

"David Smithz" <dave1900@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:uglih.19531$k74.10541@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
> Hi there,
>
> Off to New York for the new year period. I would like to stay in touch and
> my Vodafone roaming is far too much.
>
> However, If I could buy a US sim before I go, I could receive incoming
> calls a whole lot cheaper.
>
> I could even set up a UK number via a VOIP service that diverts to the US
> number and let people call me locally, but I pay overall a lot less to
> receive the call.
>
> Anyone done anything like this?
>
> Cheers
>
>

Skype do uk numbers but not VOIP

--

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Australia, New Zealand, USA, German, UK, South Africa, Thailand, Brazil Sim
Cards &
EPIRB.
My help forum
www.experimentalist.co.uk/forum/index.php

Ivor Jones

2006-12-21, 7:33 am

"David Smithz" <dave1900@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:uglih.19531$k74.10541@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk
> Hi there,
>
> Off to New York for the new year period. I would like to
> stay in touch and my Vodafone roaming is far too much.
>
> However, If I could buy a US sim before I go, I could
> receive incoming calls a whole lot cheaper.
>
> I could even set up a UK number via a VOIP service that
> diverts to the US number and let people call me locally,
> but I pay overall a lot less to receive the call.
>
> Anyone done anything like this?
>
> Cheers

I use T-Mobile PAYG in the States. You can change the phone number
supplied with the SIM to one in the area code of your choice and you get
something like 150 minutes of talk time (which is of course incoming and
outgoing). However be aware that billing is per minute not per second.

Divert your VoIP number to the US number of the SIM and away you go.

Ivor

David Smithz

2006-12-21, 12:33 pm

"Ivor Jones" <ivor@despammed.invalid> wrote in message
news:4uvcrlF19nshmU1
@mid.individual.net...
>
> I use T-Mobile PAYG in the States. You can change the phone number
> supplied with the SIM to one in the area code of your choice and you get
> something like 150 minutes of talk time (which is of course incoming and
> outgoing). However be aware that billing is per minute not per second.
>
> Divert your VoIP number to the US number of the SIM and away you go.
>
> Ivor

Sounds great Ivor. Do you know anywhere I can pre-by the Pay as you go US
sim in the UK before I leave (at a reasonable price).

That way I can set everything up (I have already set the Voip number).

Cheers

Ivor Jones

2006-12-21, 12:33 pm

"David Smithz" <dave1900@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:yyzih.19809$k74.6436@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk
> "Ivor Jones" <ivor@despammed.invalid> wrote in message
> news:4uvcrlF19nshmU1
@mid.individual.net...
>
>
> Sounds great Ivor. Do you know anywhere I can pre-by the
> Pay as you go US sim in the UK before I leave (at a
> reasonable price).
> That way I can set everything up (I have already set the
> Voip number).
> Cheers

Not sure, I got mine in a T-Mobile store over there, but ISTR someone who
posts on this group from time to time can supply them, I believe they come
up for sale on eBay quite often as well.

Ivor

andy

2006-12-21, 10:33 pm

Ivor Jones wrote:
> "David Smithz" <dave1900@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:yyzih.19809$k74.6436@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk
>
> Not sure, I got mine in a T-Mobile store over there, but ISTR someone who
> posts on this group from time to time can supply them, I believe they come
> up for sale on eBay quite often as well.

If I was going, I think I might try and get T=FAYo Mobile, a fairly new
mvno from IDT on T-mobile. Local calls are 10c connect, 10c a minute.
UK landlines are +1.5c a min, and the balance can also be used as a
calling card from landlines at from 2c.

http://www.tuyo.com/default.aspx?lang=3Den

or study others at=20
http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/usa.html

Dennis Ferguson

2006-12-21, 10:33 pm

On 2006-12-21, David Smithz <dave1900@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
>
> "Ivor Jones" <ivor@despammed.invalid> wrote in message
> news:4uvcrlF19nshmU1
@mid.individual.net...
>
>
> Sounds great Ivor. Do you know anywhere I can pre-by the Pay as you go US
> sim in the UK before I leave (at a reasonable price).
>
> That way I can set everything up (I have already set the Voip number).

I see you can get them here:

http://www.experimentalist.co.uk/simcards/usa.html

The only problem is that you'll need to live with whatever number
comes on the SIM if you set up forwarding before you go. If you
could set up the VOIP forwarding from the USA then you could change
the SIM to a New York number first.

If you think you'll be back to the USA within a year, and maybe
several times over the next two years, then doing a $100 top up
isn't a bad idea. It makes the minutes last for a year, and if
you do an additional $10 top up before the year is out you can
extend the balance for a second year.

Dennis Ferguson

David Smithz

2006-12-22, 4:33 am

"Dennis Ferguson" <dcferguson@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:slrneomg8h.81.dcferguson@dennispc.local...

