Could someone who has experience on this matter tell me if it's
possible to rent a mobile phone to use in Europe for some weeks?

Thanks,
hq

HQ wrote in
news:[email protected]:

    > Could someone who has experience on this matter tell me if it's
    > possible to rent a mobile phone to use in Europe for some weeks?

Possible: possibly
Economical: Probably not unless you're a heavy user. It is probably cheaper
to buy a prepaid SIM+phone package which has a roaming-enabled SIM in the
first country you visit. How to go about this is an FFFAQ in this forum.

Regards

--
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I once answered this question for London.

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"HQ" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Could someone who has experience on this matter tell me if it's
    > possible to rent a mobile phone to use in Europe for some weeks?
    > Thanks,
    > hq

Try www.travelcell.com

I have a Sony Ericcson T68i tri-band GSM phone I use here in California. I
recently went to Spain and bought a Vodafone SIM card for 18 Euro and got 18
Euros worth of calls, no activation fee. It really came in handy for calling
restaurants, museums and the like. You may want to invest in a similar
phone, if you use one at home anyway. My phone cost $150 after rebate and
required a 1-year contract.

"HQ" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Could someone who has experience on this matter tell me if it's
    > possible to rent a mobile phone to use in Europe for some weeks?
    > Thanks,
    > hq

worldcom at least used to have a euro phone rental deal tied to avis car
rentals... free phone with a rental.

the rates if you used the phone were horrible (like 4$/min!!) but if
you're like me you just wanted it for emergencies... I didn't actually
use the phone at all.

then of course worldcom LOST the phone when I sent it back and that went
on for months.

HQ wrote:
    > Could someone who has experience on this matter tell me if it's
    > possible to rent a mobile phone to use in Europe for some weeks?
    >
    > Thanks,
    > hq


--
"But to live outside the law, you must be honest"
Bob Dylan - Absolutely Sweet Marie - 1966

Though renting is fine, I still say it would be advantageous to get a GSM
tri-band world phone that you will be able to use most anywhere you travel
to Europe and Asia. This is assuming, of course, you can use the same phone
at home. I am in California and AT&T wireless offers GSM service and are
encouring customers to subscribe to this new service with great rates. Then,
you can use the same phone anywhere you go. All you have to do is get a
pre-paid SIM card from a local carrier which will give you a local number
and depending on the package, a certain number of minutes. By the way, if
you use your favorite search engine on the internet and look for "GSM
tri-band", you will see them as low as $150. Or, if your local carrier
offers GSM, subscribe with them and you will get the phone at a discount
assuming you subscribe for a year.

On a recent trip to Barcelona for example, all I had to do was remove my ATT
Sim card, purchase a Vodafone Sim card for 18 Euros and got 18 Euros worth
of calls, at 59 eurocents/min peak and 29 eurocents/min off-peak. Very
convenient. The Sim card minutes is valid for a year and if it ever runs
out, you can always "recharge" it using the phone and a credit card number.

"Anonymoose" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > worldcom at least used to have a euro phone rental deal tied to avis car
    > rentals... free phone with a rental.
    > the rates if you used the phone were horrible (like 4$/min!!) but if
    > you're like me you just wanted it for emergencies... I didn't actually
    > use the phone at all.
    > then of course worldcom LOST the phone when I sent it back and that went
    > on for months.
    > HQ wrote:
    > > Could someone who has experience on this matter tell me if it's
    > > possible to rent a mobile phone to use in Europe for some weeks?
    > >
    > > Thanks,
    > > hq
    > --
    > "But to live outside the law, you must be honest"
    > Bob Dylan - Absolutely Sweet Marie - 1966

Thanks for all the answers.
hq

On Wed, 19 Feb 2003 05:46:53 GMT, HQ wrote:

    >Could someone who has experience on this matter tell me if it's
    >possible to rent a mobile phone to use in Europe for some weeks?
    >Thanks,
    >hq

"HQ" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Thanks for all the answers.
    > hq
    > On Wed, 19 Feb 2003 05:46:53 GMT, HQ wrote:
    > >Could someone who has experience on this matter tell me if it's
    > >possible to rent a mobile phone to use in Europe for some weeks?
    > >
    > >Thanks,
    > >hq

If they serve near you, you might check out Rogers Wireless. My AT&T
Wireless GSM phone automatically roams to Rogers Wireless when I go to
Vancouver, so I know they have Euro- compatible service.

