# Internet when traveling Europe



## jaycey001 (Dec 2, 2018)

Hi all 

We have decided that next year we would like to have some form of internet when we travel. It would be handy for the kids in the evening when they want to relax and be easier for route planning for us. In addition once we get to Spain it would be really handy to have internet available in our house (no point paying for internet at the house as its only used for a few months a year and only Satellite is available at over 50euro a month. 

So, I think a Mifi type device would be best, especially so multiple devises can connect at once. However my problem is that it will only ever be used abroad and I think most UK sim cards need some kind of use in the UK before roaming will work? We would also like Unlimited data rather than having to count Mbs. 

I have seen these (Link below) which gives unlimited connectivity anywhere for 7 euro a day or 80 euro a month. Has anyone used anything similar or able to recommend anything like it? 


Skyroam Mobile Hotspot: Global WiFi // Unlimited Data // Connect 5 Devices // Pay-as-you-go // SIM-Free Coverage in Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa, Australia: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Any suggestions appreciated 
James .


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## jagmanx (Dec 2, 2018)

*Mi-Fi Yes*

Three
And
Giffgaff do a range of packages
Yes activate them in UK first
GiffGaff has a  2 or 3 month limit for usage abroad
Also check out EE

I am sure you can do cheaper
Depends really on how long you are away

I have used all 3 (Three Giffgaff and EE) in some ways Three was best with a contract...which I cancelled  when we returned to UK
But check check check


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## barryd (Dec 2, 2018)

James, I would check out some of the reviews for that product.  It looks to me like many of the others unlimited is not necessarily unlimited and it would appear that its throttled if you go over 500mb which is not much.

Nearly all of the sims and contracts have some kind of restriction when roaming either it being a 2 month limit or a data limit (yes even if it states unlimited).  The only one that ive found seems to be the same as what you would get in the UK is Vodafone.  My current contract with them is 18gb of data, unlimited calls and texts and I think its about twelve quid a month (Well less as I claim the VAT back as its a business phone).  I just use my phone as a hot spot.  I got it in writing from Vodafone that I would get my full allowance abroad and despite it being buried in their terms and conditions that they may cut you off after two months of roaming I was assured they would not (Also in writing) and last year I used it for four months abroad.  I do know that some "3" users in the past had their connections terminated.  

Its probably worth having a good UK deal SIM that you can use in a device and then for long term if you run into issues with that UK Sim purchase something local.


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## Moped (Dec 2, 2018)

How long are you planning to be in Europe over a 12 month period? How many trips and how long would each trip be? This would help us to point you in the direction of a suitable Mifi offer. It could be that local Mifi could be a better option if you are in a single country for an extended period. 

Whilst Vodafone UK do offer the same allowance in Europe as the UK they do in fact have a fair use policy in their terms which does permit them to restrict services if the major use is deemed to be outside the UK. If you ask a Vodafone rep in one of their stores you will get more information. This put me off moving to Vodafone UK from Three. Vodafone said if I am in Spain for 3 months I would be better off with a local Vodafone.es Mifi monthly contract which you can cancel at 1 months notice and restart as and when.


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## V1nny (Dec 2, 2018)

jaycey001 said:


> Hi all
> 
> We have decided that next year we would like to have some form of internet when we travel. It would be handy for the kids in the evening when they want to relax and be easier for route planning for us. In addition once we get to Spain it would be really handy to have internet available in our house (no point paying for internet at the house as its only used for a few months a year and only Satellite is available at over 50euro a month.
> 
> ...



I had the same issue last summer with two Wi-Fi obsessed kids travelling through France and Spain. 

We bought a Vodafone Mifi for £20 with a 30 day rolling contract giving 50GB per month for £30 per month. We used it for 2 months over the summer for 4 phones, 2 tablets and 2 laptops without any problem. I’m planning to do the same again next summer.


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## Deleted user 48797 (Dec 2, 2018)

All good advice so far, but before you commit check out the small print Fair Use conditions of any package you are interested in first.


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## V1nny (Dec 2, 2018)

Bigusdickus said:


> All good advice so far, but before you commit check out the small print Fair Use conditions of any package you are interested in first.



That’s a very good point and that’s why I went with the 50GB deal from Vodafone. I seem to remember a lot of the other deals were capped about 8-12 GB when roaming.


