UK resident. Want to buy a USA Sim card (prepay) so I have a workingUSA inbound number

I live in both the UK and USA

I want a USA mobile number (for business purposes).

Is it feasbile to buy a sim card (perhaps from ebay) and use it even
when I'm in England. (I guess i'd need a 'roaming' service).

Ideally, I'd like people to be able to leave voicemail messages for me
(that I could retrieve even from England).

I want to set it up now. I don't plan to be there until Feb 2009 (i'll
be there for 6 weeks then I'll be back here)

I'd really appreciate some advice.

---

› See More: UK resident. Want to buy a USA Sim card (prepay) so I have a workingUSA inbound number

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I live in both the UK and USA
>
> I want a USA mobile number (for business purposes).
>
> Is it feasbile to buy a sim card (perhaps from ebay) and use it even
> when I'm in England. (I guess i'd need a 'roaming' service).
>
> Ideally, I'd like people to be able to leave voicemail messages for me
> (that I could retrieve even from England).
>
> I want to set it up now. I don't plan to be there until Feb 2009 (i'll
> be there for 6 weeks then I'll be back here)
> I'd really appreciate some advice.
>
>
Quick guess would be to buy a US T Mobile Sim, and use it in a
quad band phone, but i bet UK roaming charges on it would be nasty?

Steve Terry

While I was dreaming about my next Hawaii visit <[email protected]
sani.net>, Steve Terry <[email protected]> wrote
>
><[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>>I live in both the UK and USA
>>
>> I want a USA mobile number (for business purposes).
>>
>> Is it feasbile to buy a sim card (perhaps from ebay) and use it even
>> when I'm in England. (I guess i'd need a 'roaming' service).
>>
>> Ideally, I'd like people to be able to leave voicemail messages for me
>> (that I could retrieve even from England).
>>
>> I want to set it up now. I don't plan to be there until Feb 2009 (i'll
>> be there for 6 weeks then I'll be back here)
>> I'd really appreciate some advice.
>>
>>
>Quick guess would be to buy a US T Mobile Sim, and use it in a
>quad band phone, but i bet UK roaming charges on it would be nasty?
>
>Steve Terry


My 'Cingular Go Phone' (PAYG) won't work in the UK, only the US.

Bob


--
My memory's not as sharp as it used to be,
and another thing my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.

"Doctor Bob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> While I was dreaming about my next Hawaii visit <[email protected]
> sani.net>, Steve Terry <[email protected]> wrote
>>
>><[email protected]> wrote in message
>>news:[email protected]...
>>>I live in both the UK and USA
>>>
>>> I want a USA mobile number (for business purposes).
>>>
>>> Is it feasbile to buy a sim card (perhaps from ebay) and use it even
>>> when I'm in England. (I guess i'd need a 'roaming' service).
>>>
>>> Ideally, I'd like people to be able to leave voicemail messages for me
>>> (that I could retrieve even from England).
>>>
>>> I want to set it up now. I don't plan to be there until Feb 2009 (i'll
>>> be there for 6 weeks then I'll be back here)
>>> I'd really appreciate some advice.
>>>
>>Quick guess would be to buy a US T Mobile Sim, and use it in a
>>quad band phone, but i bet UK roaming charges on it would be nasty?
>>Steve Terry
>
> My 'Cingular Go Phone' (PAYG) won't work in the UK, only the US.
> Bob
>
>
Is it quad band? (850/900/1800/1900) or triband (900/1800/1900)
and do Cingular have roaming agreement with any networks here?

Steve Terry

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I live in both the UK and USA
>
> I want a USA mobile number (for business purposes).

US mobile numbers are regular numbers and there is no extra charge for
calling them, however even in the USA you will pay for incoming calls. This
means that few people will know whether the number is mobile or not.

>
> Is it feasbile to buy a sim card (perhaps from ebay) and use it even
> when I'm in England. (I guess i'd need a 'roaming' service).

Yes, but this would be pointless AND expensive.

>
> Ideally, I'd like people to be able to leave voicemail messages for me
> (that I could retrieve even from England).
>
> I want to set it up now. I don't plan to be there until Feb 2009 (i'll
> be there for 6 weeks then I'll be back here)
>
> I'd really appreciate some advice.

Recommendation

Register with VOIPfone and get a US number. Looks like they are toll free,
but at £4.99p per month and 5p a minute this is buttons.

You can receive these directly with a SIP phone, divert to landline (cheap)
or mobile (usual).

When you go to the USA arrange a divert to your US mobile.

Otherwise stuff will go to voicemail, which is free and retrievable from
anywhere, by various means.

You can save money on mobile calls in the USA by using voip.

On 2008-09-02, Steve Terry <[email protected]> wrote:
>
><[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>>I live in both the UK and USA
>>
>> I want a USA mobile number (for business purposes).
>>
>> Is it feasbile to buy a sim card (perhaps from ebay) and use it even
>> when I'm in England. (I guess i'd need a 'roaming' service).
>>
>> Ideally, I'd like people to be able to leave voicemail messages for me
>> (that I could retrieve even from England).
>>
>> I want to set it up now. I don't plan to be there until Feb 2009 (i'll
>> be there for 6 weeks then I'll be back here)
>> I'd really appreciate some advice.
>>
>>
> Quick guess would be to buy a US T Mobile Sim, and use it in a
> quad band phone, but i bet UK roaming charges on it would be nasty?

I pretty sure a PAYG SIM from T-Mobile USA won't roam in the
UK, or anywhere beyond Canada and Mexico, and I'm fairly sure
you can't call-forward one of their prepaid SIMs either. AT&T
prepaid used to be the same, though last time I had the misfortune
to call them they claimed they were expanding the countries where you
could roam on prepaid (though I didn't ask which countries).

