Can someone tell me how I use my GSM cell phone in France? Do I need to buy
a special SIM card or can I just walk off the plane in Paris and call home?

Thanks,
Bruce

Bruce Edwards <[email protected]> wrote:

    > Can someone tell me how I use my GSM cell phone in France?
    > Do I need to buy
    > a special SIM card or can I just walk off the plane in Paris and call home?

1. Your phone will need to work on either 900/1800 GSM (both is
preferable for maximum roaming possibilities.) What kind of phone do you
have?

2. Check with your home provider if they will allow you to 'roam' on
other networks while abroad, and check the costs. They can be expensive.

3. It might be worthwhile for you to buy a 'local' SIM, but you would
need to check that your phone can accept it. Many phones are SIM-locked
so they can only accept SIM cards from the company that issued the
phone. However, most phones can be unlocked either by the network or a
third party, or yourself, if you have the appropriate software/hardware
required.

Assuming 1 and 2 above apply, yes, you will most likely be able to use
your phone once off the plane. Also, remember to dial using
international format, i.e. +(country code)(number). On most mobile
phones, pressing and holding the zero should give you a plus sign.

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

Bruce Edwards wrote:

    > Can someone tell me how I use my GSM cell phone in France? Do I need
    > to buy a special SIM card or can I just walk off the plane in Paris
    > and call home?

Depends pretty much on

a) your cell phone (it should support GSM 900/1800) and
b) your calling plan (it should allow international roaming).

Jens
--
POTIVS AMICVM QVAM DICTVM PERDERE

and expect to be charged 2-3$ per minute
for such a international call

you may use a AT&T calling card together with your GSM to lower the
costs....


"Bruce Edwards" <[email protected]> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:[email protected]...
    > Can someone tell me how I use my GSM cell phone in France? Do I need to
    > buy
    > a special SIM card or can I just walk off the plane in Paris and call
    > home?
    > Thanks,
    > Bruce
    >

Depending on your contract with your US carrier. Mine works in the UK
and France. But could be expensive. You may want to consider getting
a local SIM chip.

If you use a French SIM ensure that the shop will configure that you can
send and receive text messages internationally. We used SFR and did not
specify this when we bought the sim card and were unsuccessful in explaining
our problem to the SFR call centre. It would have helped if someone, anyone,
in their call centre was prepared to speak English.

Good Luck.

"Bruce Edwards" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Can someone tell me how I use my GSM cell phone in France? Do I need to
buy
    > a special SIM card or can I just walk off the plane in Paris and call
home?

http://www.travelinsider.info
http://nordicgroup.us/intlrate
http://www.prepaidgsm.net

--
Donald Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

"Donald Newcomb" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > http://www.travelinsider.info

Sorry, my bad. That's http://www.thetravelinsider.info


--
Donald Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

    > Can someone tell me how I use my GSM cell phone in France? Do I need
to buy
    > a special SIM card or can I just walk off the plane in Paris and call
home?

If you have a multi-band GSM phone which supports one or more of the
European GSM bands (usually tri or quad band phones in the US) then
your phone will work. If you use your home service it will be very
expensive. Find a pay as you go service in Paris and buy a GSM card
from them to put in your phone. Doing this from Virgin Mobile in the
UK only cost about 10GBP plus a top up card for air time. Look around
online. There may be an exchange somewhere for just the pay as you go
SIM card for people traveling.

One important caveat here. Make sure your phone is unlocked. Some
phones are locked to a specific service and have to have a special code
put in at the store to make them work on other services. As of last
summer, Cingular had all of their phones unlocked but AT&T and T-Moble
were locked. You may need to check with your store.

Good luck.

Beach Comber
http://worldbeachlist.com/

On 2005-03-29 21:03:51 +0200, "Robberg" <[email protected]> said:

    >
    >
    > If you use a French SIM ensure that the shop will configure that you can
    > send and receive text messages internationally. We used SFR and did not
    > specify this when we bought the sim card and were unsuccessful in explaining
    > our problem to the SFR call centre. It would have helped if someone, anyone,
    > in their call centre was prepared to speak English.
    >
    > Good Luck.

