Cell Phone Question For A Visitor To The UK From The USA

Our cell phones in the USA work on a different system to everywhere
else - they just have to be different..........

I am visiting the UK in a few weeks (returning home to see the family)
and I was looking at renting a cell phone while I am there, but I can't
see any good deals - everything is horribly expensive.

While browsing I came across a company that will sell me a GSM phone in
the USA already supplied with a UK number and card for $50 (30 pounds).
While this seems like a good deal - I get to keep the phone and nunber
and it will work in most countries in the world, the rates per minute
for outgoing calls are $1.50 a minute (almost 1 pound).

My question (finally getting there), is that as I understand it, your
phone number is linked to the card that you put in the phone, therefore
in theory I could acquire another card when in England where I could
pre-pay as I go and get a better rate. Is this possible, how easy is
it to buy and register a card, and what sort of per minute rates would
I expect?

Most of our phones over here don't have a card, you sign up with the
company, get your phone, they program it and voila.... Everything is
different...

Thanks in advance - looking forward to coming home.......

---

› See More: Cell Phone Question For A Visitor To The UK From The USA

Poddys wrote:
>
> While browsing I came across a company that will sell me a GSM phone in
> the USA already supplied with a UK number and card for $50 (30 pounds).
> While this seems like a good deal - I get to keep the phone and nunber
> and it will work in most countries in the world, the rates per minute
> for outgoing calls are $1.50 a minute (almost 1 pound).
>
> My question (finally getting there), is that as I understand it, your
> phone number is linked to the card that you put in the phone, therefore
> in theory I could acquire another card when in England where I could
> pre-pay as I go and get a better rate. Is this possible, how easy is
> it to buy and register a card, and what sort of per minute rates would
> I expect?
>
Cingular and T-Mobile use GSM. The 2 US bands are different from the 2
UK ones, but there are a number of tri- or quad-band phones available.
You could buy one of them in the US, unlock it, and pop in a cheapo UK
SIM when you arrive. Nokias are very easy to unlock - I've done a
number of them. I'm currently using an unlocked Nokia 3120, with an
ATT/Cingular SIM for use in the US, and an Orange one for the UK.

<http://shop.o2.co.uk/shop/>

<http://shop.orange.co.uk/>

There are other providers, but this should give you a start.

Thanks. Naturally I'm with Sprint - but I guess Verizon would be
equally as bad. At some point I considered changing company in the USA
so that I could have a world-capable phone. Right now a cheap GSM
phone might now be a bad idea - even if it's just for this trip....

I will definitely investigate acquiring a UK SIM as this could give me
flexibility and save some money.

"Poddys" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]
> Thanks. Naturally I'm with Sprint - but I guess Verizon
> would be equally as bad. At some point I considered
> changing company in the USA so that I could have a
> world-capable phone. Right now a cheap GSM phone might
> now be a bad idea - even if it's just for this trip....
>
> I will definitely investigate acquiring a UK SIM as this
> could give me flexibility and save some money.

Either Virgin Mobile or Tesco would be suitable IMHO.

Ivor

"Poddys" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Our cell phones in the USA work on a different system to everywhere
> else - they just have to be different..........

Not all of them, some use GSM networks, but on a different frequency, but
many phones will work in the UK. Check to see what type yours is, if it is
compatible you just need a UK SIM card as long as your phone is unlocked.

> While browsing I came across a company that will sell me a GSM phone in
> the USA already supplied with a UK number and card for $50 (30 pounds).
> While this seems like a good deal - I get to keep the phone and nunber
> and it will work in most countries in the world, the rates per minute
> for outgoing calls are $1.50 a minute (almost 1 pound).

Which is shocking, of course. Is that rate in the UK too? I've seen Nokia
1100 phones on sale for £20 complete with £5 of calling credit, call charges
are just normal pay as you go charges, certainly not £1 per minute.

> My question (finally getting there), is that as I understand it, your
> phone number is linked to the card that you put in the phone, therefore
> in theory I could acquire another card when in England where I could
> pre-pay as I go and get a better rate.

Yes, this is the SIM card. Go to any high street in the UK and there will be
lots of mobile phone shops, all of which will sell you a SIM card to connect
to their network. I was in O2 yesterday and they are selling them for £4.99.
You can use a SIM card in any GSM phone as long as it is unlocked.

> Is this possible, how easy is
> it to buy and register a card, and what sort of per minute rates would
> I expect?

Varies. With Orange you have to buy the card, £5, and then ring up a number
and sit in a queue for an hour to answer all sorts of unnecessary personal
questions before they will let you use the phone. With O2, you buy the SIM
card, put it in, and that's it.