JimS.
Seattle

In article ,
"JimS." wrote:

    > "HQ" wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > Thanks for all the answers.
    > > hq
    > >
    > > On Wed, 19 Feb 2003 05:46:53 GMT, HQ wrote:
    > >
    > > >Could someone who has experience on this matter tell me if it's
    > > >possible to rent a mobile phone to use in Europe for some weeks?
    > > >
    > > >Thanks,
    > > >hq
    >
    > If they serve near you, you might check out Rogers Wireless. My AT&T
    > Wireless GSM phone automatically roams to Rogers Wireless when I go to
    > Vancouver, so I know they have Euro- compatible service.

European GSm is different from N.American GSM

Your point is well taken but if you have a so-called dual-band or even a
tri-band GSM phone, it will work both places. The tri-band will even work in
Asia, except in Japan, of course, that is so advanced, they use something
called EDGE. The tri-band works on the 900/1800/1900 Mhz bands, GSM 1900
being used in N America and GSM900/1800 in Europe and Asia.

"Not the Karl Orff" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > In article ,
    > "JimS." wrote:
    > > "HQ" wrote in message
    > > news:[email protected]...
    > > > Thanks for all the answers.
    > > > hq
    > > >
    > > > On Wed, 19 Feb 2003 05:46:53 GMT, HQ wrote:
    > > >
    > > > >Could someone who has experience on this matter tell me if it's
    > > > >possible to rent a mobile phone to use in Europe for some weeks?
    > > > >
    > > > >Thanks,
    > > > >hq
    > >
    > > If they serve near you, you might check out Rogers Wireless. My AT&T
    > > Wireless GSM phone automatically roams to Rogers Wireless when I go to
    > > Vancouver, so I know they have Euro- compatible service.
    > European GSm is different from N.American GSM

Right.
Most GSM phones will be dual or tri-band. I took mine to China last year
and it worked fine on China Mobile in Guanzhou, and HK Orange in Hong Kong.

CAREFUL though-- you will get ripped off on the roaming and LD charges if
you let it ring and forward back to voicemail. I was stunned to find out I
got charged BOTH WAYS, long distance over to China and then LD back from
China to voicemail, plus the roaming. Worked out to a whopping $3 or so per
minute. It seems that the only way to avoid that charge is to shut the
phone totally off. I was pretty pissed, since I figured on "no answer" it
would stay Stateside and simply forward to voicemail, but that's not the way
it works.


"CB" wrote in message
news:zAY4a.184969$vm2.140657@rwcrnsc54...
    > Your point is well taken but if you have a so-called dual-band or even a
    > tri-band GSM phone, it will work both places. The tri-band will even work
in
    > Asia, except in Japan, of course, that is so advanced, they use something
    > called EDGE. The tri-band works on the 900/1800/1900 Mhz bands, GSM 1900
    > being used in N America and GSM900/1800 in Europe and Asia.
    > "Not the Karl Orff" wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > In article ,
    > > "JimS." wrote:
    > >
    > > > "HQ" wrote in message
    > > > news:[email protected]...
    > > > > Thanks for all the answers.
    > > > > hq
    > > > >
    > > > > On Wed, 19 Feb 2003 05:46:53 GMT, HQ wrote:
    > > > >
    > > > > >Could someone who has experience on this matter tell me if it's
    > > > > >possible to rent a mobile phone to use in Europe for some weeks?
    > > > > >
    > > > > >Thanks,
    > > > > >hq
    > > >
    > > > If they serve near you, you might check out Rogers Wireless. My AT&T
    > > > Wireless GSM phone automatically roams to Rogers Wireless when I go to
    > > > Vancouver, so I know they have Euro- compatible service.
    > >
    > > European GSm is different from N.American GSM

