Travelling to France, cell phone options? - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

okmrbh · 2012-06-09, 11:37 AM

I'm going to France in the summer for a week and am thinking a 2 cell phones would be handy as my family will occasionally be split into two groups during the day.

Right now we have two locked Blackberry's (telus & koodo) so I figure my options are:

1:Take them and pay the roaming fee.

2: Get them unlocked and get a chip that works on the phones for France.

3: Just rent two phones from local providers once I get there.

Right now I think option 3 is looking like it has the least amount of hassle involved.

We'd only need the phones for quick local calls and texts to each other.

Anyone already been and could give me ideas?

Thanks

skifan · 2012-06-09, 01:41 PM

re: Option 2: Wind Mobile has just announced a very inexpensive roaming option for Europe. 20c per minute including any long distance charges back to Canada or within the covered European countries. There will be a monthly charge for this add-on but until September it is available for free. Using an inexpensive pay-as-you-go plan in conjunction with this free offer, is something to consider.

Depending on the variant of your Blackberries....once unlocked, they may be able to work, on a pay-as-you-go basis, with a Wind Sim on one of the European networks.

Failing that.....you might be able to contact the Telus / Koodo loyalty retentions department and see what they can do to match the Wind offer. This would work best if you are close to end of contract and they are keen on retaining your business.

As links cannot be posted here, search for "wind mobile european roaming" and the relevant link for the Wind offer should be there.

Bluecruzer · 2012-06-10, 01:11 PM

I think I will jump on this rather than open a new thread. The question is similar for us. Two traveling parties. One starting in Denmark. We are starting in Italy. Meeting up after 2 weeks for a week (net 3 weeks)

Both Telus iPhone 4. Btw, Telus Will unlock at $50 per phone. Pay that and get Europe cards? Don't like that because I would like no one calling me from N America while on vacation.

Skype? The good and bad? Other Internet phone software for iPhone as Skype isn't rated great?

Buy a throwaway and card?

wysiwyg · 2012-06-10, 06:59 PM

Cross out option 3 right away, it's the worst option unless you really don't care about cost (in which case, #1 would make more sense).

Option 1 is the easiest, but also costly, even with roaming packages, but convienient if only for emergencies.

I go home to France regularly and have done the PAYG option for quite some time. There's huge competition right now in France, although not really in the prepaid market. There are 4 providers now:
Orange, SFR, Buygues and FREE. Free is the newest and doesn't have a prepaid option just yet. However you can get 60 mins a month for just 2 Euros no contract or unlimited everything including calls back to 40 countries including Canada, 5GB data for 20 Euros. That includes CID, VM... The problem is that they don't have stores, so it's all done online/phone which means that it's not going to work for you. The other providers do offer decent packages, but the best deals are in the MVNOs, there are tons in France including familiar names like Virgin Mobile, which I use when there. I also have a SIM card with Orange which gives me an "iPhone" plan for 24 Euros with 500 MB of data for 21 days including 10 Euros voice credit. (After 500 MB, the data is still free, just throttled).

Getting a SIM card is easy, Many sell them in newspaper kiosks, super markets or phone retail specialty shops such as "Phone House". All the brands have own stores (except FREE) all over towns.

If purchasing a kit which you activate yourself, ensure you mail back the identification card or the phone will stop working after a few days. If you activate in a store, they should do it for you.

okmrbh · 2012-06-10, 10:22 PM

Thanks skifan and wysisyg, you've given me some good ideas I will explore further. One other question I do have is about phone unlocking, (I'm new to all this). Koodo wants $50 to unlock there phones yet you see offers online for sites that will do it for under $10. Any difference besides the price for these services?

wysiwyg · 2012-06-11, 07:58 AM

okmrbh,

If you have a blackberry, there are lots of free or cheap unlocking solutions available, which are way cheaper than going to Telus. The process will be the same: You enter a code on your device and it will be permenatly unlocked.

Apple iPhones are different, and must be done by the provider since the unlocking process is performed via iTunes.

Cockroach · 2012-06-26, 11:40 AM

Free needs a French bank account so that's pretty much out. LeClerc was selling SIMs for €20 including €15 of call time.

As far as activation goes, the law there seems to require ID to even buy a kit.

