|
||||
|
     |
|
|
|
Inexpensive
Cell Phone Service for Italy
|
Everyone knows that Italy is renowned for manufacturing beautiful cars, designing high fashion, producing great food and wine and having spectacular and unique cities, among many other things. It is also almost as equally infamous for its long tradition of terrible postal service and its even worse telephone service. I've lived in Rome for almost half of my 37 years. When I'm there and I need to send a letter abroad, I invariably have to make the 10-minute trek from my house to the Vatican's post office, who then diverts the mail to the Swiss postal service via the Vatican's own private railroad. The Vatican knows what every Italian and half the world knows and while probably not the most convenient way of sending off the mail, at least it's very likely to get to its final destination and not end some obscure corner of the Posta Italiana's giant yet archaic distribution structure. Historically, the Italian phone system hasn't been much better.
My first memories with the Italian telephone service are equally as poignant, back when it was called SIP and now Telecom Italia. As a young boy, I remember my father rapidly opening and closing his hand and saying, "Stringi!" meaning, "tighten up the conversation!" - and this was generally before the first 10 seconds of my conversation had elapsed. Not only was this a good lesson in Italian gesticulation, but it was also a good insight into some of Italy's telecom problems. Not until I moved out on my own and started to pay my own outrageous phone bills did I stop thinking that my father was just being kind of cheap. Nowadays, l am still "forced" to drive through the park on the Janiculum hill overlooking Rome and past St. Peter's Square in order to get to the Vatican's post office to ensure that my mail gets delivered "this year" as opposed to "in a year" (this has seriously happened to me!). However, there are now hassle-free ways of getting around the expensive headaches of making phone calls - even overseas calls. Even the occasional visitor can take advantage of this telecom revolution.
There is an old and well-known adage that says, "when in Rome, do as the Romans." Regarding telephone communication, truer words have never been spoken. Italy, along with Japan, has the most cell phones per capita. There are more cell phones than land line phones. It is not uncommon to see an 8-year old or even an 80-year old using a cell phone. The good news is that using the Italian cellular phone structure makes as much sense for the tourist as it does for the full time resident. Cell phone coverage and clarity in Italy is far superior to that of the US while also being less expensive. While renting conventional phones for overseas travel has been available for years now, it is hardly the least expensive method of keeping in touch and obviously not the way the Italians do it. Most Italians, and most Europeans general, use what is called a prepaid SIM card that they just slip into their handset. A SIM card, or Subscriber Identity Module, is essentially the brain of the phone. This inexpensive and readily available chip determines what your phone number will be and keeps track of how much you spend on calls. It also includes a number of other features such as voicemail, an address book for storing telephone numbers and the ability to keep a log of your calls. Prepaid SIM cards have a predetermined amount of call credit, and when that amount expires, or even before it expires, they can be easily "reloaded" for more credit at any newsstand or tabaccaio (cigarette store). A prepaid SIM card allows flexibility since it doesn't tie you into a contract, offers very low outgoing rates both nationally and internationally, and most impressive, lets you receive unlimited free incoming calls from anywhere in the world.
When I go to Italy, which is a couple of times a year, I simply take out my US SIM chip and swap it with my Italian "TIM" chip. That way, I can literally start making calls as soon as the hatches of the Jumbo 747 swing open. I pay about 15 cents a minute for domestic calls and about 50 cents back States, and again, unlike in the US where we are charged for both incoming and outgoing calls, in Italy, incoming calls are always free. Since I reload my Italian SIM card at least once a year, I also get to keep the cell phone number. I have to caution you: if you rent a phone through a conventional cell phone outfit, incoming calls will be anything but free. In fact, you will probably be paying at least $2 a call whether you are receiving or dialing out. In order to take advantage of Italy's low rates, you need to get a prepaid SIM card specifically intended to be used in Italy. As a side note, although an Italian SIM does allow you to roam to other countries, you will be charged for outgoing as well as incoming calls if you do - and at considerably higher rates than if calling within Italy. Plus, if you run out of time on your card, you cannot easily reload it outside of Italy.
