Comments on: Goondu DIY: Data roaming? No thanks, I’ll have a local prepaid card, please

By: worldwidewayne

worldwidewayne — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 07:52:00 +0000

In the US you can rent a range of data SIMs that can be bought with a USB modem or in a Mifi device. An example would be a French data SIM – $89 for a month and that is 3GB of data but there is no overage (the speed reduced) so basically it’s the same as pre-pay because you’re not going to pay more than $89. In “per MB” terms that is about $0.03c per MB or 0,02€ per MB.

If you’re roaming around Europe then there’s a really competitive European 1GB data SIM for $99. These can be found at Cellhire (www.cellhire.com)

By: Rousseau Olivier

Rousseau Olivier — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 11:56:00 +0000

There are solutions though. I am now renting mobile hotspots in the countries I am visiting. To find the provider for the country you are visiting, google “rent mobile hotspot COUNTRY”. For example “rent mobile hotspot France”. It is then possible to get the MB price to lower than 0,10€ per MB! ($0,12). That is MUCH cheaper than any roaming package, and more mobile than fixed wifi networks.
Also, to find deals about the best prepaid plans with data, THE WIKI: http://prepaidwithdata.wikia.com/wiki/Prepaid_SIM_with_data

By: Gab

Gab — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 04:04:00 +0000

what about compiling a list of prepaid data cards for various countries? somehow no one has done this yet…

By: John

John — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 18:50:00 +0000

You are 100% correct regarding using local SIMs, particularly regarding data. I purchase mine, when available as they sont have them for more obscure destinations, from a USA company at http://www.cellularabroad.com – costs a bit more but very convenient.

By: Chi-Loong

Chi-Loong — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 15:38:00 +0000

When I was in Bali last year the first thing I did was buy a prepaid card as well. Far cheaper than using my Singapore mobile number, especially since I had to coordinate with folks locally.

By: Ann

Ann — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 12:56:00 +0000

A company that’s fighting this is Droam, a lot cheaper than dataroamning, and youy can connect with multiple devices… which makes it even cheaper.

By: Alfred Siew

Alfred Siew — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 04:47:00 +0000

Good point Andrew. I have used prepaid cards mostly in Europe.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 04:05:00 +0000

Telcos like M1 have $15 unlimited data roaming agreements with SEA/Japan/HK telcos.
http://www.m1.com.sg/M1/site/M1Corp/menuitem.bbba2e1e0cd45957f15a947b3f2000a0/?vgnextoid=9b953554002f4310VgnVCM100000695a230aRCRD&vgnextfmt=pdate:1208201200:

That being said, I’m not sure if those countries have prepaid cards that allow you to surf unlimited at a cheaper daily rate.