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## big tom (Dec 3, 2018)

*Missed  Post*

oops missed this post


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## jaycey001 (Dec 3, 2018)

Moped said:


> How long are you planning to be in Europe over a 12 month period? How many trips and how long would each trip be? This would help us to point you in the direction of a suitable Mifi offer. It could be that local Mifi could be a better option if you are in a single country for an extended period.
> 
> Whilst Vodafone UK do offer the same allowance in Europe as the UK they do in fact have a fair use policy in their terms which does permit them to restrict services if the major use is deemed to be outside the UK. If you ask a Vodafone rep in one of their stores you will get more information. This put me off moving to Vodafone UK from Three. Vodafone said if I am in Spain for 3 months I would be better off with a local Vodafone.es Mifi monthly contract which you can cancel at 1 months notice and restart as and when.




We travel over to Europe for about 4 months of the year, in 1 month and 2 month blocks. Ideally I would like Pay as you go as I already have a contract with 15gb data allowance with Three. 

Thanks for all the suggestions so far, the global internet device is starting to look pricey compared to what some other people are paying.


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## Robina (Dec 3, 2018)

jagmanx said:


> Yes activate them in UK first



I had heard that you need to activate them in the uk first but, I whilst staying in France my existing three sim expired and the online top up offers were ridiculously expensive. So I bought a Three 12gb sim from Amazon uk delivered to a French address. It worked in France from the start. If it had not worked I would have had to bring it home and wait for next time - but it was all OK. Has anyone actually experienced a Three sim not activated in the UK not working? Or is it just an assumption?


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## GeoffL (Dec 3, 2018)

My vote goes to Three (with the caveat that I've never used either Giffgaff or EE). My current deal is £15/month for an 'advanced' plan that allows tethering both home and in any "Go Roam" country (which includes most of Europe). However, you need to check that all the countries you need are included as at least one (Andorra) isn't.

Previously, I rented a SIMs for France and Spain. Then bought a local SIM for a MiFi when my provider included roaming (but not tethering) in EU. However, the separate Internet connection isn't needed now that Three include tethering with Go Roam. HTH, Geoff


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## SimonM (Dec 3, 2018)

My iPhone mobile at home is on a 3 contract. Pay monthly £17, gives me unlimited texts, 200 minutes talk time (I don’t talk very much anyway) and then unlimited data which includes all of the roaming countries in Europe. Additionally I can tether my ipad to it for use across the pond too. Sorted.


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## Moped (Dec 3, 2018)

jaycey001 said:


> We travel over to Europe for about 4 months of the year, in 1 month and 2 month blocks. Ideally I would like Pay as you go as I already have a contract with 15gb data allowance with Three.
> 
> Thanks for all the suggestions so far, the global internet device is starting to look pricey compared to what some other people are paying.



You definitely will not get reasonable PAYG with large data usage when roaming. You will find it very expensive compared to a contract. I investigated this 18 months ago and it was hopeless. I was not going to pay £30 for 5GB!! Doubt that things are currently any different. 

For usage as above most UK operators will be accommodating. Would suggest Vodafone 50GB monthly contract as you have multiple users and it will give you 50GB monthly in Europe You can cancel giving 30 days notice and then restart later. But remember that you do have to have comparable UK usage also else Vodafone may start choking or suspending the service if they feel you are using the service for overseas roaming only. 

Three did have an unlimited UK Black Friday offer but it still limits you to 19GB when roaming. The 19GB allowance commences in January 2019. Currently the allowance is 15GB so an extra 4GB available in the new year.


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## Mobilvetta (Dec 3, 2018)

I'm using three in Spain at the moment, but noticed I don't get 4G here, we are based on the Costa Blanca, very disappointing, my wife's EE internet speed seems to be better here, should I be getting 4g speed and also do you get 4g in France with three.


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## korky (Dec 3, 2018)

Mobilvetta said:


> I'm using three in Spain at the moment, but noticed I don't get 4G here, we are based on the Costa Blanca, very disappointing, my wife's EE internet speed seems to be better here, should I be getting 4g speed and also do you get 4g in France with three.



No you only get 3g with Three in France. Another drawback in France is they only partner with Orange and they do throttle the speed. I was there recently and would often get a strong signal from other providers but no internet access. I don't need it everyday but it is sod's law than when you do there might not be a good Orange signal.I was only in Brittanny, not really in the sticks but coverage was patchy.

I used the same sim over much of Portugal with no issues.You do not need to activate the Three prepaid sim in the UK before use.

When this one runs out I'm changing to the Vodaphone  prepaid sim. Three aren't giving the best service anymore I feel.

Korky.


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## REC (Dec 3, 2018)

Vodafone is definetely the way to go if you want just to use your uk data abroad without limit (like three). But we couldnt find a data sim only deal for our mifi with unlimited use. Looking at getting a monthly higher use 12 month contract for the home as well so £25 for 50gb, then when we are away we are not paying for the unused contract in uk. When in spain or portugal you can get a PAYG sim for data to top it up. Think it was 30gb, 30Euro for 30days, or 15euro for 15days.


