Italian Sim Card

[el_rooto]

Hi All,

I need to get a sim card when I am in italy next week for a few weeks, would anyone have any recomendations for a PAYG/pre-paid sim card while I am there?

Cheers,

 

[tgh]

buy a tru sim.
It works everywhere.. almost .. the best travel sim by an order of magnitude
Just arrive , turn on the phone , and it quickly message u tells you the deal.. ie the cost of calls, ams, etc
I keep meeting people with all these dodo solutions.. why oh why tru haven't got the message to the masses .. evades me

 

[DeKa]

buy a tru sim.
It works everywhere.. almost .. the best travel sim by an order of magnitude
Just arrive , turn on the phone , and it quickly message u tells you the deal.. ie the cost of calls, ams, etc
I keep meeting people with all these dodo solutions.. why oh why tru haven't got the message to the masses .. evades me

Because Tru is really expensive?

OP I have never used a SIM Italy but heard good things about Tim (the telco).

 

[el_rooto]

Because Tru is really expensive?

OP I have never used a SIM Italy but heard good things about Tim (the telco).

Thankyou for re-affirming my faith in the forum. As OP is going to be in Italy and is mainly after data, an Italian sim would seem the way to go. Travel Sim's have always seemed to be overly priced gimics. They are cheap if you are spending 2 days in ten different countries... But apart from that... Not so much...

 

[tgh]

hm .. well it's maybe a matter of perception... How is tru expensive ?
In the scheme of things the costs seem pretty good to me , but I'm not penny pinching either...

 

[ellen10]

We purchased a Tim sim in Italy.
Great value and good service.

 

[DeKa]

hm .. well it's maybe a matter of perception... How is tru expensive ?
In the scheme of things the costs seem pretty good to me , but I'm not penny pinching either...

Tim:
[TABLE="class: gridtable, width: 726"]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]Local Voice Calls[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]€0.12 per minute[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]Local SMS[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]€0.10 per message[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]International SMS[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]€0.30 per message[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]International Calls[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]From €0.01 per minute (€0.20 / min to AU)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]Internet Casual Use[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]€0.50 / MB[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]Internet Bolt Ons[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]€3 - 300MB valid for 7 days*
€6 - 500MB valid for 7 days*
€12 - 2GB valid for 30 days**
€20 - 5GB valid for 30 days**
€35 - 15GB valid for 30 days**[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Tru:
Local voice calls:

€0.31 per minute
​

Local SMS:

€0.10 per message (same as Tim)
​

Data:

€0.66/​

MB (no packs/bolt ons)
Call to AU:

€0.93 per minute

To me, based on local call costs and data costs, Tim wins easily. Of course, if you are going to 5 countries for 2 days each, travel sims like Tru do have some use.

​

OP: lots of instructions (in English) on how to set up Tim SIM here: Italy SIM Card | Mobi Passport - Prepaid Travel SIMs - you probably should do the right thing and buy the SIM from them though, if you're going to use their instructions.

 

[el_rooto]

Yeah I was going to buy one on arrival in MXP.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Have tried many companies in Italy, TIM, WIND, Vodafone and Tre. I found Tre (3) to have an excellent data only sim, for something like €5 for 3GB for 30 days. Plus it activates immediately. WIND for some reason takes 24hrs and TIM takes 5-12 hrs. I found the Tre shops to be very friendly and helpful. Tre coverage is fine for major cities. Be aware that if you do not speak or read Italian, all the web sites are somewhat difficult to navigate.

 

[el_rooto]

As long As I can pop a microsim into my phone and have data so I can use maps, facebook chat, etc I'll be sweet.

Oh, also foursquare. That's the important one while travelling.

Have tried many companies in Italy, TIM, WIND, Vodafone and Tre. I found Tre (3) to have an excellent data only sim, for something like €5 for 3GB for 30 days. Plus it activates immediately. WIND for some reason takes 24hrs and TIM takes 5-12 hrs. I found the Tre shops to be very friendly and helpful. Tre coverage is fine for major cities. Be aware that if you do not speak or read Italian, all the web sites are somewhat difficult to navigate.

 

[Ric]

IIRC, at MXP, only Vodafone at the currency exchange booth. Didn't recall any other place that sells TIM