Activation request sent
Activation completed (1,5 hour later)
Checking available credit (*#10# call)
Waiting for response
Credit displayed
Internet settings for O2 Pay & Go
Simcard & Top-up card
I have been in London for just two days now. I am only here for a short stay but as any online addict, I was having a tough time accepting the fact that I was not online all of the time. Vodafone Netherlands charges ridiculous prices for mobile online access in another country. Even using Vodafone passport you still need to pay €2.50 per mb. Yes, that is correct, per mb (link).
London has plenty of free WiFi hotspots throughout the city and at restaurants and bars, but sometimes it would be nice to send the TwitPic photo, check my email and to update my location. I started looking for solutions…
I decided to ask my friend what the possibilities were to buying some sort of “pay as you go” sim card, with a data package. To my surprise, this was relatively easy. Since my iPhone is sim lock free (Italian import with thanks to iPhonemonster) I could buy any “pay as you go” service and place the sim into my iPhone. Unfortunately, the only company that can do this properly for the iPhone is UK’s O2, so that kind of narrows down my choices.
I visited the O2 store on Oxford Street and received my free “Pay & Go” sim card** and immediately topped it up with £15. The clerk behind the counter, who was very polite and helpful, told me that a minimum top up of £10 was needed as the internet access would cost £7.50 per month on the Pay & Go tariff plan. This is different to what the O2 website mentions. There, O2 talks about a daily access charge of approximately £0.79. But, to cut a long story short, it is a great deal. The clerk edited all the necessary settings in my iPhone (see images), sent out the text messages (“web” to 21300) to activate my internet access and I was set. Within 15 minutes I was online (confirmation text message arrived 90 minutes later). Now I have a UK mobile number, HSDPA internet access and no monthly charges.
Since I mostly Twitter and check my email when I am abroad text messaging and phone costs can easily get out of control. Luckily my friends and family all Twitter. So, in combination with Twitter apps like EchoFon ($4.99) and/or Boxcar ($2.99), both with push notifications for @-replies and Direct Messages, it works just like text messaging. If I want to talk to someone, it is as easy as sending a Direct Message asking for the person to come online with Skype and voila… cheap text messaging and phonecalls!
All in all I spent just £15 for the O2 Pay & Go service. I still have £7 in credits left and am free to share my experiences in London directly online via my iPhone. No hefty data fees from Vodafone Netherlands! I hope that this solution will help/inspire other people to break free from ridiculous data roaming charges and continue to share their world online.
** sim lock free iPhone is required!
