more on now talking about cellular ripoff

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Craig Partridge <craig () aland bbn com>
Date: November 30, 2006 11:12:46 AM EST
To: dave () farber net
Cc: btm () templetons com
Subject: re: IP] now talking about cellular ripoff
Reply-To: Craig Partridge <craig () aland bbn com>


Hi Dave: [for IP if useful]

Brad Templeton talks about the benefits of having an unlocked cell
phone and getting a SIM card for the country you are in.

I follow this practice too and just want to warn of a few challenges.

There's a startup curve for every SIM card you purchase, and  
sometimes real
problems.  A few examples:

    * You inevitably have to call some number and deal with a set of
      voice menus in the preferred language of the company that sold  
you the
      SIM (e.g. Italian for an Italian SIM card), to get the system to
      talk to you in English and to learn how much money is still in  
your
      account.  I used to buy my SIMs in advance of travel and then  
have to
      ask hotel clerks to help set up my account.  Now I've wised up  
and buy
      the SIM card on arrival in the country and have the phone shop  
do it.

    * Sometimes the SIM card and your phone fight.  E.g. my UK provider
      enables the voice mail notification and controls on your phone
      by sending you an SMS message with some embedded instructions
      in it.  My phone would not accept the embedded instructions
      and multiple visits to the provider's phone stores in the UK  
failed
      to solve the problem.  In another case, a SIM caused my phone  
menus
      to change to the local language (which, of course, I didn't  
know --
      more startling, the menu graphics and structure changed too -- so
      getting my phone back under control was an exercise in  
orienteering).

    * I've yet to get a SIM to work well outside the country of  
issue --
      despite assertions from the seller that it should.  E.g. my  
Swedish SIM
      was explicitly labelled to work throughout the Nordic  
countries, but
      I could receive but not dial out in Finland.  One of my European
      friends says that this is universally true.  So you  
potentially need
      a SIM for every country.  In Europe, that's a pain.

Still, the prices usually make the nuisance(s) worth it.  I was  
paying about
15 cents a minute to call the US from Scandinavia last week.

Craig

PS: Two travel notes from Europe last week.

    * The EU has just initiated the liquids only in (one liter) plastic
      bag rule.  Enforcement is a bit spotty.  When I started to open
      my bag to get out the plastic bag in Amsterdam, the inspector  
waved
      his hand and said "don't bother".  On the other hand, the  
implementation
      was well handled from a customer service side -- there were  
people
      handing out liter plastic bags at checkpoints and big signs  
explaining
      the rules posted throughout the airports I was in.

    * The duty-free liquids on plane story is getting most complex.   
The
      advice now given travellers in European airports [or, at least,
      Stockholm and Amsterdam].  You can buy duty-free liquor in the  
airport
      and take it onto your flight.  If you are going to change planes,
      however, things get interesting.  If you change within Europe,
      you *should* be able to carry the liquor onto your next flight,
      but no promises as local airport rules vary (I would imagine  
Heathrow
      is a no-go and it looked as if flights to the US didn't permit
      passenger carried liquids -- the liquor had to be purchased in  
the
      transfer airport and delivered by the duty-free folks to the  
plane).
      If the transfer point is in the US, you have to find some way to
      pack the liquid for the US leg(s).


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