Prepaid sim cards?

[Ricky Elrod]

Are there any decent options for places to buy a prepaid SIM card with
data in the area near the hotel? Is this something I should try to get
at the airport instead?

-Ricky

[Braden Walters]

My first recommendation for a short trip would be to check with your 
existing carrier if they have an option for using your phone in other 
countries for a one month period. This may be cheaper than a prepaid 
option. I can't speak much for Poland but in Germany the lowest prices 
I've seen for prepaid with data are about 10€ for 200MB per month with 
flat SMS and calls costing per minute. I can only imagine Poland has 
comparable prices.

I have a fear that buying a prepaid option in an airport could have some 
kind of extra fees built in because they know they can get away with it 
there, but I'm not sure if mobile vendors do this. The advantage though 
is that you're probably going to find the most English-fluent vendors in 
the airport. This is just an assumption though. Does anyone else here 
possibly have some experience?

On 26/07/16 23:57, Ricky Elrod wrote:
> Are there any decent options for places to buy a prepaid SIM card with
> data in the area near the hotel? Is this something I should try to get
> at the airport instead?
>
> -Ricky
>
> Flock-attendees-2016 mailing list
> [e-mail]
> https://lists.fedoraproject.org/admin/lists/[e-mail]...

[Stephen Gallagher]

On 07/27/2016 03:42 PM, Braden Walters wrote:
> My first recommendation for a short trip would be to check with your existing
> carrier if they have an option for using your phone in other countries for a one
> month period. This may be cheaper than a prepaid option. I can't speak much for
> Poland but in Germany the lowest prices I've seen for prepaid with data are
> about 10€ for 200MB per month with flat SMS and calls costing per minute. I can
> only imagine Poland has comparable prices.

Looking at AT&T's plan in the USA, it's $40 for that exact same offer ($1/minute
voice, unlimited outgoing text and 200MB data). So buying a prepaid card (if
your device is unlocked) seems like a better deal.
> I have a fear that buying a prepaid option in an airport could have some kind of
> extra fees built in because they know they can get away with it there, but I'm
> not sure if mobile vendors do this. The advantage though is that you're probably
> going to find the most English-fluent vendors in the airport. This is just an
> assumption though. Does anyone else here possibly have some experience?
>
> On 26/07/16 23:57, Ricky Elrod wrote:
> > Are there any decent options for places to buy a prepaid SIM card with
> > data in the area near the hotel? Is this something I should try to get
> > at the airport instead?
> >
> > -Ricky
> >
> > Flock-attendees-2016 mailing list
> > [e-mail]
> > https://lists.fedoraproject.org/admin/lists/[e-mail]...
>
> -- 
> Sincerely,
> Braden Walters
>
> Flock-attendees-2016 mailing list
> [e-mail]
> https://lists.fedoraproject.org/admin/lists/[e-mail]...

[Nathaniel McCallum]

On Wed, 2016-07-27 at 16:27 -0400, Stephen Gallagher wrote:
> On 07/27/2016 03:42 PM, Braden Walters wrote:
> > My first recommendation for a short trip would be to check with
> > your existing
> > carrier if they have an option for using your phone in other
> > countries for a one
> > month period. This may be cheaper than a prepaid option. I can't
> > speak much for
> > Poland but in Germany the lowest prices I've seen for prepaid with
> > data are
> > about 10€ for 200MB per month with flat SMS and calls costing per
> > minute. I can
> > only imagine Poland has comparable prices.
>
> Looking at AT&T's plan in the USA, it's $40 for that exact same offer
> ($1/minute
> voice, unlimited outgoing text and 200MB data). So buying a prepaid
> card (if
> your device is unlocked) seems like a better deal.

T-Mobile (USA) currently offers free international roaming, including
unlimited 3G data in most countries. Additionally, they have a
promotion where you get 4G (LTE) coverage in most of Europe during July
and August. This includes Poland (and I presume Krakow).

http://www.t-mobile.com/optional-services/roaming.html

[Rafal Luzynski]

27.07.2016 21:42 Braden Walters  wrote:
> My first recommendation for a short trip would be to check with your existing
> carrier if they have an option for using your phone in other countries for a
> one month period.

+1
> I have a fear that buying a prepaid option in an airport could have some kind
> of extra fees built in because they know they can get away with it there, but
> I'm not sure if mobile vendors do this.

A prepaid SIM card usually costs 5 PLN (about $1.25/1.25€).
Regarding the airport, as said before, buying SIM cards there
is probably no longer possible since 25 July. But I can't
confirm, I'm not visiting the airport every day checking
for the prepaid SIM cards available and their current prices.

Regards,

Rafal

[Konrad Mosoń]

You can buy prepaid SIM in most kiosks (very small shop; I'm not sure is
there english word for that (newsstand?)… pic for reference:
http://bi.gazeta.pl/im/3/10906/z10906793Q.jpg) or buy in any mobile network
shop. Four biggest and best known mobile networks are: Orange, T-Mobile,
Plus and Play. Their shops (except Plus) are at Królewska street about 3km
away at south.

If you're using Orange or T-Mobile please check if your provider has some
plans for GSM/Internet, since European Union changed some laws about
roaming pricing recently.

2016-07-26 23:57 GMT+02:00 Ricky Elrod :
> Are there any decent options for places to buy a prepaid SIM card with
> data in the area near the hotel? Is this something I should try to get
> at the airport instead?
>
> -Ricky
>
> Flock-attendees-2016 mailing list
> [e-mail]
>
> https://lists.fedoraproject.org/admin/lists/[e-mail]...

[Rafal Luzynski]

27.07.2016 21:49 Konrad Mosoń  wrote:
> You can buy prepaid SIM in most kiosks (very small shop; I'm not sure is
> there english word for that (newsstand?)… pic for reference:
> http://bi.gazeta.pl/im/3/10906/z10906793Q.jpg)

As it's been said before, according to the new law it's no
longer possible in every shop around since 25 July. Although
I can't confirm that every shop obeys the law.
> or buy in any mobile network shop. Four biggest and best known mobile networks
> are: Orange, T-Mobile, Plus and Play.

These are actually the only real operators in Poland.
There are few others but they are either brands of the
above or virtual operators (i.e., using the cellular
network of the above).
> Their shops (except Plus) are at Królewska street about 3km away at south.

True, but Galeria Bronowice is closer (about 1.5 km West).
> If you're using Orange or T-Mobile please check if your provider has some
> plans for GSM/Internet, since European Union changed some laws about roaming
> pricing recently.

True, more precisely: that means that the prices were decreased.
This probably applies to all operators, not just Orange and T-mobile.

Indeed, EU citizens (or just owners of EU SIM cards) should first
ask about their roaming prices and discounted data plans.

Regards,

Rafal