So I'm headed to Costa Rica (a conservative country in which a foreigner cannot buy a local [ICE] SIM card).
Does anyone have experience using AT&T or T-Mobile pre-paid OUTSIDE of North America (preferably central/south america) ?
I was able to get a T-Mob SIM card to work just fine here, so at least I know their newer 64K cards don't throw the channel error.
If I can't go pre-paid looks like I'll pay out the arse to use Vodafone.
Vodafone also has prepaid SIM cards - I am using it as I type this but I am in Europe. Do ur reserch...
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I'm going to COSTA RICA.
So Vodafone pre-paid won't help me in a country in which the lone (reliable) wireless carrier is ICE. Unless I want to pay €3,00/minute. Oh, wait, how do I re-fill a European SIM card in COSTA RICA?
I'm sick of people who post half-as$ed responses to questions that don't help at all.
Well if you can't get a "local sim" then you unfortunately gonna pay through the **** chute. Every US Carrier will have comparable rates to vodafone in my opinion. They love that int'l roaming. It is a read money maker. I just came back from Trinidad, and I had a local sim and I had zero problems with service and using the phone itself. I would see if there is a second phone service that you can get a sim from if you can't get it from the original carrier as desired. Generally they use the same cell sites, and if you do find a different company sim card to use, the roaming fees locally should be cheaper.
Good luck, and remember to change to the 3G/2G option in the network settings to move to GSM.
You might check on the Verizon Global Plan. I don't know about Costa Rica but in Europe calls were $0.99/minute to/from the phone and to/from the US. Data was UNlimited. Cost could be prorated at $69/month. You BIS plan price is prorated also.
This prepaid will work in costa rica. Incoming calls are free. Cellular Abroad - National Geographic Travel Phone Let us know how it goes. Only thing is you get a UK number
Thanks for the excellent follow-up emails.
I'm between a rock and a hard place - even a friend's Colombian SIM won't refill outside of Colombia (and I believe is the equivalent of US$2.99/minute).
My fear with the National Geographic card is that it's a 32K SIM. I'll investigate and report back.
The tour should be able to support all kinds of SIM card? You will just need to unlock your verizon tour first. What extra functionality are you seeking from a 32k SIM? BTW, if you do decide to go with the national geographic keep in mind that it's a callback service and that you can find it cheaper on amazon. Good luck.
btw, where did you learn that foreigners cannot buy ICE prepaid?
Can you have somebody, or have a friend in Costa Rica, buy it for you locally?
From our driver (whom we've hired/worked with before) and others:
Prepaid Sim Cards in Costa Rica ... - Thorn Tree travel forum - Lonely Planet
See above. There is no pay-as-you-go. Only contract available to Costa Rican residents.
The problem is that ICE is a government-owned monopoly.
I think it's probably designed to curb harder to trace crimes related to prepaid sim use which isn't tied to anyone's name. Learn anything about the national geographic card as I might be getting that card too when I travel to costa rica for vacation sometime soon?!