5 ms·

Agreed, I'm trying to figure out where this site is getting their pricing data.

herbst 5y ago
I assume its something like numbeo. Thing is with this kind of data there is always a local and a tourist price. In many countries (especially Europe) you can not always buy a prepaid SIM card with a foreign passport (without extra hoops at least) or you need a real residence address. So these prices often reflect the few options that are (visibly) available for tourists.
- Anderkent 5y ago
  I've never had an issue with a foreign passport buying a SIM. You usually need a local address but you can just use your hotels.
  - herbst 5y ago
    I usually did not either. However Netherlands and Germany have been an exception. In the Netherlands every mobile provider shoo me out of their shop refering to yallo or libera. I had an apartment and was staying 2 months, so this wasn't the issue. And Germany was essentially the same except I only tried with 3 or so providers. Most tourists still pick one of the shitty providers available at the airport or train station and go with that. Some of them provide a faster verification do you can walk out having internet, in Austria if you buy internet at a supermarket (it's uncomplicated there) it can take a few hours to verify. Or Italy, if you arrive in Venedig you find ads for internet packages everywhere. I actually needed to go to the mainland to buy a a normal SIM. As no one on the island acknowledged the cheaper packages available. My point is, it's complicated Source: I've spent months (if not years) with my laptop In Europe and Asia and internet always was the #1 priority. I also do not know if things are better today
    - Symbiote 5y ago
      For a short-term stay, why not just use Lebera, or a similar operator? They have short-term or no-contract options at low prices, and often have a website in English.
      - herbst 5y ago
        It's not low price compared to local alternatives. I was work travelling so internet was a must, I always tried getting the best rate as part of my welcome to a new country ritual :) Also what is short? In Austria I get a new prepaid for every few days I stay (because uncomplicated and cheap). In the Netherlands libera was the only real option even thought I was there for 2 months.
    - mejutoco 5y ago
      As another data point. A few years a go I bought a sim card in Germany (mediamarkt I think). They asked for the Anmeldung document (proof of residence, needed also to open a bank account) and photocopied it.
  - herbst 5y ago
    I just remembered the actual issue in Netherland, Germany as well as Switzerland. Normal Prepaid is generally expensive, what you want is a always cancelable contract to get the fairest (most local) price for a short time. And here is where it gets more complicated based on residence and stuff Edit:// I spent over 200€ on prepaid internet that 2 months I was in the Netherlands. A always cancel contract would have costed I think about 20$ a month for unlimited (and way faster) internet
- account42 5y ago
  > I assume its something like numbeo. Thing is with this kind of data there is always a local and a tourist price. In many countries (especially Europe) you can not always buy a prepaid SIM card with a foreign passport (without extra hoops at least) or you need a real residence address. In the EU there are still some countries where you can buy SIM cards without ID so you can just order one of those online and then use roaming, which does not have additional charges within the EU.
  - herbst 5y ago
    Which ones? AFAIK that ID thing was an EU law? Also roaming is a good point. 5 years ago when I was active travelling this was no option yet as only contracts had proper roaming. Cheap roaming in the EU is basically new, and some ex. Switzerland is mostly still excluded
OJFord 5y ago
https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/ICTprices/default.aspx https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/ICTprices/defa...

I assume its something like numbeo. Thing is with this kind of data there is always a local and a tourist price. In many countries (especially Europe) you can not always buy a prepaid SIM card with a foreign passport (without extra hoops at least) or you need a real residence address. So these prices often reflect the few options that are (visibly) available for tourists.

Anderkent 5y ago
I've never had an issue with a foreign passport buying a SIM. You usually need a local address but you can just use your hotels.
- herbst 5y ago
  I usually did not either. However Netherlands and Germany have been an exception. In the Netherlands every mobile provider shoo me out of their shop refering to yallo or libera. I had an apartment and was staying 2 months, so this wasn't the issue. And Germany was essentially the same except I only tried with 3 or so providers. Most tourists still pick one of the shitty providers available at the airport or train station and go with that. Some of them provide a faster verification do you can walk out having internet, in Austria if you buy internet at a supermarket (it's uncomplicated there) it can take a few hours to verify. Or Italy, if you arrive in Venedig you find ads for internet packages everywhere. I actually needed to go to the mainland to buy a a normal SIM. As no one on the island acknowledged the cheaper packages available. My point is, it's complicated Source: I've spent months (if not years) with my laptop In Europe and Asia and internet always was the #1 priority. I also do not know if things are better today
  - Symbiote 5y ago
    For a short-term stay, why not just use Lebera, or a similar operator? They have short-term or no-contract options at low prices, and often have a website in English.
    - herbst 5y ago
      It's not low price compared to local alternatives. I was work travelling so internet was a must, I always tried getting the best rate as part of my welcome to a new country ritual :) Also what is short? In Austria I get a new prepaid for every few days I stay (because uncomplicated and cheap). In the Netherlands libera was the only real option even thought I was there for 2 months.
  - mejutoco 5y ago
    As another data point. A few years a go I bought a sim card in Germany (mediamarkt I think). They asked for the Anmeldung document (proof of residence, needed also to open a bank account) and photocopied it.
- herbst 5y ago
  I just remembered the actual issue in Netherland, Germany as well as Switzerland. Normal Prepaid is generally expensive, what you want is a always cancelable contract to get the fairest (most local) price for a short time. And here is where it gets more complicated based on residence and stuff Edit:// I spent over 200€ on prepaid internet that 2 months I was in the Netherlands. A always cancel contract would have costed I think about 20$ a month for unlimited (and way faster) internet
account42 5y ago
> I assume its something like numbeo. Thing is with this kind of data there is always a local and a tourist price. In many countries (especially Europe) you can not always buy a prepaid SIM card with a foreign passport (without extra hoops at least) or you need a real residence address. In the EU there are still some countries where you can buy SIM cards without ID so you can just order one of those online and then use roaming, which does not have additional charges within the EU.
- herbst 5y ago
  Which ones? AFAIK that ID thing was an EU law? Also roaming is a good point. 5 years ago when I was active travelling this was no option yet as only contracts had proper roaming. Cheap roaming in the EU is basically new, and some ex. Switzerland is mostly still excluded

OJFord 5y ago

https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/ICTprices/default.aspx https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/ICTprices/defa...