I think the OP needs to invest in a US VoIP number and then forward
it to the phone he happens to be using where ever he is.

Dennis Ferguson

"Dennis Ferguson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On 2008-09-02, Steve Terry <[email protected]> wrote:
>><[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>>I live in both the UK and USA
>>>
>>> I want a USA mobile number (for business purposes).
<snip>
> I think the OP needs to invest in a US VoIP number and then forward
> it to the phone he happens to be using where ever he is.
> Dennis Ferguson
>
>
That would be a very cost effective solution

Steve Terry

While I was dreaming about my next Hawaii visit <[email protected]
sani.net>, Steve Terry <[email protected]> wrote

>Is it quad band? (850/900/1800/1900) or triband (900/1800/1900)
>and do Cingular have roaming agreement with any networks here?

NO, it's the SIM not the phone.

I believe that Cingular contract phones/SIMS will roam without any
problem.

Bob.


--
My memory's not as sharp as it used to be,
and another thing my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.

On Tue, 2 Sep 2008 18:54:28 +0100, "R. Mark Clayton"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
><[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>>I live in both the UK and USA
>>
>> I want a USA mobile number (for business purposes).
>
>US mobile numbers are regular numbers and there is no extra charge for
>calling them, however even in the USA you will pay for incoming calls. This
>means that few people will know whether the number is mobile or not.
>
>>
>> Is it feasbile to buy a sim card (perhaps from ebay) and use it even
>> when I'm in England. (I guess i'd need a 'roaming' service).
>
>Yes, but this would be pointless AND expensive.
>
>>
>> Ideally, I'd like people to be able to leave voicemail messages for me
>> (that I could retrieve even from England).
>>
>> I want to set it up now. I don't plan to be there until Feb 2009 (i'll
>> be there for 6 weeks then I'll be back here)
>>
>> I'd really appreciate some advice.
>
>Recommendation
>
>Register with VOIPfone and get a US number. Looks like they are toll free,
>but at £4.99p per month and 5p a minute this is buttons.
>
>You can receive these directly with a SIP phone, divert to landline (cheap)
>or mobile (usual).
>
>When you go to the USA arrange a divert to your US mobile.
>
>Otherwise stuff will go to voicemail, which is free and retrievable from
>anywhere, by various means.
>
>You can save money on mobile calls in the USA by using voip.
>
Let me suggest something that you may find of interest and may allow
you to operate a UK SIM, as well as a US SIM, and still be able to
receive messages from the US. It may, or may not prove of use to you
but it is worth a look I think.
As you will be able to access to the Net in the US check out
www.grandcentral.com
The service is not yet available to us Brits yet but, in the US, you
can sign up for their free service.
Grandcentral is now owned by Google.


---
Remove 'no_spam_' from email address.
---

Steve Terry wrote:
> "Doctor Bob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> While I was dreaming about my next Hawaii visit <[email protected]
>> sani.net>, Steve Terry <[email protected]> wrote
>>
>>> Is it quad band? (850/900/1800/1900) or triband (900/1800/1900)
>>> and do Cingular have roaming agreement with any networks here?
>> NO, it's the SIM not the phone.
>>
> It could be both, if the phone doesn't have a 900/1800MHz band
>> I believe that Cingular contract phones/SIMS will roam without any
>> problem.
>> Bob.
>>
>>
> Might do, but only here if the Cingular phone has 900/1800
>
>
Cingular/ATT contract SIMs definitely can roam in the UK, although you
may need to enable that function before leaving the US.

Dennis Ferguson wrote:

> I pretty sure a PAYG SIM from T-Mobile USA won't roam in the
> UK, or anywhere beyond Canada and Mexico, and I'm fairly sure
> you can't call-forward one of their prepaid SIMs either.

A German T-Mobile PAYG-SIM will work in the UK *AND* US. ;-)
And you can divert any calls (quite expensive in this case).

But I can't find any information about the possibility of PAYG-
International Roaming on the US-website (only Mexico and Canada).

Cheers Dirk

On 2008-09-03, Dirk Bieber <[email protected]> wrote:
> Dennis Ferguson wrote:
>> I pretty sure a PAYG SIM from T-Mobile USA won't roam in the
>> UK, or anywhere beyond Canada and Mexico, and I'm fairly sure
>> you can't call-forward one of their prepaid SIMs either.
>
> A German T-Mobile PAYG-SIM will work in the UK *AND* US. ;-)
> And you can divert any calls (quite expensive in this case).

Yes. I think there is a cost associated with supporting PAYG
accounting with a lot of roaming partners, and PAYG is such a
low-use niche offering for the big US carriers (unlike in Europe),
including T-Mobile, that they just don't bother with it. At
least T-Mobile includes in-the-USA roaming on PAYG (necessary since
there are no national mobile licenses in the USA and even the big
operators have huge areas where they don't provide service), I
don't think AT&T PAYG provides even that.

Dennis Ferguson

From what you described, you only need the number for incoming calls.
So, get a US DID number from the likes of voicestick.com, les.net,
Kall8, etc. Then forward it to your UK number. Or you can just activate
the voicemail and have the voicemails sent you your email. Grandcentral,
wgich is currently closed to new customers, does not allow international
call forwarding yet. But they could have come in handy, since you can
have an email msg sent whenever a voicemail is left, just like
voicestick, and les.net.

US payg sims will not roam anywhere besides Mexico and Canada. However
if you need a number while you are in the US, any of tmobile or AT&t
can be had cheaply on ebay.




--
mrcamp