> Most of our phones over here don't have a card, you sign up with the
> company, get your phone, they program it and voila.... Everything is
> different...

Sounds like you have a non-GSM phone then.

On Wed, 23 Aug 2006 08:40:10 +0100, "Mark Hewitt"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Varies. With Orange you have to buy the card, £5, and then ring up a number
>and sit in a queue for an hour to answer all sorts of unnecessary personal
>questions before they will let you use the phone. With O2, you buy the SIM
>card, put it in, and that's it.

Easymobile might be a good idea as new sim only deals often come with
a wad of credit added on - I bought a sim for £1 and got £20 free
included...

--

Tym

~There's no place like 127.0.0.1~

Poddys wrote:

> My question (finally getting there), is that as I understand it, your
> phone number is linked to the card that you put in the phone, therefore
> in theory I could acquire another card when in England where I could
> pre-pay as I go and get a better rate. Is this possible, how easy is
> it to buy and register a card, and what sort of per minute rates would
> I expect?

<http://alan.uni-hd.de/Handy/UK_SIMs-ENGLISH.html>

HTH

Alan

On 22 Aug 2006 17:23:41 -0700, "Poddys" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Our cell phones in the USA work on a different system to everywhere
>else - they just have to be different..........
>
>I am visiting the UK in a few weeks (returning home to see the family)
>and I was looking at renting a cell phone while I am there, but I can't
>see any good deals - everything is horribly expensive.
>
>While browsing I came across a company that will sell me a GSM phone in
>the USA already supplied with a UK number and card for $50 (30 pounds).
> While this seems like a good deal - I get to keep the phone and nunber
>and it will work in most countries in the world, the rates per minute
>for outgoing calls are $1.50 a minute (almost 1 pound).
>
>My question (finally getting there), is that as I understand it, your
>phone number is linked to the card that you put in the phone, therefore
>in theory I could acquire another card when in England where I could
>pre-pay as I go and get a better rate. Is this possible, how easy is
>it to buy and register a card, and what sort of per minute rates would
>I expect?
>
>Most of our phones over here don't have a card, you sign up with the
>company, get your phone, they program it and voila.... Everything is
>different...
>
>Thanks in advance - looking forward to coming home.......

When you get here, buy a phone from Tesco for about £30, and use that
while you're here.

"Poddys" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Our cell phones in the USA work on a different system to everywhere
> else - they just have to be different..........
>
> I am visiting the UK in a few weeks (returning home to see the family)
> and I was looking at renting a cell phone while I am there, but I can't
> see any good deals - everything is horribly expensive.
>
> While browsing I came across a company that will sell me a GSM phone in
> the USA already supplied with a UK number and card for $50 (30 pounds).
> While this seems like a good deal - I get to keep the phone and nunber
> and it will work in most countries in the world, the rates per minute
> for outgoing calls are $1.50 a minute (almost 1 pound).
>
> My question (finally getting there), is that as I understand it, your
> phone number is linked to the card that you put in the phone, therefore
> in theory I could acquire another card when in England where I could
> pre-pay as I go and get a better rate. Is this possible, how easy is
> it to buy and register a card, and what sort of per minute rates would
> I expect?
>
> Most of our phones over here don't have a card, you sign up with the
> company, get your phone, they program it and voila.... Everything is
> different...
>
> Thanks in advance - looking forward to coming home.......
>

Get your self a O2 pre pay sim with best text and talk rates back to the
USA.


--



www.experimentalist.co.uk/shop/index.php
Australia, New Zealand, USA, German, UK, South Africa, Thailand, Brazil Sim
Cards &
EPIRB.
My help forum
www.experimentalist.co.uk/forum/index.php

Poddys wrote:
> While browsing I came across a company that will sell me a GSM phone in
> the USA already supplied with a UK number and card for $50 (30 pounds).
> While this seems like a good deal - I get to keep the phone and nunber
> and it will work in most countries in the world, the rates per minute
> for outgoing calls are $1.50 a minute (almost 1 pound).
>
> My question (finally getting there), is that as I understand it, your
> phone number is linked to the card that you put in the phone, therefore
> in theory I could acquire another card when in England where I could
> pre-pay as I go and get a better rate. Is this possible, how easy is
> it to buy and register a card, and what sort of per minute rates would
> I expect?

In that case, I would not bother getting the phone until you get to the
UK. There are plenty of PAYG phones available from £20 upwards that
are perfectly capable GSM phones that include the SIM an much cheaper
calls.

