Using a USA 3G iPad overseas

[gtvyt]

Recent European experience:

In Italy you can buy 3 (tre) mini sim for Ipad (only 5 euros for 3 GB / month). All other companies had some activation problems especially Vodaphone.

In Germany - no such thing as prepaid unless you have German bank account. The only way is to buy regular sim with data package and cut it.... its about 25 Euros.

 

[sushi]

You know yourself that there was no chance to get a 3G w/o a contract with SB.

Actually you can. You can pay a month at at time if you want.

I believe that the cost is somewhere around 5,980 yen per month. It's for 2GB of data.

If you sign up for a 2 year contract you get unlimited data for 2,910 yen per month after rebate.

In my case, I figured that I would use it more than 6 months out of the year (break even point) and went with a contract. I'm on the go a lot, and for some reason the little WiFi alert boxes bug the heck out of me. So normally, I just go via 3G since is works just about everywhere like on the trains, in my car, on the bus, etc. Plus I like the GPS feature. Just used it for navigation yesterday evening.

 

[BaronStein]

Great info - Thanks! I'm leaving for Turkey in a couple of weeks. I will be in Istanbul and visiting small towns on the south-west coast near Marmaris. Can you give me a few more details regarding carriers and cost? Would I have any difficulty in purchasing a plan as a non-Turkish resident?

Great! I'm currently in Ankara, but I can truly say that Istanbul is a magical city. Enjoy your time over there. And don't forget to take pictures for friends.

There are 3 carriers available in Turkey right now, all GSM and has good 3G services. Most popular one and the most reliable one is Turkcell(with market share over 50%), followed by Vodafone, which is cheaper but not as reliable as the first one. I'm using a Turkcell data plan with 4 gb limit, costs around $30 with all the tax included. They don't have any pre-paid data plans .I was able to get a commitment free service with some help from a colleague. Turkcell is the best one here, with excellent coverage and fast speeds. Far better than At&T for comparison. They require passport from foreigners and $20 one time only service fee. Prices are like 1 gb for $20, 4gbfor $30 and 8gb for $40.

Vodafone might be a better alternative for you as they have actual pre-paid data plans. Their 3G coverage is not as good as Turkcell, and sometimes 2G only in rural areas. Pricing is a bit different, 1 gb for $8, 5 gb for $30. They have plans such as hourly, daily or weekly unlimited. However, you may need to send a text message in order to activate these, I don't exactly know.

Third carrier is called something like Ave, and I have no idea about their prices. What I've heard is their 3G is the worst.