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Hey all,
I have done some reading but have not been able to find an answer to my question...
I have an UNLOCKED Telus 9700 and I will be traveling in Italy this month. I was wondering if I can take my phone, pop in a SIM from an Italian provider and have my phone work easy breezy (minimum voice but BBM would be awesome too) while I'm there. Any help would be great!
Thanks in advance :)
Should be fine but unless your phone supports the 2100mhz which the European countries use for 3G then you will be looking at GPRS or EDGE at best.
But other than that, if its unlocked then yes just pop it in the phone...i doubt you will get BBM access unless you signed for a BIS service with the countries provider...with your own sim card you can roam but expect high charges although with BBM its not really mb's rather kb's that you will be putting through the system.
Id check with Telus and see what kind of roaming charges they have or will charge you...might be better to use them rather than signing to another providers BIS...thats if Italy have providers that provide a BIS service.
I know here in the UK some of our providers do a PAYG BIS service.
Beauty...it does support 2100mhz so I should be ok there.
Telus Roaming is VERY expensive, especially for voice which is why I looked into this.
Thanks again!
Happy ending!!! So here I am about to come home and I'm posting using my berry on an Italian WIND SIM! 3G service works great here with WIND as long as you stay within city limits. If you are going to be roaming rural areas use TIM, much better coverage outside urban centres.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
BBM will work if you get a carriers sim with bis service :)
Good news! Thanks for the update. Versatile phones, aren't they?
/ES
Ya I must say the convenience was just awesome. No need to start from scratch, BBM worked like a charm, internet was great and to be able to plug and play SIM cards is a welcome option having come from CDMA. At Venezia-Marco Polo awaiting the boarding call and loving the connectivity I've been afforded thanks to today's technological advances!
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
Have a safe flight back!
So, how much did buying temporary service in Europe cost you? You purchased data service too (I'm assuming you might've made your post from a WiFi hotspot)? BBM worked fine w/o having to re-register your PIN? Was the main purpose of buying the Wind SIM (and TIM) so that people could reach you while you were abroad, or was it to make local calls while over there?
...so many questions...
/ES
Edit: Data plan query
Works great as a bottle opener too! ;)
The image that conjures up makes me shudder!
/ES
Whoa sorry I totally missed this post!
Ok...basic SIM purchase was 5 Euros...think about that...only 5 Euros!!!!! Included in that was everything I needed on a berry including data. They had a promotion where the first month of BIS was free and the salesman alerted me to that instead of up-selling me to some cockamamie rip-off. No PIN re-registration was required I simply plugged the SIM in and that same evening I got a message saying my handset was registered. After that it was smoooooooooooth sailing. Received all my email, BBM msgd all manner of friends back home, calls worked great etc. I also purchased two refills of 10 euros so as to make long distance calls to my friends and family in N. America from Italy without having to be near a landline. Please note I could have not purchased the refills and been fine since receiving calls is ALWAYS free in Italy!
I purchased the SIM for both of the reasons you mentioned. It was absolutely brilliant to be able to stay connected with home and also with my circle of family and friends in Italy. The only thing I would reiterate is that outside urban centers WIND coverage is not the best. Next time I go with TIM no question since most of my time was spent outside the cities.
Feel free to PM me and ask more questions as it appears there aren't too many people interested in what I am sharing! :)
Thank you, I was probably on board when you posted and missed this when I got home :)
Great stuff! Can you please PM us the info, so we can forward the info to our international travelers :)
Hey htm986, thanks for the detailed response. I'm not going to be travelling any further than St. John's NL anywhere in the near future, but it's nice to read such re-affirmations that I bought the right phone.
/ES