My son is going to the UK and Europe next month and I am trying to figure out the best way for him to use his mobile phone while he is away.
He will be spending most of his time in France and Italy, with short stays in London to start and finish. He will be gone 18 days.
So far, the options are;
His idea; just take his Aussie mobile phone SIM (Optus) and 'roam', which is great for him but not so great for me, since I pay his phone bill (he is a student).
Get a prepaid Vodafone SIM here, with a fresh (Aussie) number, and pay $5 a day to use in UK/Europe. Bad idea I reckon, that will cost around $80.
Get a 'local' SIM at Heathrow airport, from either Vodafone, 3, O2 or other. Anyone got any experience?
Buy one of those travel SIMs from a vendor here. I have heard some horror stories about these, none that positive.
If anyone has any recent experience with any of these options, I am all ears.
Thanks.
Best Option to Use Mobile Phone in UK/Europe
Comments
Yeah, he should get a local SIM in whatever country he will arrive first. Roaming fees within the EU are capped by law, so it'll be much cheaper than using an Australian SIM.
Some telcos, i.e. Vodafone Germany abolished roaming costs in Europe entirely recently.Agreed, get a local SIM instead of taking an Aussie SIM with roaming bundles.
BBC News outlined the recent caps on EU roaming charges for UK users that came into effect from 30 April 2016.
The main UK service providers are Vodafone, Three, O2 and EE which all have shops in most high street locations. Both O2 and EE have the best UK national coverage, Three and Vodafone are fine if you stay in larger cities but gets iffy when you travel to countryside or remote UK locations. You can top-up your credit in-store or online.
There's also many MVNOs like Tesco Mobile, giffgaff, Lebara and Lycamobile which offer cheaper rates and more competitive top-up bundles than the main providers. There's also Virgin Mobile which is an MVNO but still has high street stores. I've used all of these MVNOs in the past and never had problems with inbound/outbound UK local/international calls or EU roaming.
$2's find of the Three add-on looks to be the best offer with the 12GB that can be used while roaming. I doubt you'll find them at Heathrow but they have plenty of stores in London where you can get a SIM.
Also remember to check that your son's phone is unlocked before flying out and inserting a SIM card from another carrier.
From what I've read on Whirlpool, there is a vending machine just as you leave customs at Heathrow Airport where you can buy a activated 3 sim with the add-on for 20 pounds.
I know this was a topic from 6 month ago, but just want ask a question about those MVNOs options. Do they limite if you can use mobile hotspot on their SIMs?
I have never had my MVNO put any limit on how I used the data but that was Vaya (not much data).
With Woolworths now with way more data.Are you talking about UK SIMs?
From my recent research. Best option would be 3 Pay As You Go option with the 20 pound all in one recharge. Has 12GB roaming data in France and Italy and unlimited in the UK.
Have a look yourself to see if it's suitable for your son:
http://www.three.co.uk/Store/SIM/Pay_As_You_Go