Best roaming deals for Out of Europe? i.e Japan

cdavies1960

Hi All,

Will be travelling to Japan shortly and wondering whats the best deals on roaming pay as you go?

The cheapest I have found is £5/day for 25mb of Data which is a Vodafone Prepaid sim?

Any others out there that are less?

I've even considered looking at getting a prepaid sim out there.. but the way they do the billing is different to how we are accustom to... i.e they charge per the second rather than per the mb downloaded on data connections.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Kind Regards,

NFH

cdavies1960 wrote: »

I've even considered looking at getting a prepaid sim out there.. but the way they do the billing is different to how we are accustom to... i.e they charge per the second rather than per the mb downloaded on data connections.

You're right; Japan is the most difficult developed country for a visitor to use a prepaid SIM card. See http://prepaidwithdata.wikia.com/wiki/Japan for some more ideas.

Exemplar

Don't forget that a lot of UK phones will not work in Japan.. When I go out there I just buy a pre-paid mobile. Far easier.

NFH

alcot33uk wrote: »

Don't forget that a lot of UK phones will not work in Japan.

Why not? Japan uses 3G on 2100MHz, just like in the UK. Nearly all phones in the UK support 3G.

Exemplar

From Japan-guide.com


Due to different technologies, mobile phones from your home country may not work in Japan. Most importantly, there is no GSM network in Japan, so GSM-only phones do not work. The following are needed for a handset to work in Japan:

For Voice - The handset must be compatible with a Japanese mobile phone network (typically 3G UMTS 2100 MHz or 3G CDMA2000 800 MHz). Compatible handsets may be used via international roaming (check with your home provider for details) or a rental or prepaid SIM card from a Japanese carrier (unlocked handsets only). Alternatively, phones with wireless network (WIFI) connectivity can use internet based telephone services (voip), such as Skype, when connected to a WIFI network.
For Data - Phones that work in Japan for voice (see above) can also receive and send data (such as e-mails and web content) via international roaming or a rental/prepaid SIM card, but note that the cost for data transfer can easily skyrocket without an appropriate data plan. Alternatively, phones with wireless network (WIFI) connectivity can take advantage of the numerous paid and free wifi hotspots found around the country. See our internet page for more details.

Every time I have been phones work in major conurbations but not outside. I'm only speaking from experience, I'm no expert but I'm presuming you are?

NFH

alcot33uk wrote: »

Due to different technologies, mobile phones from your home country may not work in Japan. Most importantly, there is no GSM network in Japan, so GSM-only phones do not work. The following are needed for a handset to work in Japan:

"Your home country" is intended to mean the United States. There are GSM networks in Japan, but they are at least 3G, as they never built any 2G networks.

alcot33uk wrote: »

For Voice - The handset must be compatible with a Japanese mobile phone network (typically 3G UMTS 2100 MHz or 3G CDMA2000 800 MHz).

This confirms what I said above. Japan uses 3G on 2100MHz.

The lesson to learn is not to believe information that is aimed at American tourists.

Exemplar

As I said, you are clearly the expert. I can only speak about all of the times that I have been there where there has been no other choice but to buy a Japanese mobile due to signal strength etc when visiting the sites that I do.

NFH

alcot33uk wrote: »

I can only speak about all of the times that I have been there where there has been no other choice but to buy a Japanese mobile due to signal strength etc when visiting the sites that I do.

Yes, I had the same problem when I visited Japan about 12 years ago, but this has not been a problem since Japan built 3G 2100MHz networks about 10 years ago.