Using non-bb data plan questions

I may be totally out in left field with this question but here goes.... (oh, and I did see "similar threads but they were all about 3 years old and did not really address this issue)

I will be traveling to Italy in January. I will probably not be using the phone much for calls but would like it for data. When I was in Europe in 2009, Verizon had a very generous UNlimited plan that only cost an additional $30/month. I'm still on verizon and I could use the sim in the phone for pretty pricy rates as they have done away with the UNlimited data. The phone is UNlocked so I could use other sim cards.

I guess the first question is do "foreign" NON-bb sim cards come with a data allowance or only phone-calling? If they do come with a data allowance, can it be used with the Native 9930 Browser or is the native browser only limited to bb-networks/data plans (I don't know what to call the magic in the background). I believe that the native browser is the only one installed at the moment. I do recall a few years back when rim was down for a day or a few hours, I was able to use one of the 3rd party browsers to surf whereas the bis-native-browser did not work. (for the life of me I can't recall those 3rd party browsers I had on my last bb phone).

I realize that my bis-based email would be dependent on a bb-plan, so I'd have to use web based services - which also means finding data and a browser that can work.

I can also hope that there's wifi but I'd like to explore the various options.

And would this question be better asked in the General BB forum as opposed to a specific phone?

Thanks in advance.

My advice is get a local Pay-as-you-go SIM for the phone. I've heard nothing but horror stories about using your phone abroad.

If you only use your email and BBM, the Verizon global data plan works well. You get 100 MB for $25/month. I just used it in China. As I said, just used it for email and BBM, an occasional photo and a few map directions (google). I was there 8 days and ended up using only 20 MB. Of course I used wifi in hotels. The service is also available on cruise ships which I used last month. Another nice part of the global plan if you go over the 25MB allotment, they just give you another $25 for 100MB. Verizon will also send you email warnings if you get close to your limit.
On your own, you can keep approximate track of usage with the Verizon usage app.

Thanks, both for the replies.

My concern is that when in Europe in 2009 for only 3 weeks (with the UNlimited Plan), I managed to use about THREE (3) Gigs of data. Admittedly three of us used my 8830 for email but I did a lot of browsing: Weather, hotels/refugios, web-email, just keeping in touch with local US news and stuff, who-knows-what and some google maps. The 8830 did not have wifi but I don't recall much of it in the areas we were in. From some rough calculations, that amount of data or even a 1/3 of it would be a fortune.

I guess I can just x-country ski and stay less in touch!

Lendo78 recommended to get a Pay-As-You-Go SIM card with a local phone number, and a local Blackberry plan. This is a terrific idea! :) This will avoid any possibility for your contracted provider to receive any billing from any EU carrier, which can end up costing a lot of money. This also makes your personal security better for your phone number.

If you want to turn off data service only, this can be found under Options, and then Mobile Network. You can change the services to not allow Data Services, and also Roaming.

My preference would be to go with the local Pay-As-You-Go SIM card. :nerd:


Jerry G. :D