Prepaid Data services
Prepaid Data services lets you read and send emails and access the Internet using their phone while traveling.
Benefits
- GPRS data is available in over 71 countries
- 3G data is available in 10 countries
- It is prepaid, so no contracts, no credit checks and no monthly fees
- Rates from $5 per MB
Prepaid Data services are available for these SIM cards and services:
Coverage of GPRS Data
Prepaid GPRS Data is available in 71 countries (including North America, Caribbean, Europe and much of Asia Pacific). View coverage
Tip: In order to access Prepaid GPRS Data in the following countries, you most likely will need to select a different network from the network on which you make and receive calls: Austria, China, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, South Africa, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and Ukraine
Coverage of 3G Data
Prepaid 3G data is available 10 countries. In order to access pre-paid 3G data, you must have a 3G phone (link to more information) and you must select the applicable 3G network operator for the country you are in.
Tip: 3G is a relatively new standard, and in general is only available in major cities.
| Country | Operator |
|---|---|
| Australia | Optus |
| Canada | Rogers Wireless |
| France | SFR |
| Germany | O2 |
| Ireland | O2 |
| Italy | TIM |
| Puerto Rico | Cingular USA |
| Spain | Telefonica |
| United Kingdom | O2, Orange, T-Mobile |
| United States | AT&T |
Phone compatibility
WAP and Internet access, email, instant messaging, and MMS are features of many phones, but not all. Prepaid data is required to enable these features if they are available on your phone. Please check which features are supported by your phone.
Upload and download speeds
The majority of GPRS phones can download data at speeds of up to 24Kbps (kilobytes per second), and upload data at speeds of up to 14 Kbps.
3G speeds vary by handset, but are generally significantly faster than GPRS. If you wish to use your phone for accessing the internet and responding to email, we recommend purchasing a 3G phone.
Phone configuration
Your phone must be configured to work with our Prepaid Data service.
This involves setting the Access Point Name (APN) to 'mobiledata'.
Please follow the instructions below to setup GPRS data for the following handset brands. If you have any problems, please consult your handset’s user guide or contact Customer Service.
iPhone
- Tap 'Settings'.
- Tap 'General'
- Tap 'Network'.
- Tap 'EDGE'.
- Select 'Profile 4'.
- Enter the APN as 'mobiledata'. Leave the username/password fields blank.
- Launch Browser.
LG phones
- Menu.
- Select 'Internet'.
- Select 'Profiles'.
- Select 'Options'.
- Select 'Add New'.
- Enter a name, eg 'Internet' and select 'Ok'.
- In the profiles main menu, select 'Options.
- Select 'Settings'.
- Enter a valid homepage: http://www.google.com/
- Select 'Bearer' and choose 'GPRS'.
- Select 'GPRS Settings'.
- Select 'APN' and enter 'mobiledata'.
- Return to the 'Internet' main menu and select 'Home'.
*This will launch the web browser.
Motorola Phones
- Select 'Menu'.
- Select 'Web Access'.
- Select 'Web Sessions'.
- Select 'New Entry'.
- Enter a valid homepage: http://www.google.com/
- Enter GPRS APN as 'mobiledata'.
- Select 'Launch'.
Nokia phones
- Select 'Menu'.
- Select 'Settings'.
- Select 'Configuration'.
- Select 'Personal Configuration Settings'.
- Enter a new Access Point.
- Select 'Data Bearer' and choose 'Packet Data'.
- Select 'Packet Data Access Point'.
- Enter APN as 'mobiledata'.
- Exit to main screen.
- Select 'Menu'.
- Select 'Web'.
- Select 'Go to address'.
- Enter a valid homepage: http://www.google.com/
Samsung phones
- Select 'Menu'.
- Select 'Settings'.
- Select 'Browser Settings'.
- Select 'Profile Settings'.
- Select a spare Profile.
- Enter a profile name, eg 'Internet'.
- Enter a valid homepage: http://www.google.com/
- Make sure the Bearer is set to 'GPRS only'.
- Enter APN as 'mobiledata'.
- In options select 'Save'.
- In the Profile settings, select 'Save'.
- Return to the 'Internet' main menu and select 'Browser'.
- Select 'Home'.
*This will launch the web browser.
Sony Ericsson phones
- Select 'Menu'.
- Select 'Settings'.
- Select 'Connectivity'.
- Select 'Data Communication'.
- Select 'Data Accounts'.
- Select 'New Account'.
- Select 'GPRS Data'.
- Enter an account name like 'data'.
- Enter APN as 'mobiledata'.
- Select 'Save'.
Setting up email
View user guide for full instructions (52Kb PDF)
Rates
Rates are based on kb of data used, and start from $5 per MB for the United Kingdom and Ireland. The minimum charge is for 100kb and usage is charged in increments of 10kb.
| Key countries | Rates (US$ per MB) |
|---|---|
| Ireland, United Kingdom | 5 |
| Austria, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, South Africa | 10 |
| Canada, Caribbean, France, Germany, Peru, Singapore, Switzerland, United States | 15 |
| Brazil, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Spain | 20 |
| China, Egypt, Japan, Netherlands, Thailand | 25 |
| Australia, Chile | 30 |
Sending a photo via email or MMS using phone with a VGA camera will use 100kb of data in many cases and will cost 50c in United Kingdom, $1.00 in Italy, $1.50 in United States, and $2.50 in Japan.