Italian Prepaid SIM Card

the sim card didn't work. it didn't connect/register on any network in italy. I have never had a sim card NOT connect to a network ( it may not be able to make calls but it connects to a network). before leaving for italy i had given out the italy cell number to my CCards, hotel/train/plane reservations, family, friends in italy etc. we arrived in italy on a friday eve. the sim didn't connect/register on any network. on Sat AM i again tried it in our 3 unlocked phones= nothing. All toll free contact info provide is IF your sim is working or if you have a land line(NOT from payphones, mobile phones, and majority of hotels).. so i call cellular abroad in US ( they are US distributor of unoMobile) on my dime= they are not open on weekends. i emailed them on Sat. on sunday afternoon i receive a reply saying they will not know anything till tuesday and if i need cell phone to make other arrangements. i walked into a TIM store. 10 min later i have 3 sim cards working. which now brings me to the price one pays for uno mobile. for $49 you get $13.32 worth of service. IMO for the $49 the card should work guaranteed. customer service should be fix NOW not 3-4 days later ... for your info = the italy TIM sim was 10 euro for the sim ( you get 5 euro credit back), for 2 euro a week we got 100min of calls, 100 text & 250mgs of data. i bought 4 weeks worth. the 3rd sim was for a wifi hotspot modem ( for our 2 tablets) = 10gigs of data for 25 euro ... NOTE: prices change all the time. a week later the same service was 2.5 euro a week .... the prices stated for uno mobile calls at .22 per min are if you paid 13.32 for the sim .. but we are paying $49 for sim so the calls are over 3X the .22 ... but we are paying for the convenience of stepping off the plane and having cell/data service NOW and giving out a local italy number in advance .. without having the NOW why pay $49 for $13.32 worth of service? then the inconvenience of having to contact everyone whom you gave out the uno mobile number to and give them your new cell number... i did a online chat with Amazon while in italy = they issued a refund right then and issued a prepaid return label for sim ( return it when i return to US) = can't beat Amazon service ... i will NOT buy a local ( country i'm traveling to ) sim card in advance again . it's not worth the price/hassel if you have problems when you arrive. just about every airport has cell stores when you arrive and the price for service is much lower ...

I finally went to Europe and I was worried about phone coverage. Come to find out, just about everyone in Europe speaks some english (Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and sometimes France) and communication wasn't the problem I thought it would be. SIM cards are easy to get at most tobacco shops (they are like 7-11's) and the Euro is a universal currency (except Switzerland but, they'll still take it and you'll lose on the exchange rate). To be of any value, you need a country specific SIM card and you need to spend some time in that country. In Italy the TIM SIM card was a better value. My advice, don't panic, take your unlocked AT&T or T-Mobile phone and just get the card when you need it. You can call whom ever back home and give them your "new" number.

I have used other SIMS but friends in Italy refused to call unless I had a local number, hence Uno Mobile. The card works great and reception all over Italy seems fine. I've received calls from the USA and texts for Free, very nice! Calling both USA and Italy seems to run on per second billing and not really that bad. Where they stick you is on sending texts, about .50 US per text sent, more than a call! Finding a SIM recharge retailer has been a challenge, I stumbled on one (lottery office) outside of Rome and proceeded to charge the phone. You do really have to search for a retailer but as long as you make people call you you'll be fine. I bought another SIM (Vodafone) at the airport and seems to be the same concept, except that recharge cards are more readily available. I would have given this purchase 5-stars if it wasn't for the for the lack of retailers. BTW no MMS available on either card. Voice mail retrieval is also available for free and u can setup a 3 second greeting (yes 3 seconds!).

I had no problems with the use of this SIM card and found it extremely helpful to have the number ahead of travel time, as well as the one-year life span of the card (after last use). The only issue was in that I'd neglected to print out the directions for recharging the card online! While I can handle "voglio comprare una ricarica (I want to buy a recharge)," the extremely rapid Italian on the phone line you need to call if you buy the ricarica in a shop (NO problems finding one, under 10 minutes) was well beyond my capabilities! Thank goodness for helpful Italian friends.