Recommended SIM card rental service?
Kim André Akerø
I hope you'll forgive me for this cross-post.
I live in Norway, and I'm going to New York for two weeks at the end of
next month, and I'm trying to find a reputable service that can rent me a
SIM card for my unlocked smart phone (HTC Desire HD) for the duration of
my stay, as using my Norwegian service provider in the U.S. is far too
expensive in the long run.
I will need good coverage in the New York area, as well as in Winnipeg,
Manitoba (Canada), since I'll be heading out there for a single-day trip
as well. I will also need a data plan added to the service (about 200-300
MB would be enough). The service would have to be direct-calling (ie. not
a calling card type of service), and have fair per-minute rates (ie. not
sky-high), both in North America (USA and Canada) and internationally
(to/from Norway).
Can anyone recommend any providers that can help me out? (Or point me in
the general direction of where it would be more appropriate to ask my
question?)
Thanks in advance for any help.
--
Kim André Akerø
- kima...@NOSPAMbetadome.com
(remove NOSPAM to contact me directly)
DevilsPGD
Akerø <kima...@nospambetadome.com> typed:
>I live in Norway, and I'm going to New York for two weeks at the end of
>next month, and I'm trying to find a reputable service that can rent me a
>SIM card for my unlocked smart phone (HTC Desire HD) for the duration of
>my stay, as using my Norwegian service provider in the U.S. is far too
>expensive in the long run.
>
>I will need good coverage in the New York area, as well as in Winnipeg,
>Manitoba (Canada), since I'll be heading out there for a single-day trip
>as well. I will also need a data plan added to the service (about 200-300
>MB would be enough). The service would have to be direct-calling (ie. not
>a calling card type of service), and have fair per-minute rates (ie. not
>sky-high), both in North America (USA and Canada) and internationally
>(to/from Norway).
I doubt you'll find any rental services that are worthwhile, but you can
look at getting prepaid service, which basically means you walk up, get
a SIM card and add funds to the account and the phone works until your
balance runs out, or you hit your expiry date.
AT&T and T-Mobile are really your only GSM choices in the US, and you're
probably better off roaming (which will be somewhat expensive) for one
day up to Winnipeg, it's not worth the hassle to get a separate Canadian
service for a single day unless you plan on being on your phone an
excessive amount.
Hopefully this is at least enough information to get you started on your
hunt.
Mike S.
In article <op.vwsaz3s7ptrp3x@neonk>,
AT&T's prepaid service includes data but it could get expensive for you.
Their usual marketing model is to sell prepackaged phone/SIM in
mass-market discounter stores; but many company-owned AT&T stores will
activate a SIM for you without having to buy a phone.
You can check the rates at wireless.att.com
Kim André Akerø
Thanks for the tip! I had actually found that AT&T had the best calling
rates both for Canada (even if it's only a short trip), to Norway (gotta
keep in touch with home) and within the US. The coverage seemed fitting
for the areas I'll be in, as well. I just had caught a snag at
wireless.att.com, since they only appeared to sell to US-based customers.
Not taking into consideration other dealers, I did a quick Google search
on _buying_ a SIM card (rather than renting one), and I came across
several merchants on Amazon.com that offered just GoPhone SIM cards, which
seemed to be the best choice for someone like me. I found a merchant with
good overall customer reviews, and I ordered a SIM card from them. The
price wasn't too bad, either (about $20 including expedited shipping to
Norway, $19 of it being the shipping cost itself).
Again, thanks for the direction-push!
Mike S.
In article <op.vwtgjphvptrp3x@neonk>,
Yes, you would have to activate the account when you are in the US.
>Not taking into consideration other dealers, I did a quick Google search
>on _buying_ a SIM card (rather than renting one), and I came across
>several merchants on Amazon.com that offered just GoPhone SIM cards, which
>seemed to be the best choice for someone like me. I found a merchant with
>good overall customer reviews, and I ordered a SIM card from them. The
>price wasn't too bad, either (about $20 including expedited shipping to
>Norway, $19 of it being the shipping cost itself).
Getting the SIM card is a trivial part of the process. You must activate
an account and link it to the SIM card. If the Amazon dealer does not do
that for you, it will still need to be done when you are in the US.
In most of the rest of the world, the SIM card is already assigned to a
phone number when you buy it. This is not the case in the US.
Franz47
> In most of the rest of the world, the SIM card is already assigned to a
> phone number when you buy it. This is not the case in the US.
buy a phone) to put it into one of my phones in the USA during my
holiday trip there but this still seems to be a surprisingly difficult
task also nowadays. I am used to buy just a prepaid SIM-card and put it
into my phone in many countries of the world from Europe to Southeast
Asia. But why make life easy if one can make it complicated, too....
Franz