For example, you can get a Nokia 1101 from Virgin (including SIM card
and £15 call credit) for only £25:
http://www.virginmobile.com/vm/viewP...E-E2D5778FE08B
Virgin call charges are only 15p per minute for the first 5 minutes (in
any day) and then 5p per minute afterwards.

PAYG phones are available from a lot of different shops in the UK
(supermarkets, music shops and of course mobile phone shops, to name a
few) and you are pretty much guaranteed to find at least one in every
shopping centre (probably even at the airport).

I would advise you research the available PAYG tarrifs before you
arrive and then look for a cheap phone when you get here. You will have
a choice from:

http://www.virginmobile.com/

http://www.tescophones.com/

https://www.easymobile.com/

http://www.vodafone.co.uk/

http://www.o2.co.uk/

http://www.orange.co.uk/

http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/

plus some others that I have probably forgotten. All offer different
call costs that may suit you better than others,

Thasnks everyone for your help - the cell phone market in the UK was in
it's infancy when I left 12 years ago - so much has changed over there.

I was thinking about getting a GSM phone here before I went and paying
the charges, but I might as well just pop into a store over there and
buy one if it's that easy. It certainly should be a lot cheaper, and
more compatible too.

Do they check proof of UK residency or something before they let you
buy a pay as you go phone? Being a US resident these days, I wouldn't
like to get there only to find they won't let me buy a phone...

Poddys wrote:
> Thasnks everyone for your help - the cell phone market in the UK was in
> it's infancy when I left 12 years ago - so much has changed over there.
>
> I was thinking about getting a GSM phone here before I went and paying
> the charges, but I might as well just pop into a store over there and
> buy one if it's that easy. It certainly should be a lot cheaper, and
> more compatible too.
>
> Do they check proof of UK residency or something before they let you
> buy a pay as you go phone? Being a US resident these days, I wouldn't
> like to get there only to find they won't let me buy a phone...

Almost everywhere sells them, including the supermarkets. You don't
have to give any ID at all when you purchase a PAYG phone. That said,
I believe Orange will only enable the phone once you've called them
from the new handset and given them an address (and it would probably
have to be a UK one). In my experience with Vodafone and Virgin the
phone works the moment you take it out of the box (registered or not).
I don't know for sure about the other networks (O2, T-Mobile, etc).

"Poddys" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Thasnks everyone for your help - the cell phone market in the UK was in
> it's infancy when I left 12 years ago - so much has changed over there.
>
> I was thinking about getting a GSM phone here before I went and paying
> the charges, but I might as well just pop into a store over there and
> buy one if it's that easy. It certainly should be a lot cheaper, and
> more compatible too.
>
> Do they check proof of UK residency or something before they let you
> buy a pay as you go phone? Being a US resident these days, I wouldn't
> like to get there only to find they won't let me buy a phone...
>

They don't care about residency, but they may require an address for it to
be registered to (some networks do & some don't), if you're home visiting
family you could use their address, or just make one up.

"Poddys" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Do they check proof of UK residency or something before they let you
> buy a pay as you go phone? Being a US resident these days, I wouldn't
> like to get there only to find they won't let me buy a phone...

Some require you to register. Others, e.g. O2, you just take it out of the
box, put the SIM card in, and you are away.
Keep in mind that when you buy a new phone the battery will often be dead or
on very low charge, so you'll need to charge it up properly before you can
start using it.

On 22 Aug 2006 17:23:41 -0700, "Poddys" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Our cell phones in the USA work on a different system to everywhere
>else - they just have to be different..........
>
>I am visiting the UK in a few weeks (returning home to see the family)
>and I was looking at renting a cell phone while I am there, but I can't
>see any good deals - everything is horribly expensive.
>
>While browsing I came across a company that will sell me a GSM phone in
>the USA already supplied with a UK number and card for $50 (30 pounds).
> While this seems like a good deal - I get to keep the phone and nunber
>and it will work in most countries in the world, the rates per minute
>for outgoing calls are $1.50 a minute (almost 1 pound).
>
>My question (finally getting there), is that as I understand it, your
>phone number is linked to the card that you put in the phone, therefore
>in theory I could acquire another card when in England where I could
>pre-pay as I go and get a better rate. Is this possible, how easy is
>it to buy and register a card, and what sort of per minute rates would
>I expect?
>
>Most of our phones over here don't have a card, you sign up with the
>company, get your phone, they program it and voila.... Everything is
>different...
>
>Thanks in advance - looking forward to coming home.......


I suggest you pop into the first large Tesco store you come across:

http://www.tescophones.com/pay-as-yo...a/1110/tescopp

A brand new Nokia for less than 30 quid which includes 10 quids worth
of call time - it's a no brainer.

--
Cheers

Peter

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