Product Description

This is a unique SIM card service that the travel experts love! You get global coverage on 1 phone number. It’s easy to use because it uses standard direct dialing like your home phone (unlike the complicated call back system above). And your service is continually active whenever you need it so you’ll never get cut off. And most importantly, you get the best call quality — it automatically chooses the strongest cell phone signal of all the carriers in the area. It’s the equivalent of your US cell phone being able to choose between Cingular/AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Nextel and Sprint for the strongest signal every time you make a call, so the quality is always the best. And quality is obviously the most important feature of a cell phone service!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #257 in Cell Phone Accessories
• Brand: Mobal
• Released on: 2007-07-13
• Dimensions: .10" h x 2.50" w x 3.00" l, .0 pounds

Features

• Works with GSM phones of all frequencies on 320 GSM networks in over 170 countries
• Automatically chooses the strongest cell phone signal in each country to place your call
• Keep the same phone number every time you travel
• Charges debited from your credit card; online statements and free 24-hour technical support provided
• Use as little or as much as you need--no minimum usage requirements

Amazon.com Product Description
From Albania to Zanzibar, the Mobal GSM World SIM Card provides cellular connectivity that works with 320 GSM networks in over 170 countries, enabling you to keep the same phone number every time you travel. This SIM enables you to dial direct (rather than punch in a complex series of connection and password numbers), and it automatically chooses the strongest cell phone signal of all the GSM carriers in the area. The Mobal GSM World SIM Card debits call charges from your credit card and provides online statements, detailing the charges with an itemized list of the calls you've made. There are no monthly or annual fees, and you only pay for the calls that you make or receive on your phone--if you don't use the service, you won't have any charges. For country availability and call rates for that country, check this Mobal rate and coverage page.

If traveling in Australia, your Mobal GSM World SIM Card will be charged $1.25 a minute for calls made to and from your phone from within the country, with higher rates when making international calls. For country availability and call rates for that country, check this Mobal rate and coverage page.

All current GSM cell phones should be compatible with the Mobal GSM World SIM card. However, you should check with the supplier of your cell phone that there are no SIM card restriction locks in place. Also, you must check that your GSM cell phone is of the correct frequency for each of the countries that you intend to visit. Most of the world's GSM networks operate at 900 MHz and 1800 MHz. However, in order to use the networks in the U.S. and Canada, you will need a cell phone that is also capable of operating at the 1900 MHz frequency.

Billing Details

• Call charges are quoted in US Dollars per minute, all inclusive.
• Absolutely no additional roaming charges or hidden extras
• National Calls are calls made to the same country that you are calling from, including cell phones and "toll free" numbers.
• Calls made to other Mobal GSM cell phones are charged as "Calls to the UK."
• "Calls to other countries" includes calls to all other international destinations, except for calls to Iridium, Inmarsat, Globalstar or Thuraya sat phones.
• SMS text messages are $0.80 per message; incoming text messages are free of charge.
• Call charges are debited from your credit card as and when we receive the call data from the networks.
• Statements are available online, detailing the charges that we have taken, including fully itemized lists of the calls that you have made.

Your New Phone Number
Your Mobal GSM World SIM card is registered in the UK. It always has a UK phone number, irrespective of the countries that you travel to. The UKÕs country code is 44, therefore it is essential to include this country code when giving your new number to friends and colleagues outside of the UK. Of course, if they are calling you from the UK, the 44 will not be necessary; they can simply call the number in its local format. Because your number is always the same, callers do not even need to know which country you are in when they call you. Callers will be charged by their phone provider at their UK mobile rate.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GSM?
The GSM network (Global System for Mobile communications; originally from Groupe Spécial Mobile) is the most widespread mobile network in the world, used by over 2 billion people across more than 212 countries and territories. GSM differs significantly from its predecessors in that both signaling and speech channels are digital call quality, and so is considered a second generation (2G) mobile phone system. In order to use the GSM network, you must have an unlocked GSM handset (which is compatible with the local cellular frequency where you will be using it) and a SIM card.

What is an international GSM SIM card?
GSM phones require a small electronic chip, called a SIM card, to be inserted into a slot in the phone. This international SIM card is the "heart" of your cell phone--it contains your cell phone number, your phone book, and all of your registration information. The Mobal international SIM card provides you with access to over 320 GSM networks in over 170 countries.

Is my phone SIM locked/unlocked?
A GSM cell phone that is "locked" means that it only operates with the SIM card that it is supplied with (Mobal World Phones are SIM locked to the Mobal international GSM SIM card). GSM phones that are '"unlocked" work using any SIM card (if you already own an unlocked GSM cell phone you will be able to use the Mobal international GSM SIM card). You may also see the same term described as SIM latched/unlatched.

Customer Reviews

Convenient but overpriced
Having a SIM card that does not incur a monthly or yearly fee is convenient when one travels abroad only occasionally and for a very short time.

The per minute price for this convenience is excessive, however. It costs much less (on a per minute basis) even to use a satellite phone (Iridium or Globalstar); satphone calls are about $1/minute and can be placed from anywhere, including the middle of the ocean where there is no cellular coverage. By far the least expensive and most convenient option is to buy a SIM card at any one country one arrives at; most of them sell them in kiosks at their respective airports. Outgoing calls to the US would be 10-20 cents/minute, outgoing local calls would be 1-2 cents/minute, and incoming calls would be free; by contrast, all of these calls would be over $2/minute with the mobal SIM card.

Read the "invisible" fine print
I got this Sim card as a freebie from Amazon (along with the purchase of an unlocked phone) and to activate the Sim, I was asked to give my credit card details and the Customer Service rep wasn't very convincing about whether I'd get $20 worth of free minutes. And, when I asked if the Sim would let me know I've used the entire $20 worth, she said NO. I'd be billed on my credit card for extra charges, as long as I use the Sim card.

For people traveling abroad, I'd suggest going with a SIM card from local providers. For calls made from India to US, MOBAL is charging $3.95 per minute whereas, local carriers allow international call for Rs. 10 per minute, which is approximately equivalent to a quarter (25 cents in US).

Worth no stars at all DON'T BUY!!!!!!
I've always just bought an international phone card when I've traveled but decided to take my own phone this one time and try one of these sim cards. Well, let me tell you. I made about 45 minuets of calls during a total of 3 weeks and my overall bill was $176. So, if you do the math, I could have spend about $13 American dollars on a 10 euro calling card with 400 minuets and called from the hotel or any public phone....or $176 for less than an hour of calls. This was certainly the worse choice I made for my trip and I advise you to NOT buy this! Amazon.com, please consider taking this off your list of products...it is very misleading and cost consumers way too much money after it is purchased.