> I see you can get them here:
>
> http://www.experimentalist.co.uk/simcards/usa.html
>
> The only problem is that you'll need to live with whatever number
> comes on the SIM if you set up forwarding before you go. If you
> could set up the VOIP forwarding from the USA then you could change
> the SIM to a New York number first.
>
> If you think you'll be back to the USA within a year, and maybe
> several times over the next two years, then doing a $100 top up
> isn't a bad idea. It makes the minutes last for a year, and if
> you do an additional $10 top up before the year is out you can
> extend the balance for a second year.
>
> Dennis Ferguson
Thanks for that Dennis. It's actually a bit more then I thought it would be
actually at £25 (compared to UK priced sis and other countries I have been
to).

Anyway, I might get this. I have already set up a VOIP number that I can
have diverting to anywhere in the world so that side of things seems OK.
Just need the number I'm going to divert it to.

I will have internet access over in the US (and when I do will use voip for
calls) but really great to be able to receive calls from people on a London
number.
Does it make a difference what state my number is registered to for cost
purposes? As I wont be giving out the number directly I am not to worried
about the actual number.

Ivor Jones

2006-12-22, 7:33 am

"David Smithz" <dave1900@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:f9Oih.20142$k74.15780@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk

[snip]

> I will have internet access over in the US (and when I do
> will use voip for calls) but really great to be able to
> receive calls from people on a London number.
> Does it make a difference what state my number is
> registered to for cost purposes? As I wont be giving out
> the number directly I am not to worried about the actual
> number.

For incoming calls from your VoIP system, no. For the cost of incoming
calls to your mobile, not altogether sure, it will depend on the plan for
the SIM you are using, but I'd hazard a guess that it will be beneficial
to have a number local to where you are.

Ivor

Dennis Ferguson

2006-12-22, 3:33 pm

On 2006-12-22, David Smithz <dave1900@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
> Thanks for that Dennis. It's actually a bit more then I thought it would be
> actually at £25 (compared to UK priced sis and other countries I have been
> to).

The price looks quite high to me as well, though I don't know what they
charge at a T-Mobile shop in the USA. I have seen Cingular PAYG SIMs
with some minutes, and including a cheap phone, for sale in Walmart for
$20, so it is possible to do better if you have time to look (not having
that time is one of the drawbacks of being a tourist, unfortunately). I'd
say, though, that the USA carriers themselves, more than anywhere else
I've been, seem to price things to encourage people to take monthly
contracts instead.

> Does it make a difference what state my number is registered to for cost
> purposes? As I wont be giving out the number directly I am not to worried
> about the actual number.

What number you have makes no difference at all for your cost, but it
may make a difference to people who might want to call you. Everyone with
a US landline can make calls to local numbers without charge, but not
everyone has a plan which lets them avoid per-minute charges on
calls to non-local numbers. If this won't be an issue for you, however,
than any number will do.

It does raise another issue, however. I'd assumed that when you said
"New York" that meant "New York City". If you are visiting rural
areas of New York state, however, you should check the coverage map
at

http://www.t-mobile.com

to make sure they have coverage where you are going before buying this
SIM. Note that T-Mobile in the US is considered to be a bit cheaper than
the others, but to have crappier coverage outside urban areas (this may
sound familiar...). For monthly accounts they make up for this by
giving you free roaming on competitors' networks, but I don't think
that works for PAYG accounts.

Dennis Ferguson

mrcamp

2006-12-22, 10:33 pm

Tmobile payg sims with about 150 minutes can be got on ebay for about
$10 shipped. Call costs are the same regardless of the area code. No
charge to change it though.

--
mrcamp

Bossman

2006-12-22, 10:33 pm

Here are sims on ebay. Just find a seller that will mail it to UK for a
small fee. Some are even offering any areacode. Understandably so,
because as long as you are using the sim in the US, and you are calling
another city in the US, call costs should be the same. My family visit
from London with their phones and they all use tmobile payg sims while
visiting several states/cities within the US without any problems.

http://search.ebay.com/search/searc... /> &category0=

Tuyo mobile is another new MVNO that uses tmobile's network. They were
giving the sims away with $10 credit a few months ago. I was also able
to get a couple for my siblings to use the last time they were here.
Tuyo has the lowest international rates AFAIK. To UK mobiles, it's only
$0.28. Way cheaper than that to UK land lines.

David Smithz

2006-12-23, 7:33 am

OK, thanks for all the input.

In the end I went for a pre-registered T mobile Sim from ebay.

I paid £20 in total including special delviery as I needed it before I go
away and have received it today.

All seems good but of course I cannot test it until in the states although I
dialed my number and it went to voice mail so that's a good sign.

I have to top up before mid jan to keep the credit but that's finde as I
will be back before then. So so far all look good.

Thanks again for the input.

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