On Wed, 19 Feb 2003 15:19:30 -0800, "CB"
wrote:

    >Though renting is fine, I still say it would be advantageous to get a GSM
    >tri-band world phone that you will be able to use most anywhere you travel
    >to Europe and Asia. This is assuming, of course, you can use the same phone
    >at home. I am in California and AT&T wireless offers GSM service and are
    >encouring customers to subscribe to this new service with great rates. Then,
    >you can use the same phone anywhere you go. All you have to do is get a
    >pre-paid SIM card from a local carrier which will give you a local number

Don't forget to ensure the 'phone isn't SIM-locked before investing in
a local Sim card...


Cheers,

Jason.

--
School of Law
Birkbeck College
University of London
--

CB wrote:
    >
    > Your point is well taken but if you have a so-called dual-band or even a
    > tri-band GSM phone, it will work both places.
    >

My dual-band GSM phone does NOT work in the US - it works on 900 and 1800
only, not the US 1900.

Don't quite understand how you got ripped off. When I travel, I get a local
SIM card with a local number with a prepaid amount of minutes and no
voicemail, and so I know exactly how much I pay per minute, based on peak or
off-peak usage. In your case, what kind of package did you get from the
local carrier that it knew about your US number and forwarded it? Didn't you
have to replace the SIM card with one that had a local number? I'm with AT&T
Wireless and they tell me I can roam all over the world, but of course there
are those damn roaming charges and it's really so much cheaper if you get a
local SIM card. Just curious.

"JimS." wrote in message
news:i1Z4a.170109$iG3.20411@sccrnsc02...
    > Right.
    > Most GSM phones will be dual or tri-band. I took mine to China last year
    > and it worked fine on China Mobile in Guanzhou, and HK Orange in Hong
Kong.
    > CAREFUL though-- you will get ripped off on the roaming and LD charges if
    > you let it ring and forward back to voicemail. I was stunned to find out
I
    > got charged BOTH WAYS, long distance over to China and then LD back from
    > China to voicemail, plus the roaming. Worked out to a whopping $3 or so
per
    > minute. It seems that the only way to avoid that charge is to shut the
    > phone totally off. I was pretty pissed, since I figured on "no answer"
it
    > would stay Stateside and simply forward to voicemail, but that's not the
way
    > it works.
    > "CB" wrote in message
    > news:zAY4a.184969$vm2.140657@rwcrnsc54...
    > > Your point is well taken but if you have a so-called dual-band or even a
    > > tri-band GSM phone, it will work both places. The tri-band will even
work
    > in
    > > Asia, except in Japan, of course, that is so advanced, they use
something
    > > called EDGE. The tri-band works on the 900/1800/1900 Mhz bands, GSM 1900
    > > being used in N America and GSM900/1800 in Europe and Asia.
    > >
    > > "Not the Karl Orff" wrote in message
    > > news:[email protected]...
    > > > In article ,
    > > > "JimS." wrote:
    > > >
    > > > > "HQ" wrote in message
    > > > > news:[email protected]...
    > > > > > Thanks for all the answers.
    > > > > > hq
    > > > > >
    > > > > > On Wed, 19 Feb 2003 05:46:53 GMT, HQ wrote:
    > > > > >
    > > > > > >Could someone who has experience on this matter tell me if it's
    > > > > > >possible to rent a mobile phone to use in Europe for some weeks?
    > > > > > >
    > > > > > >Thanks,
    > > > > > >hq
    > > > >
    > > > > If they serve near you, you might check out Rogers Wireless. My
AT&T
    > > > > Wireless GSM phone automatically roams to Rogers Wireless when I go
to
    > > > > Vancouver, so I know they have Euro- compatible service.
    > > >
    > > > European GSm is different from N.American GSM
    > >
    > >