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I've spent time in both the UK and Mexico this year and simply picked up a local physical pre-pay SIM card. No local pre-pay eSIMs were available. Hopefully tha
by laurencerowe 4y ago
I've spent time in both the UK and Mexico this year and simply picked up a local physical pre-pay SIM card. No local pre-pay eSIMs were available. Hopefully that will change in time but currently the only options appear to be expensive global eSIMs which cost 5-10x as much per gigabyte.
- quitit 4y agoThere's currently 15 providers of those global data eSims, and I find the one I use significantly cheaper than local providers. The trick is not to buy "global data", but just data for the country you are visiting. For example compare TruPhone to O2. TruPhone eSim: 16 EUR for 20GB, 30 day validity (this is the most expensive option.) O2 Sim-only: 15 GBP for 5GB, 12 month validity. (this is the cheapest option.) A traveller doesn't need 12 months of validity, they need data - Local providers rip off travellers by not making reasonable plans available. The biggest scam are the "1pound" plans in Tesco, which are not 1 pound plans, but just the cost to buy the sim card which then requires a costly plan.
- smn1234 4y agojust looked at Colombia and Brazil on TruPhone, and the costs for the 30 days 5GB plan are way more than what I paid for a physical sim in-country
- laurencerowe 4y agoThat O2 price seems very expensive - I just walked into a Vodafone shop and got a free SIM and 20GB 30 day plan for £10. That Truphone deal is not bad but outside of Europe the plans are much more expensive. Mexico is US$24 for 5GB whereas a local SIM works at US$10 with 6GB and unlimited Facebook/WhatsApp/Twitter. Edit: looking at O2 it seems to be £15 for 20GB. Not sure where your figure is from.