Best option for USA PAYG sim?

mrwendal

Hi,

I want to get hold of a USA PAYG sim as I travel with business to Miami quite often and find that the Orange network is unreliable for sending texts whilst roaming.

I would like to hear from anyone who has purchased a US PAYG sim that does not require topping up too often to keep active, I would be using in either a Nokia 6230 or 7650 phone.

Any ideas anyone??

omega27

Wander into a T-Mobile store, and you should be able to get a PAYG SIM for about $50. Or you can buy the Nokia 3595 for $79.99 & just use the SIM.

andy88_2

I've heard friends recommending 7-11's Speakout which seems to be mvno on Cingular. "Good for visitors from abroad." 365 days. N 3595 $79.99 ($29.99 after rebate) last Sept

mrwendal

Thanks guys.

I'll keep these ones in mind when I head over there.]

Thanks again

JPR

I just bought a cheap (possibly not so trendy) PAYG Virgin USA phone (new) from eBay. Got it sent to a USA address and went from there. The phone is SIMless if you see what I mean and the rates were OK.
Got mone for around 20 bucks!

kilo_2

I'm interested in this topic as I visit the USA from time to time. None of the previous posters have indicated what you get (minutes ) for your money.

Last month I bought a T-mobile PAYG sim for $20. This had the equivalent of 3 hours worth of calls and expired (the credit, that is) after 3 months (never verified this ). I bought this in a privately owned mobile phone shop in Manhattan...they actually came down from an initial asking price of $30 to $20 in order to get me to buy it. The chap even told me it is cheaper to buy a new sim each time than top it up via the network next time I visit.( need to verify that too). An 'official' cingular mobile shop across the road had a 120 min sim for $20 expiring after a month. I felt I got better value from the T- mobile sim card than I would have got roaming on the orange network. ( I make quite a few calls to other US numbers as well as back home).

I havent done any further research on this but intend to before my next visit (soon). But it might well be that privately owned shops may be able to sell the sims cheaper than the official prices. I had originally planned to buy a virgin phone at their megastore.

If anyone has seen any good PAYG deals around I would be grateful if you can share. :-)

gromituk

I presume there are plenty of GSM networks in Miami then? Remember that the native USA system is typically inward-looking and doesn't use SIMs, let alone allow roaming. And it can't support SMS messages, can it?

pin

List of all GSM networks in the USA along with coverage maps:

http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_us.shtml

CockneyBrum

Very good comparison page here:

http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm

amf

Would something like http://cgi.ebay.com/300mins-60-T-MOBILE-PREPAID-Cell-Phone-SIM-CARDS_W0QQitemZ150114630519QQihZ005QQcategoryZ43308QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
be worthwhile? Two ebay.com activated US SIMs with $30 credit in each.