EuroFest Day 11 - Buying Phone Service In Europe

Cellphones and Europe Go Together Like -
Cellphones and USA Travel

EE Limited is our carrier

When traveling in a camper or taking a plane to Europe - having a cellphone makes things so much easier and less intimidating. Most of the time - we use our iphone for surfing the net - watching TV - or listening to satellite radio. We seldom make calls in Europe - except to each other.

It is so much cheaper for cellphone service. My bill for the month comes to 15 pounds - that is $20.

We are in Germany for the month of June. We are staying in a house in Darmstadt - near Frankfurt. We have an Avis rental diesel car. Frankfurt Airport has cheap flights everywhere. But trying to make connections and reservations with "German as a second language" is challenging. The cellphone is a big help.

We have tried many carriers - the last 4 times we used EE Limited. It is a company out of England - that works almost all over the continent. The service is great. The cost is low.

You go into a store and pick up a SIM chip - you can slide it into your cellphone - using a paper clip to open the little door. In our case - we take out our ATT chip - and store it in a safe place. Back home in the USA - we told ATT to suspend our service until August 2nd. That keeps our phone number secure - but stops our payment.

Now with the EE card in our phone - we restart it. Then you simple text to "150" - you can then add money to your account. You can also add money to your account on the EE web page. I bought a one month package. For 15 pounds - I get a full month of service for June. I get 500 free calls in Europe. I get unlimited text messages. I also get 5 GB of data. 15 pounds is $20. So for $20 a month - I get to use all the features of my iphone. In Europe - I feel like Linus carrying around my security blanket iPhone. I can pay for my lunch with Apple pay - tell when the next bus is coming - or how far it is to Berlin.

At the EE Store you can buy Sim cards - or full phones.
Some phones are so cheap - they are throwaways. 

EE Stores are all over London - like Starbucks in America 

This is my account on the EE web page. I bought a 15 pound
data pack. I get phone service for June - 500 calls - unlimited text -
5GB data to surf the net. If I need more - I dial 150 -
and can top up. I usually end the month
with a surplus that rolls over.