2012-06-09, 01:41 PM	#2
skifan Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Delta BC Posts: 91	re: Option 2: Wind Mobile has just announced a very inexpensive roaming option for Europe. 20c per minute including any long distance charges back to Canada or within the covered European countries. There will be a monthly charge for this add-on but until September it is available for free. Using an inexpensive pay-as-you-go plan in conjunction with this free offer, is something to consider. Depending on the variant of your Blackberries....once unlocked, they may be able to work, on a pay-as-you-go basis, with a Wind Sim on one of the European networks. Failing that.....you might be able to contact the Telus / Koodo loyalty retentions department and see what they can do to match the Wind offer. This would work best if you are close to end of contract and they are keen on retaining your business. As links cannot be posted here, search for "wind mobile european roaming" and the relevant link for the Wind offer should be there. Last edited by 57; 2012-06-11 at 05:37 AM. Reason: UQR

2012-06-10, 01:11 PM	#3
Bluecruzer Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: ex-Edmonton Now Chilliwack BC Posts: 477	I think I will jump on this rather than open a new thread. The question is similar for us. Two traveling parties. One starting in Denmark. We are starting in Italy. Meeting up after 2 weeks for a week (net 3 weeks) Both Telus iPhone 4. Btw, Telus Will unlock at $50 per phone. Pay that and get Europe cards? Don't like that because I would like no one calling me from N America while on vacation. Skype? The good and bad? Other Internet phone software for iPhone as Skype isn't rated great? Buy a throwaway and card? __________________ One thing for certain... none of us are getting out of here alive...

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2012-06-09, 11:37 AM	#1
okmrbh Join Date: May 2007 Location: GTA Posts: 87	Travelling to France, cell phone options? I'm going to France in the summer for a week and am thinking a 2 cell phones would be handy as my family will occasionally be split into two groups during the day. Right now we have two locked Blackberry's (telus & koodo) so I figure my options are: 1:Take them and pay the roaming fee. 2: Get them unlocked and get a chip that works on the phones for France. 3: Just rent two phones from local providers once I get there. Right now I think option 3 is looking like it has the least amount of hassle involved. We'd only need the phones for quick local calls and texts to each other. Anyone already been and could give me ideas? Thanks

2012-06-10, 06:59 PM	#4
wysiwyg Join Date: May 2002 Location: Toronto - Davisville Subway Posts: 908	Cross out option 3 right away, it's the worst option unless you really don't care about cost (in which case, #1 would make more sense). Option 1 is the easiest, but also costly, even with roaming packages, but convienient if only for emergencies. I go home to France regularly and have done the PAYG option for quite some time. There's huge competition right now in France, although not really in the prepaid market. There are 4 providers now: Orange, SFR, Buygues and FREE. Free is the newest and doesn't have a prepaid option just yet. However you can get 60 mins a month for just 2 Euros no contract or unlimited everything including calls back to 40 countries including Canada, 5GB data for 20 Euros. That includes CID, VM... The problem is that they don't have stores, so it's all done online/phone which means that it's not going to work for you. The other providers do offer decent packages, but the best deals are in the MVNOs, there are tons in France including familiar names like Virgin Mobile, which I use when there. I also have a SIM card with Orange which gives me an "iPhone" plan for 24 Euros with 500 MB of data for 21 days including 10 Euros voice credit. (After 500 MB, the data is still free, just throttled). Getting a SIM card is easy, Many sell them in newspaper kiosks, super markets or phone retail specialty shops such as "Phone House". All the brands have own stores (except FREE) all over towns. If purchasing a kit which you activate yourself, ensure you mail back the identification card or the phone will stop working after a few days. If you activate in a store, they should do it for you.

2012-06-10, 10:22 PM	#5
okmrbh Join Date: May 2007 Location: GTA Posts: 87	Thanks skifan and wysisyg, you've given me some good ideas I will explore further. One other question I do have is about phone unlocking, (I'm new to all this). Koodo wants $50 to unlock there phones yet you see offers online for sites that will do it for under $10. Any difference besides the price for these services?

2012-06-11, 07:58 AM	#6
wysiwyg Join Date: May 2002 Location: Toronto - Davisville Subway Posts: 908	okmrbh, If you have a blackberry, there are lots of free or cheap unlocking solutions available, which are way cheaper than going to Telus. The process will be the same: You enter a code on your device and it will be permenatly unlocked. Apple iPhones are different, and must be done by the provider since the unlocking process is performed via iTunes.

2012-06-26, 11:40 AM	#7
Cockroach Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Vancouver Posts: 580	Free needs a French bank account so that's pretty much out. LeClerc was selling SIMs for €20 including €15 of call time. As far as activation goes, the law there seems to require ID to even buy a kit.