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## shaunr68 (Dec 3, 2018)

Unless you're going on a major trip covering loads of countries, crossing borders more frequently than every few weeks,  I'd have thought it would be cost effective to buy local data SIM cards rather than relying on British ones.  I've spent the past three months travelling across France, Spain and now Portugal.  In France I didn't bother due to the extensive FON availability.

In Spain I bought a Lycamobile Ilimitado XXL Sim offering 25GB over 30 days for €15 National & International Prepaid SIM | Bundle | SIM only Deals

Spain | Prepaid Data SIM Card Wiki | FANDOM powered by Wikia

In Portugal I use a MEO SIM offering 30GB over 15 days for €15 Cartao Enjoy – Cartoes SIM – Loja Online | MEO

Portugal | Prepaid Data SIM Card Wiki | FANDOM powered by Wikia

You can buy them in the usual places - mobile phone outlets, supermarkets etc.  In the case of the Spanish Lycamobile package it is easy to top up online for another 30 days, the website has an English option.  With the MEO package I haven't quite worked out whether that is possible and went into a shop to buy a topup.


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## Robina (Dec 3, 2018)

korky said:


> I used the same sim over much of Portugal with no issues.You do not need to activate the Three prepaid sim in the UK before use.


In Portugal we buy a NOS card for 15€ Which gives 15 days unlimited. It worked brilliantly and topping up for the same again was easy at the post office. I believe MEO is the same. Portugal is very progressive with the Internet.


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## Canalsman (Dec 3, 2018)

korky said:


> No you only get 3g with Three in France. Another drawback in France is they only partner with Orange and they do throttle the speed.



That is not correct.

I have found that if you allow automatic network selection Orange may be the preferred roaming provider.

However manual network selection will often provide alternatives. In my experience the alternatives provide more bandwidth - Orange does seem poor ...


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## Robina (Dec 3, 2018)

POI Admin said:


> That is not correct.
> 
> I have found that if you allow automatic network selection Orange may be the preferred roaming provider.
> 
> However manual network selection will often provide alternatives. In my experience the alternatives provide more bandwidth - Orange does seem poor ...



We have always found orange to be poor in France and manually select something else.


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## korky (Dec 3, 2018)

POI Admin said:


> That is not correct.
> 
> I have found that if you allow automatic network selection Orange may be the preferred roaming provider.
> 
> However manual network selection will often provide alternatives. In my experience the alternatives provide more bandwidth - Orange does seem poor ...



Thanks for that.Is that with Three? I did try manual selection with no success, but was only there 10 days as I was unwell and had to come home early.

Korky.


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## Canalsman (Dec 4, 2018)

Yes, Three.

The other roaming partners are Bouygues Telecom and SFR.


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## Wooie1958 (Dec 4, 2018)

POI Admin said:


> Yes, Three.
> 
> The other roaming partners are Bouygues Telecom and *SFR*.




Chris, the other roaming partner in France with Three is Free and not SFR, unless things have changed since May this year


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## peter palance (Dec 4, 2018)

*ii felt*



***** said:


> I have just resigned with Vod for 20gb at £17.50 per month, inc unlimited calls and text
> Previously I used a 12gb three payg sim in my mi fi
> There are some good deals on Three contracts £20 for all you can eat, but I prefer Vod for coverage and all at 4G
> 
> ...


i felt cheeted twice, so voda got thee elbow, oh and no return thank you, keep your eyes open, for me not good, once ,, twice shy,pj


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## Canalsman (Dec 4, 2018)

Wooie1958 said:


> Chris, the other roaming partner in France with Three is Free and not SFR, unless things have changed since May this year



You may well be correct. On my most recent extended three-day tour I didn't have the opportunity to try!


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## barryd (Dec 4, 2018)

REC said:


> Vodafone is definetely the way to go if you want just to use your uk data abroad without limit (like three). But we couldnt find a data sim only deal for our mifi with unlimited use. Looking at getting a monthly higher use 12 month contract for the home as well so £25 for 50gb, then when we are away we are not paying for the unused contract in uk. When in spain or portugal you can get a PAYG sim for data to top it up. Think it was 30gb, 30Euro for 30days, or 15euro for 15days.



Just be careful with the Vodafone Data only sims. They are not capped and if you go over the charges are steep.  When you get it make sure you call them and have it capped so if you reach your 50gb limit it stops working.  I installed one for a client in a router as a backup recently and they went over by 10gb and the charges were £195.  Im disputing it but dont get caught out.  They are supposed to notify you and there is a usage app but not if your using it in a router or your own mifi unit.


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