Roger O

Our daughter Alizée will be going to London February/March 2010 to stay for a "work/study" year.
Dates are not yet fixed.
Naturally she'll need a cell phone ("portable") and naturally she'll want to phone home
to us here in Palaja quite frequently.

It may be a little early to ask, but does anyone have any suggestions for best deals from the
UK to France (and of course domestic UK)??

Ka Ora!

Well if her iPhone is unlocked, Then any UK sim card will work in it If it is not unlocked then she is stuck with the French Sim card in it unless one explores other avenues. Or other phones.

Did she get a Contract Free one? As if not then it will need Sim Unlocking and depending on what version the firmware is this may or may not be possible. If the contract period has expired the French operator may unlock it for a fee. They do some times unlock them if still in the contract period if you pay the remaining period rental tied to the contract up front and tell them you are moving to an alternative operator.

The best rates for calling abroad are going to be by fixed line operator.

Alternatively install Skype for the iPhone and get an unlimited Data plan 3G card for the UK which to me makes the most sense. You can install Skype on your PC and buy a Skype Phone for the house. Skype to Skype is Free and your wife can install it on her iPhone.

So if you got the Skype phone for the house it is going to pay for its self in a year.

cyrian

Hi Roger
Try the websites
http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/
http://www.o2.co.uk/
http://online.vodafone.co.uk/dispatc...D=VIRTUAL_HOME
I have also seen deals for Skype mobile phones which I will try to check out tomorrow if possible. I am in the UK till Tuesday.
iphone was exclusively for O2 but now it is also available on Orange.
Alternatively you have the same laptop deals as in France - sign the contract and get a free laptop & use Skype.

If I get any useful info then I will pm you.

Roger O

Thanks everyone for your replies - very much appreciated!!
Roger

Ka Ora!

The iPhone that Rogers daughter has is a French one, So exclusivity is not an issue. She already has the phone, Us French residents by law have the right to purchase any mobile phone released here in an Unlocked State so that we can use it with any operator unlike the UK. Although if you go via the unlocked route when a phone is first released it can be rather expensive.

She will probably not pass the Carphone Warehouse credit check, Personally I would recommend BT "o2" as their credit check is a little/lot more relaxed.

And as I said if her phone is already sim unlocked then all she has to do is install the Skype Software on the iPhone Job Done.

cyrian

If she wants to access the internet in the UK then the european roaming cost is around £3/Mb and this could soon eat up any advantage of using her french iphone. Alternatively, she could located a free /cheap wifi and access the internet that way - not as convenient.
I visited some uk phone shops this morning and have sent full details via pm.

Ka Ora!

Why would she be paying a roaming fee with a UK sim card in the phone? As I was suggesting that once in the UK she put a UK based sim card in the iPhone thus negating any roaming charges.

Roger O

Just to clear up the concept of "roaming". I always understood that it entails calling internationally - but I suppose that means in this case, if she would have a French SIM and call from the UK to France - i.e. you call from outside your domestic "base". Is that correct? (I've never actually used it so that's why I'm asking!!)

Ka Ora!

Yes
French Sim card in UK = Roaming

UK sim card in France = Roaming

UK sim card in French unlocked iPhone in UK = Not Roaming Domestic usage. But Alizée would be making international calls to you.

Im also going to guess that Alizée already has a Laptop or Computer what teenager does not. So taking out a contract for a free Laptop is not always as cost effective as the Freebie suggests. And Free stuff is always worth what it costs.

Roger O

Many thanks for that. At the moment she doesn' have a laptop (believe it or not!) but the whole corner of her room is taken up with all kinds of equipment. She will be getting a laptop before leaving for the UK.

howiet01

Pity about the credit check as your daughter could go for the Simplicity sim only deal(1 month rolling contract) which for £20 would give her 600 mins and 1200 texts along with the option of taking an unlimited web bolt on so she could get full use of her iphone especially Skype for phoning home.

http://shop.o2.co.uk/sim-only-simplicity

Roger O

Sorry, could you explain?

howiet01

When O2 run their credit check because she hasn't been a resident in the UK, they might refuse her taking the 30 day contract as she has no 'history' in the UK.

Ka Ora!

O2 have one of the most lax Credit Checks, If I were her I would avoid Carphone Warehouse as theirs is pretty harsh. When doing it its best to start somewhere were you should pass to begin with as if you visited 2 shops and got a fail at each even if the third shop would have normally passed you as two credit searches have already been made in that day or week they fail you on that. Having lots of Credit Searches against your record counts against you.

Sometimes as a new resident even if temporary going and getting a crap store card can be the best thing to kick off your credit history. A fair few of the store cards are a cinch to get as the retailers are desperate to sell.

Roger O

What about guarantees from UK residents - such as my sister and her husband who are eminently credit worthy - even if they do live in Torquay??