[Lightstalkers] SIM Card needed for New York City (from UK traveller)

SIM Card needed for New York City (from UK traveller)

Fri, 29 May 2009 01:34:54 +0000

Hello friends. A friend is visiting New York City from UK and needs a SIM card for making/receiving local (#212/646/347) calls from his mobile phone. He already has a Blackberry running on a UK mobile service(not sure which one). What are the best options for a SIM card purchase in New York? Would like to get one from reputable dealer. Thanks.

Re: SIM Card needed for New York City (from UK traveller)

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:22:36 +0000

I`ve been using Locus for the past year. I have a GSM mobile phone which I purchased in Austria in 2006, and for the first year I had a T-Mobile sim card, but in my area the reception is very poor, and I had to switch. Locus has two SIM cards, one for GSM (O2) and the other (H2O) for CDMA phones. They use the AT&T network, I think.

http://www.shoplocus.com

Re: SIM Card needed for New York City (from UK traveller)

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:38:40 +0000

Thanks Tomoko. Can he purchase the SIM card when he gets to New York City or must one order it? Does the SIM card from Locus allow you to make local(USA) calls immediately? Thanks.

Re: SIM Card needed for New York City (from UK traveller)

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:17:23 +0000

He probably could order online and have it shipped to his address in New York City. I am sure there are SIM card dealers in NYC, as there are in Baltimore. He would need to e-mail Locus to find out about the logistics. They list compatible phones, which are many, so the chances are good that their SIM card will work in your friend`s phone, but check the list. I now have a CDMA phone I purchased in Tokyo, but I have not used it yet (will be using it next time I go there) with a SIM card. The phone has to be unlocked to use a SIM card for a different network/brand. With my GSM phone purchased in Austria, I have used SIM cards from Germany and Switzerland as well as Austria, and now the US.

Re: SIM Card needed for New York City (from UK traveller)

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 12:53:46 +0000

I seem to recall that because of terrorism concerns (specifically the supposedly wide use of SIM cards by the 9/11 perps to keep their identity secret), one now has to show some form of official government-issued identity to buy a SIM card in the US. So buying in advance may be difficult. But it is quick and easy to walk into a T-Mobile store (they are very widespread in the larger cities)and buy their per-minute GSM service. The T-Mobile service, as Tomoko notes, is not quite as reliable as some others (mostly CDMA carriers like Verizon), but it covers the populated areas quite well. I have one for my GSM phone which I use for backup and when I am in US airports traveling to GSM countries.

The Virgin Mobile service also operates a GMS service in the US. It is sold principally, I think, through a large and very available chain of stores called Radio Shack. But since Virgin is a big carrier in the UK, you might ask there if one can buy the chip for the US directly from a UK vendor.

Re: SIM Card needed for New York City (from UK traveller)

Fri, 29 May 2009 01:34:54 +0000

You can buy a kit an almost any store nowadays that comes with a phone, a small value credit and the sim card. These prepaid phones can be bought fairly cheap in almost any pharmacy store. All you need to do is put the sim card in your phone of choice and activate the calling credits. The activation should be done at the time of purchase. Further credits can be bought at almost any pharmacy or supermarket. Remember, that this way, it is a prepaid sim card, so it will only be good as long as you keep adding money to it.