Overseas Costs

[WaveyDavey001]

Hi

I'm going to Belgium is a couple of weeks, so I've left it a bit late to get my phone unlocked in time.

Therefore....


Is there any Belgium SIM that will work on a locked t-mob phone?
Can anyone decipher the phone costs abroad for t-mobile services?


I should point out I have a t-mob flext web and walk package on a N95 and use loads of 3rd party apps that require data charges including push email. I would quite like to use this abroad as well as Maps, Shozu etc so its costs for Phone (send and recieve), Texts (ditto) and Data charges for surfing sending etc on the old WWW.

Why oh why is it so difficult?

Thanks in advance.

[snu]

I don't know why you say it's difficult.

http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/services/going-abroad/details-by-country/

Select "Belgium" then "Detailed costs". Looks pretty obvious to me.

[scoobystu2]

Try the moneysavingexpert.com website for details of various sim only deals abroad.

[WaveyDavey001]

Snu

Thanks for that. For some reason the last time I looked I completly missed it, I found stuff about getting international roaming turned on, and saving money on phoning abroad, but missed the obvious bit. Doh!

Its not that bit thats oh so difficult though, its working out what it could cost me. As I said I use the phone for lots besides phone calls and have lots of apps that just access the internet. Looking at my log (which is set to store data for 30 days) I see that I use about 600 MB across a month on data. Thus dividing that by 30 I get 20 MB a day. 20 X £7.50 = £147.50 per day even before I make a phone call (eek!!!!).

Obviously I can cut down on that, but it means changing some standard settings, potentially deleting some apps and cutting down/stopping on streaming radio, downloading podcasts etc.

It also means that the main reason I bought my phone for becomes obsolete really. No using shozu to automatically upload photos to Flickr or Blogger or emailing them. No using the maps application (even if I've downloaded stuff before I go because it still asks for access to Web and Walk. Can I use GPS to lock on to Geotag my photos, or will that cost. Bye Bye push email, but I can't even use the standard apps to log on every hour to check my mail.

T-Mobile tell me they cannot fast track the Unlocking process either.

Scoobystu2 - Thanks, I'll check that out. I wonder if any sims work on a locked phone.

[Andyroo]

Snu

Thus dividing that by 30 I get 20 MB a day. 20 X £7.50 = £147.50 per day even before I make a phone call (eek!!!!).


So you are charged £7.50 a day on tmobiles web and walk?

how comes?

[snu]

So you are charged £7.50 a day on tmobiles web and walk?

how comes?

No, you're charged £7.50 per megabyte for data when roaming on international networks. If he's using 20 meg a day, that's really going to be very expensive.

Yes, data roaming is prohibitively expensive (except perhaps for 3 Like Home). Yes, this sucks. Even if you can unlock your phone and put a foreign SIM in it, you'll probably be raped by local phone company data charges on their pay as you go tariffs anyway.

No, no SIMs will work on a locked phone. Every country has a code (MCC) and every operator within the country has a code (MNC), and the phone is locked to this MCC/MNC combo. No Beligian operators will have the UK MCC, and so you won't be able to find a SIM which has the correct MCCMNC.

[scoobystu2]

Even if you can unlock your phone and put a foreign SIM in it, you'll probably be raped by local phone company data charges on their pay as you go tariffs anyway.

.

Well all I can repeat is check the marketplace for what is on offer in the country concerned. AFAIK the only ones who rip you off is often your own network.

[snu]

PAYG data charges only just got relatively acceptable here, for example the web'n'walk day pass. In the US it's still roughly $.01 per KB (= £5.11 per MB) on AT&T for example.

[WaveyDavey001]

Thanks for all your comments. I think I will pursue the unlock option for long term.

I note the comments on Data charges for PAYG sims, so I might be stuck anyway. I hate to say it, but we may have to wait until the 3G version of the iPhone before networks start to charge fair rates for decent access. My phone might be "what computers have become" but I now have to wait for the networks to catch up (sigh)

[scoobystu2]

I hate to say it, but we may have to wait until the 3G version of the iPhone before networks start to charge fair rates for decent access.

But that will not be available for ages and will more than likely be contract only plus £300 cost of the phone.IMHO not worth waiting for.