[dbe77]

I am about to get a Blackberry Tour on Sprint, and I am trying to figure out the most economical solution to use the blackberry in Israel when I am there for a few weeks at a time.

My wife has a T-Mobile blackberry that she uses in the US, and she is able to sign up for a plan before we go to Israel for 19.99 for unlimited email (not sure if other data as well). She is able to sign up for just the month that we are going, and then go off that plan.

Is there anything like that on Sprint? The best I could find was Data pricing of .016/KB and something called "Special Data Pricing: 1x/Ev Data" at .002/KB. (Don't know what the difference is b/w regular and special data!)

So, Question 1: Does this mean there is no unlimited sprint bberry email/data plan for use in Israel?

Question 2: If that is the case, do I have other options? I know that the Tour has a SIM card slot. Is it possible to buy/rent a SIM card that I can use for data usage? or is that just for Voice? It says on the Sprint web site that the Israel cell company that they partner with is Cellcom. Does this mean that I need to get a SIM card on the Cellcom network? Or can i use something else?

Is anyone familiar with pre-paid SIM cards for Blackberries in Israel, what it would cost and if it is unlimited Data?

I suppose that if there is no Spring unlimited plan, my ideal option would be to get a SIM card that allows me to use the Bberry for voice and data in Israel.
If i can only do one or the other (data and voice), I would opt for Data, and rent a separate cell phone for voice.

Unfortunately, I just don't know enough about how these things work to even begin here.

If anyone can clarify/explain/point me to some info, that would be great!

Thanks!

[wolf1989]

There is no sprint over there because sprint is CDMA and from everything I've heard europe is predominantly GSM. I don't really know anything about the prepaid sim cards so hopefully someone else could help you out with that.

*EDIT*
I didn't read you have the tour. Your best bet would probably be to have it unlocked and then go with the isrealy counterpart.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[dbe77]

just to clarify, Sprint does work over there (I am fairly certain that it's even CDMA that is used by their roaming partner there, Cellcom). It is just that it is expensive, and I have not yet found a plan that sprint offers for international blackberry usage that is unlimited (as opposed to a charge per KB)

[rawvega]

just to clarify, Sprint does work over there (I am fairly certain that it's even CDMA that is used by their roaming partner there, Cellcom).

You are correct. There is CDMA roaming in Israel.

It would probably be best to call 888-226-7212 option 2 for more information.

[ace587]

if u have the newer ED plans its $40/month prorated for your length of stay. Unlimited Email, Data, anything

[estroh]

Please tell me (PM me) when you go and how it works out. I am planning a trip in January.

[Dovy365]

Hi,
I used to have a Sprint 8330 and travelled to Israel a few times with it, roaming on the Pelephone EV-DO network, because it wasn't in the Sprint system as an international phone, I wasn't able to get the inernational plan, so I was paying $0.02/kb, the bills were not crazy.
I currently have a Sprint 9630 and I've added the $40 international BB add-on plan which allows me to use all types of data, roaming on 3G HSDPA networks all over Europe, works beautifully, voice is never worth it it's like $2.50/min!
I hope this was helpful...

[skafri#WN]

I used my 8330 in Israel for data and the charge was $0.002 per kb, so with daily email checking and a bit of web browsing over 3 weeks, I spent a whopping $10. Not bad at all. As for voice, get a prepaid Cellcom card, don't use Sprint's!!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[cire0309]

Hi,
I used to have a Sprint 8330 and travelled to Israel a few times with it, roaming on the Pelephone EV-DO network, because it wasn't in the Sprint system as an international phone, I wasn't able to get the inernational plan, so I was paying $0.02/kb, the bills were not crazy.
I currently have a Sprint 9630 and I've added the $40 international BB add-on plan which allows me to use all types of data, roaming on 3G HSDPA networks all over Europe, works beautifully, voice is never worth it it's like $2.50/min!
I hope this was helpful...

So long as you have either the Simply Everything or one of the Everything Data plans (including family plans) there is a $40/month International Data plan add-on. You'll need to call Sprint's Worldwide department to activate this. This is for unlimited data/e-mail, it does not include voice or sms/mms messages.

As for T-Mo, they have an $19.99 BB e-mail plan, but like it states, it's for e-mails only. People were using this for data for the longest time without getting charged extra, but recently T-Mo's systems are able to keep up with BIS data vs. e-mail usage, and their customers have been getting hammered with per KB charges.

[earear]

I am about to get a Blackberry Tour on Sprint, and I am trying to figure out the most economical solution to use the blackberry in Israel when I am there for a few weeks at a time.

My wife has a T-Mobile blackberry that she uses in the US, and she is able to sign up for a plan before we go to Israel for 19.99 for unlimited email (not sure if other data as well). She is able to sign up for just the month that we are going, and then go off that plan.

Is there anything like that on Sprint? The best I could find was Data pricing of .016/KB and something called "Special Data Pricing: 1x/Ev Data" at .002/KB. (Don't know what the difference is b/w regular and special data!)

So, Question 1: Does this mean there is no unlimited sprint bberry email/data plan for use in Israel?

Question 2: If that is the case, do I have other options? I know that the Tour has a SIM card slot. Is it possible to buy/rent a SIM card that I can use for data usage? or is that just for Voice? It says on the Sprint web site that the Israel cell company that they partner with is Cellcom. Does this mean that I need to get a SIM card on the Cellcom network? Or can i use something else?

Is anyone familiar with pre-paid SIM cards for Blackberries in Israel, what it would cost and if it is unlimited Data?

I suppose that if there is no Spring unlimited plan, my ideal option would be to get a SIM card that allows me to use the Bberry for voice and data in Israel.
If i can only do one or the other (data and voice), I would opt for Data, and rent a separate cell phone for voice.

Unfortunately, I just don't know enough about how these things work to even begin here.

If anyone can clarify/explain/point me to some info, that would be great!

Thanks!

In Israel CDMA and GSM are OK - I have used both. Sprint has unlimited data for Israel (emails, web, etc) which they will pro-rate and is worth it! Problem is voice - very expensive. I dont know if you can use local SIM card for GSM voice and CDMA for Sprint data. Would someone please reply to this post to let me know.

[BergerKing]

In Israel CDMA and GSM are OK - I have used both. Sprint has unlimited data for Israel (emails, web, etc) which they will pro-rate and is worth it! Problem is voice - very expensive. I dont know if you can use local SIM card for GSM voice and CDMA for Sprint data. Would someone please reply to this post to let me know.

You can use a prepaid SIM for voice, and switch over to the CDMA network for data. They don't work simutaneously, though, switching manually between networks is required.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com