[shankar.balan]

Don't waste your time with Matrix. They are quite expensive indeed.
Instead go for a local SIM like Vodafone, T Mobile or Lebara all of which are pre-paid and ultimately work out much cheaper as per my experience in several years of buzzing around those lands.

Originally Posted by Parag_K

Friends, I will be going to Europe (Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany) in August (10-24) and need advice regarding international cards/local sim cards.

Since I will be going with my family, my calls to India will be a minimum. However I want a number in case anyone from my office wants to call me on an urgent basis.

As I am travelling to multiple countries, should I go for Matix or something similar? If yes, then which one should I go for? Matrix seems to be getting bad reviews across the internet and also on this thread.

Also can someone give me approx. cost of local sim cards for the above countries so that I can compare?

[akhilesh51]

Originally Posted by binoyjude

The problem with Martix is its just for one country.I am looking for a permenant International Number,which can be used when out of India.Does anyone have any suggestions?

Any single number solution for international calls is going to be very expensive. In such a case, you are better off with an indian SIM with international facility. Believe it or not, Indian telcos have one of the most competitive rates.

Some carriers even have special ISD plans which are very very cheap when roaming abroad.

[Parag_K]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Don't waste your time with Matrix. They are quite expensive indeed.
Instead go for a local SIM like Vodafone, T Mobile or Lebara all of which are pre-paid and ultimately work out much cheaper as per my experience in several years of buzzing around those lands.

Thanks. I'll stay away from Matrix. However I will be in each country for 4 days only which means 3 cards minimum. I hope the cards are not costly. BTW where can I buy the prepaid cards? Are they available on the airport/train stations?

Originally Posted by akhilesh51

Any single number solution for international calls is going to be very expensive. In such a case, you are better off with an indian SIM with international facility. Believe it or not, Indian telcos have one of the most competitive rates.

Some carriers even have special ISD plans which are very very cheap when roaming abroad.

I am currently on Airtel in Maharashtra. Do you know offhand which telco gives the best ISD roaming plan?

[rajivr1612]

Guys I am traveling to Milan next week and will be there for a 1.5 months. Is Lebara sim card available in Italy? When I had visited Germany in 2010 I had used the same and it is very cheap. Please let me know if anyone has some info.

[mail4ajo]

I am a regular user of international sim cards. I have used Matrix and Uniconnect on several occasions. The rates vary by country. Matrix is more expensive in US. But Thailand, they were the cheapest and gave me a CUG plan that was very cheap. UK, they were cheaper than UniC. UniC beat them for Germany, Italy etc.

But I got a plan for US from Uniconnect which is 0.08 UK pence for incoming and outgoing which I am using next week. Its a special corporate plan.

[sumeet007]

I am traveling to europe on a package tour from Thomas cook covering 9 countries (UK,France, Italy, austria, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, belgium) for 2 weeks.
Went thru' this informative thread, and was wondering what is the best prepaid option to call India, preferably with single sim(World SIM). Came across reliance world SIM, they seem to charge 1900, with life time validity, 1200 minutes free, with free incoming from most countries except Italy an Switzerland.
Any experiences with Reliance world SIM, as there are mixed reviews with some unable to even use it or activate it also.

I had a terrible experience with MATRIX while having made the mistake of buying on impulse at airport terminal for a 3 day trip to Malaysia, ended up losing money (which they illegally swiped from credit card copy), struggled to give back SIM on return (they charged for that too), would NEVER use Matrix again.

[oxyzen]

I will be travelling to USA for higher studies.

I have no Idea about the best solution for mobile network. I am planning to carry 2 mobiles. One with my AIrtel number. Will it be of any use?

And the other can be an International calling card. Reliance world sim looks reasonable. Or is it better to go for a local sim. Please suggest.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

I will be travelling to USA for higher studies.

I have no Idea about the best solution for mobile network. I am planning to carry 2 mobiles. One with my AIrtel number. Will it be of any use?

And the other can be an International calling card. Reliance world sim looks reasonable. Or is it better to go for a local sim. Please suggest.

I don't think your Airtel sim will be of any use. Pick up a local sim there, Tmobile and AT&T are pretty good, but do check the network coverage in your area. There is a Reliance service which lets you dial India for very cheap rates, look into that.

[.anshuman]

Whenever travelling abroad, the first thing i buy is a local sim card. I try to get ones which come with some bundled GPRS in the package. I use talktime for local calls and VOIP for calls back to India.

I have MobileVOIP software installed on my Galaxy Note, i buy prepaid talktime which allows me to make calls at very cheap rates and even free to some countries. While calling i can also choose my own phone number as caller id. So while travelling abroad i make most of the lengthy calls from places i have access to Wi-Fi. For urgent calls basic 2G network works fine.

The basic 2G plan works great for What's app, WeChat, Email and other communication needs. I keep my Indian phone number On, i call back for all important calls via VOIP.

[oxyzen]

Thanks Guys

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Pick up a local sim there, Tmobile and AT&T are pretty good, but do check the network coverage in your area.

Will my existing android phone be compatible with the local sim?
By local sim you mean prepaid right. But even there it needs to be recharged monthly. Or are there other options like lifetime validity and pay as you go?

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Whenever travelling abroad, the first thing i buy is a local sim card. I try to get ones which come with some bundled GPRS in the package.

Are there any options for local sim card without a monthly commitment.
What I really need is GPRS. Skype/Whatsapp should be fine for contacting family in India.
I will be a light user by the way. Just a GRPS should be fine.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

Thanks Guys
Will my existing android phone be compatible with the local sim?
By local sim you mean prepaid right. But even there it needs to be recharged monthly. Or are there other options like lifetime validity and pay as you go?

What I generally use when I'm there is a Tmobile sim, for which I pay $70 for the month, which is unlimited calls, and texts in the US, and with 2/3gb of high speed data (3g or 4g) after which it switches to edge. The data usage is unlimited too.

There are cheaper rates too, but I guess you will have to pay every month.

And your Android phone should be compatible with the US networks.

[HKS]

$70 is a lot of money. In the UK, I use 3 mobile. Pay 15 pounds for 300 minutes, 300 texts and unlimited 3G. Has always worked fine on my old iPhone 4S. Haven't tried it on 5 yet.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by HKS

$70 is a lot of money. In the UK, I use 3 mobile. Pay 15 pounds for 300 minutes, 300 texts and unlimited 3G. Has always worked fine on my old iPhone 4S. Haven't tried it on 5 yet.

Yup used that in the UK this time, paid 20 quid for it. Guess 5 pounds was for the sim. The only issue is 300 minutes gets over quick, though unlimited 3G is great. Unfortunately the US doesn't seem to have anything that cheap.

[HKS]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Yup used that in the UK this time, paid 20 quid for it. Guess 5 pounds was for the sim. The only issue is 300 minutes gets over quick, though unlimited 3G is great. Unfortunately the US doesn't seem to have anything that cheap.

The Sim card is FREE. I got it for the second time, when I had travelled in this May as well.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by HKS

The Sim card is FREE. I got it for the second time, when I had travelled in this May as well.

Well then maybe its just priced more at Heathrow, I got it from a vending machine.