Story by Linda DonahueA friend of mine recently spent a few weeks in Paris. Because she needed her clients back in the U.S. to be able to reach her, Kate* made a conscious decision to use her iPhone freely, so the $900 bill didn’t surprise her. It would have knocked me off my feet.
So how can the average traveler to Paris stay connected to home without breaking the bank? There are several ways to do this, and some are surprisingly accessible and inexpensive.
A few years ago, I discovered Call in Europe, a company based in the U.S. that offers “low-cost mobile solutions” to European travelers. I purchased their basic cell phone handset (a Motorola) and received a working SIM card with it’s own phone number. I’ve had that same number–and the same phone–for several years now. Call in Europe doesn’t charge a monthly service fee. Instead, you only pay for the calls you make at just $0.39 per minute for outbound calls within France, or to the U.S. and Canada. Text messages to the U.S. are $0.39 per text, and just $0.19 a text to a French number. And all incoming calls and text messages are free.
The only challenge I have with Call in Europe is the cell phone itself. I’ve forgotten how to use simple cellular handset. Back in the U.S., I’ve used an iPhone since June 2007, so if it doesn’t have a touchscreen, I’m lost. My friends in Paris laugh at me when I struggle just to answer a call or to program in a new phone number.
A few weeks ago, I called AT&T (my U.S. provider) to see if they would give me the unlock code for my iPhone so that I could just swap out SIM cards while I was in Paris. “I’m sorry,” I was told by two representatives. “We have a strict policy of not giving out unlock codes for iPhones.” I reminded them that I’ve been off contract with them for the past year and have fulfilled the obligations of my subsidized iPhone purchase. They wouldn’t budge – not even after I offered to upgrade to the new iPhone and go back on contract.
Given AT&Ts decision to leave me with a $400 iPaperweight, I decided to have my iPhone unlocked through completely legal back channels. So now I can use my Call in Europe SIM card in my iPhone when I head back to Paris in a few weeks.
Because I want (and need) to keep the same mobile number in France, I’m sticking with Call in Europe. But for those who don’t need a permanent cell phone number, there are even more options, the best of which is Mobiho.
Mobiho is a pay-as-you-go cellular provider seemingly created for foreigners living in or traveling through France. Each SIM card comes with a French cell number and a €15 credit. Calls to the U.S. are €0.18/minute, while calls within France are €0.39/minute. Texts are even 
cheaper: just €0.10 per text within France, and €0.17 outside of France. (All incoming texts and calls are also free.)
Cellular Abroad is the U.S. provider of Mobiho SIM cards, which you can use with any unlocked GSM cell phone (AT&T and Verizon are the only GSM-based services in the U.S.). You can also buy the Mobiho France Prepaid SIM Card on Amazon.com for $52 (vs. $59 from Cellular Abroad). It should be noted that AT&T will generally provide unlock codes for all their phones except the iPhone, so you don’t necessarily have to go out and purchase an unlocked phone. However, if that’s what you want to do, Cellular Abroad offers these in a variety of price ranges and models.
It’s easy to purchase “refills” for your Mobiho card while you’re in France. You can add more talk time by purchasing recharge vouchers in a variety of increments from most tabacs, or even online at Mobiho’s website. Cellular Abroad offers a €15 prepaid recharge voucher, but it will cost you $29 (instead of $18.50 at the current exchange rate).
The “downside” to Mobiho is that the SIM cards will be deactivated if the phone isn’t used for more than a month, so you’ll lose your number for your next visit. If that’s not an issue, then Mobiho is the most economical way to go.
Another player in the SIM card marketplace is RebelFone, who sell SIM cards that run on France’s Orange network. They even offer them free for a month’s use, letting you pay to extend use for 3 months, 6 months and a year. Incoming calls and texts are free, while outbound calls within France will cost anywhere from $0.25 to $0.40 a minute, and calls to the U.S. and Canada are $0.59 per minute. Unlike Call in Europe or Mobiho, RebelFone charges $0.30 to retrieve voicemail messages.
You can also check with your cellular provider at home. Some offer discounted roaming rates for travelers. AT&T, for instance, offered me a $0.99/minute package plus a $5.00/month fee. I was getting a far better rate with Call in Europe, so I declined—but their offer was significantly more reasonable than some others out there.
One final word of warning for those who bring their own cell phones to Paris: while the roaming charges for calls may not kill you, data roaming charges can cost you more money than your airfare, hotel and food bills combined. So if you have to check your email or surf the Internet from your cell phone, disable data roaming on your phone and just use WiFi.
Bon voyage … and be sure to stay in touch!
*Obviously not her real name.
The last time I was in Paris, I rented a cell phone from another company (Mobal) and it wasn’t cheap. I’m glad to know that there are a few more affordable options for my trip back to Paris in September. Thank you!
I had checked out Mobal, too, and found them to be ridiculously expensive, especially since they charge for incoming calls. Definitely check out Call in Europe, Mobiho and RebelFone! By the way, all three carriers offer data transfer plans/rates if you want to check email or surf the web from their phones.
I rented phones through Call in Europe for my 2-week stay in France last year. Rates were very reasonable and service much better than from the companies I tried in 2004 and 2007. Would definitely recommend Call in Europe. Rental is a good option for the leisure traveler who makes only occasional trips.