Cell Phones in Rome and the Rest of Italy
It was tough not having cell phones in Paris. When E took a nap, D would sometimes go out for a walk, but there was no way to call her once he woke up. We just didn't think of taking our cell phones with us.
This time, we did our homework to learn what it would take to use our phones in Italy. We took both phones. This morning, it took all of 10 minutes and only 10 euros per phone to get local phone service. For 10 euros, you get a new SIM chip and 5 euros of credit towards calls. Plus, our Italian phone numbers make us feel a bit more Italian ;-). So does answering the phone with "pronto!"
It wasn't hard, but there are a couple things you have to do before you leave home.
Make sure you have a GSM phone (not CDMA). T-Mobile and Cingular (among others) use GSM. With Sprint, you have to rent a phone. Make sure it's tri-band and supports 1800Mhz and, if you want the broadest coverage, the older 900Mhz as well. Get your phone "unlocked". This lets you replace the SIM chip that came with your phone with that of another (foreign) provider. Most providers don't like you to do this, since they give away phones expecting you to sign up for their service. But there are plenty of places that will do it. A shop in Seattle wanted $80 to unlock D's treo.
Luckily, P's brother clued us into the fact that T-Mobile will unlock your phone for free if you ask. You just call customer care (611) and tell them that you want to unlock your phone for travel in Europe. They'll ask for your email address, the make & model of your phone, and then email you step-by-step instructions and the special unlock code the next day. You can do this only once every three months, so if you want to unlock multiple phones, plan ahead.
If you don't use T-Mobile, just do some googling. Uniquephones.com is legit and charges only $2.50. If you want to save a couple bucks (or you're just curious), you can download apps for free that'll compute the unlock code. If you go this route, I've heard some of these apps come with spyware, so run them in a virtual machine to avoid infection. If your phone needs a hardware device (most Motorola phones), they'll need physical access to your phone to unlock it.
Once you're in Italy, find a cell phone shop and tell them you want a SIM card. We went to a Vodaphone store. They'll need your Passport for security reasons (cell phones have been used as remote detonators). Pop in the new SIM card, punch in the included PIN number, and you're mobile! To add credit, pop into one of the many tobacci shops in Italy. Super convenient.Related Links:
Making Your Cell Phone Work Internationally
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Posted on April 20, 2006 |
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