Really? I thought it was the default - it is with Orange, anyway.

However, SFR told me that they didn't guarantee that texts to and from
overseas would be delivered.

--
Encrypted e-mail address. Click to mail me:
http://cerbermail.com/?nKYh3qN4YG

On Mon, 28 Mar 2005 13:52:07 GMT, "Bruce Edwards" <[email protected]>
wrote:

    >Can someone tell me how I use my GSM cell phone in France? Do I need to buy
    >a special SIM card or can I just walk off the plane in Paris and call home?

You in the US? Who's your carrier?
I have a GSM phone and Cingular.
Here's how it goes:

Before you leave, call Cingular and tell them you want International
Roaming. You'll talk to some moron who will goof it up. Always
happens.

Call back later to check on your account; International Roaming will
not have been added. Work with the new moron, who will goof it up.

Call back once again before leaving, and you'll find that
International Roaming has still not been added to your account. Remove
the charges made by the previous morons to your account, who added a
fee to let you receive calls from Europe, and ask to speak to the
International Roaming Help desk. Some good people there.

Get off the plane in Europe, your phone will probably not work. Call
Cingular from the hotel, talk to the International Roaming help desk
again. They'll stay with you until your phone works. And they'll often
remove the cost of the hotel call from your bill ($27 last time I did
this).

When you call from Europe, it's something like $.99/min. Not horrific,
but not good.

When you get off the plane back in the States, your phone won't work.
Go to a pay phone and call Cingular. Stick with them until your phone
works again and is set up for the US once again.

Viking <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:


eesh and to think I was happy to get rid of AT&T at least my phone worked
on international roaming even if there were dead spots in my neighborhood!
    >

"Beach Comber" <[email protected]> emerged from stupor to
write:

    >> Can someone tell me how I use my GSM cell phone in France? Do I need
    >to buy
    >> a special SIM card or can I just walk off the plane in Paris and call
    >home?
    >If you have a multi-band GSM phone which supports one or more of the
    >European GSM bands (usually tri or quad band phones in the US) then
    >your phone will work. If you use your home service it will be very
    >expensive.

In fact the rate to call the US from France while roaming on US
T-Mobile phone is not much higher than most French carriers charge to
call the US from France ($0.99 per minute, versus EUR0.75/min for
Orange and EUR0.60/min for Bouygues). The convenience of having the
same number may well be worth the slightly higher cost. In-country
calls are of course cheaper on the French SIM but the OP was asking
about "calling home."

    >One important caveat here. Make sure your phone is unlocked. Some
    >phones are locked to a specific service and have to have a special code
    >put in at the store to make them work on other services. As of last
    >summer, Cingular had all of their phones unlocked but AT&T and T-Moble
    >were locked. You may need to check with your store.

T-Mobile US will give the unlock code free of charge upon request to
customer service, assuming you have a contract (not prepaid).


--
"Flight Now Leaving Reality, Please Fasten Your Braincells"

If you have T-Mobile, a 2 band phone and have arranged with them to
have international roaming, you will not have any problems (except for
their $1/minute).

"Charles Hawtrey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > In fact the rate to call the US from France while roaming on US
    > T-Mobile phone is not much higher than most French carriers charge to
    > call the US from France ($0.99 per minute, versus EUR0.75/min for
    > Orange and EUR0.60/min for Bouygues). The convenience of having the
    > same number may well be worth the slightly higher cost. In-country
    > calls are of course cheaper on the French SIM but the OP was asking
    > about "calling home."
France is one place where it takes a while longer to pay off a prepaid SIM
as compared with T-Mobile's WorldCla$$ rates.

    > T-Mobile US will give the unlock code free of charge upon request to
    > customer service, assuming you have a contract (not prepaid).

Right.

You might also want to look at the Riiing prepaid (www.riiing.ch or
www.riiing.com). There are some ways that this SIM can be amazingly cheap to
use.

--
Donald Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net