You need to be an Italian resident in order to be able to pick up a SIM card at one of the many cell phone shops in Italy. Store employees are required to make a photocopy of your proof of residency before letting you buy a SIM card. I've been told the reason for this is because if your phone is lost or stolen, you can simply call the phone company, identify yourself, have the number blocked and get credited for the any residual time on the card. The reason may also be in part due to some bureaucratic residue that for the most part still plagues Italy, although it is improving. In any event, unless you have a friend with proof of residency, you're not going to be able to get a SIM card in Italy. Luckily, there are some online sources here in the US that offer Italian cards that do not require Italian residency to purchase. Try Cellularabroad.com for international GSM phones that work in Italy as well as SIM cards for a number of other countries. They do cost a little more in the US than they do in Italy, but on the flip side, you will have a cell phone number prior to your departure that you can give it to your friends, family or business associates.
Another obstacle is the cell phone. Most likely, you won't be able to use the phone that you already have in the US. In most places in the world, the predominant phone system is called GSM, or Global System for Mobile Communications. Currently, there are three main service providers that use the superior GSM standard: Cingular Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile). However, in the US, the GSM we use operates on the 1900 MHz band while the rest of the world uses 900 MHz and/or 1800 MHz. The good news is that tri-band phones utilizing all three bands are becoming increasingly more available. The bad news is that the phones that these two companies sell are "locked", meaning locked into their service. This is because of two reasons. First of all, they don't want you to switch to their competitor. Secondly, they want you to be forced to use their ridiculous rates while traveling abroad. Personally, I would never buy a phone that is locked into one provider. Imagine buying a car and being "locked" into buying gas only at Chevron!
If you are currently using a cellular provider that uses the GSM network, you might want to consider getting a tri-band phone so that you can use the same phone here and abroad by simply swapping the SIM chip. GSM phones also tend to be better and smaller than other system phones that we use here in the US. Another benefit of GSM phones is that if you want to upgrade your phone or if the phone breaks, all you have do is take out the chip and put it in another GSM phone. In Italy, for example, if someone's cell phone battery is dead and they ask to borrow a friend's cell phone, it is common cell phone etiquette to remove the SIM from the borrowed phone and temporarily swap it with their own. That way, the charges will not incur on the lender's SIM card.
What if you don't have a GSM provider in the US or you only need a cell phone that will work in Italy (not to mention most of the rest of the world)? You can buy or rent a GSM phone that works only on the 900/1800 MHz frequencies. There are many more strictly "overseas" phones than tri-band phones, so you will have a bigger selection if you don't need a model that works in North (or South) America as well. However, I would recommend choosing a tri-band phone because sooner before later, GSM will be the predominant system in the US. You can purchase an overseas dual-band for as low as $100 and a tri-band as low as $150 - although prices for the latest and the greatest models can run you over $500. If you are going to Italy for a short trip and most likely will never go overseas again, then I suggest that you rent the handset, otherwise, if you purchase an overseas phone, even if you don't plan on going back to Italy, once you have the phone you only need to purchase the SIM card from country to country. If renting only the handset is not option, you can just take out the SIM chip that comes with it and slide in your own prepaid one. You must shop around as prices vary. I've seen rental for up to $99 per week, and that's not including any airtime!
There you have it - not too confusing,
was it? Hmmm... maybe America's telecommunication system is the one that is
antiquated. In any event, hopefully this article has given you some useful information
in an area where there is a great deal of confusion. Now regarding those letters...wait
to get back to the US before mailing them, or better yet, just make a quick
phone call using your cell!
For further information Click
here to visit Cellular Abroad.
|
|
|
Send E-mail to
TSN@The-Saudi.Net with questions or
comments about The Saudi Network.
We are Looking for Business Sponsorship or Marketing Partnership |
