Quick roaming overseas question -

[ryoujyoku]

Going to Europe in about 22 days, and the roaming charges are pretty high. I was wondering if I was to buy a T-Mobile SIM for my BlackBerry in Germany, would I be responsible for Germany's rates and bypass roaming charges all together? I had a friend suggest this, since she's done it - but I wanted to come here and ask for sure.

I love this site, I trust it for all my needs.

[Artemis68]

Well, it would be cheaper to call German numbers since it would be a local number so you'd avoid roaming charges with that. However, if you call home (to the US) you'll still pay for roaming.

[jacko007]

Placing calls from a cell phone with a German SIM card to a German landline is expensive, especially with a prepaid SIM card. Rates can be as high as 29 Euro-cents per minute.

As a T-Mobile customer it is especially frustrating, considering that the American T-Mobile is owned by Deutsche Telekom, which is based in Bonn/Germany. They also operate German T-Mobile, one of the major cell phone companies in Germany. You end up roaming on German T-Mobile, which owns your US carrier, and still have to pay outrageous roaming charges just like any AT&T customer.

Calling the US from Germany is really cheap, on the other hand. You just have to do it from any landline phone and it will be about 2 or 3 cents/minute. From a German cell phone, rates are at least 50 cents/min, and up.

[ryoujyoku]

Thank you both! It stopped me from doing something that would cost me more money than I would actually save.

What about texting?

[jacko007]

Texting from German cell phones to other German cell phones is usually 19 to 29 cents/message, especially with prepaid SIM cards. The good news is that you only pay for out-going messages, not for messages received. Same is true for phone calls, by the way: If somebody calls you on your German cell, the call is free for you.
By the way: Calling your German voice mailbox from your German cell phone is usually not free, especially with prepaid SIM cards, and it typically costs as much as any other call to a cell phone.

[Stones1]

Originally Posted by ryoujyoku

Going to Europe in about 22 days, and the roaming charges are pretty high. I was wondering if I was to buy a T-Mobile SIM for my BlackBerry in Germany, would I be responsible for Germany's rates and bypass roaming charges all together? I had a friend suggest this, since she's done it - but I wanted to come here and ask for sure.

I love this site, I trust it for all my needs.

check this website:
GeoSim World Wide Sim Cards | Cheap Overseas Mobile Phone Calls & Free Roaming International Sim Card | Geo Sim Card Saves 85% On International Call Charges