Texting a foreign mobile

Argonaught

Hi there, hope someone knows the answer to this as I can't find it anywhere!

My girlfriend is in Germany for a year studying. She has bought a German T-Mobile (which I call her on via RebTel). I can text her UK mobile that she has with her for normal cost, which is free for her to recieve. However, it costs her a lot to text me back with it (as it's roaming). If she texts my UK mobile with her German T-Mobile, will it cost her the same as texting another german mobile? Thanks!

peterstannard

Get her to post you a German SIM.

cheekyweegit

Hiya,

Just thought I'd let you know that if you send her a picture message / multi media message where you can use 1000 characters of text it will only cost you 20p to send it as opposed to 20p per 160 characters on a normal text with a UK t-mobile sim card which fair adds up - trust me!.

I just send any old picture now and add the text onto it and it saves me a small fortune at times.

Oh and if you have a t-mobile flext plan the picture messages come out of your allowance, but ordinary text messages abroad do not.

Hope this helps.

Argonaught

Thanks for the tips guys - hasn't really answered my question though
I'm not on T-Mobile - I am on Orange UK. The scenario is does it cost any more for my girlfriend to text my Orange UK mobile from her German T-Mobile?

bloodnok

Join 18185 and text anywhere in the world for 1p per text. ( From your computer )
I used it to text my daughter when she was in Spain for three months this summer..........It worked well !!

jrrowleyws

Argonaught wrote: »

Thanks for the tips guys - hasn't really answered my question though
I'm not on T-Mobile - I am on Orange UK. The scenario is does it cost any more for my girlfriend to text my Orange UK mobile from her German T-Mobile?

Yes, German TMobile will class it as texting abroad.

Get a german sim for yourself and then she can txt that for standard cost, but check that it doesnt charge for recieving them.

so..

You txt her UK mobile from your UK sim, she txts your German sim from her German phone.

should work out cheapest.

Argonaught

I appreciate all the alternative solutions people have provided. However, I still cannot seem to find a definitve answer to my original question.
One thing I do categorically know is that (certainly within Western Europe) NO mobile charges for receiving ANY text message. I just want to know if T-Mobile DE charge more for texting a UK mobile than another German one - my instinct is no, they don't - as most networks only charge more for texts whilst roaming.

alex69

I think the problem is that you've not paid attention to all the suggestions.

Don't understand why you say texting one country or the other should cost the same. All UK providers (including T-Mobile-UK) charge a lot more for texting a sim not registred in the UK so all things being equal yes T-Mobile-DE will charge a lot more to text the UK, hence the suggestions above.

Want to know for sure? Try with one text...

Argonaught

I do appreciate the suggestions people have given to find alternative, cheaper ways to text a foreign mobile.

I just wanted to know if anyone had a link to a website, for example, where the actual prices for texting a foreign mobile from Orange UK or a UK mobile from T-Mobile DE were listed - at the moment, I've been unable to find any evidence that the charge for sending a text differs (except when a phone is roaming - which is not the case here).

Whilst I can contact Orange UK and ask them, as I don't speak German it will be difficult to find out from T-Mobile DE if they charge more to text a foreign mobile than another German one.

redux

Argonaught wrote: »

Whilst I can contact Orange UK and ask them, as I don't speak German it will be difficult to find out from T-Mobile DE if they charge more to text a foreign mobile than another German one.

I don't think Orange UK will have much information about foreign networks' tariffs. Actually, the majority of networks will charge extra for foreign messages, or certainly exclude them from inclusive minutes.

Look into mobile Java client programs like Vyke mobisms or smsbug that send over wap/gprs data and charge from 2 to 5 cents per message, then there's a small data charge from the network.

Also, there are German mvno SIMs available with cheap outgoing international calls like Blauworld or Solomo, or with cheap roaming like CheMobil Solomo or Sunsim, which would mean if she got two SIMs and sent you one, she could phone you for 16 or 8 or 9 cents on her phone plus 9 or 10 on yours. And they have lower data tariffs than T-mobile

More info and network website links (click logo) on http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/germany.html

will-in-estoril

I don't read any German, but from the T-Mobile German site it states that on the Xtra friends tariff texts cost 5c to another (German) T-Mobile phone.

http://www.t-mobile.de/pre-pay_plans

Can your girlfriend not send you such a sim, so that she texts German mobile to German mobile, and you text UK mobile to mobile? She will, of course, need a UK sim.

In practical terms you will both need 2 handsets.