Finland

Basics
Finland has three national network operators: They are supplemented by the local operator Ålcom on the Åland Islands only. Ålcom works on the mainland also by roaming on the other national networks for no additional charge.
 * Telia (by the Telia Group, used to be called Sonera)
 * Elisa (prepaid packages under Saunalahti brand name)
 * DNA (by DNA Oy)

2G is on 900 and 1800 MHz, 3G on 900 and 2100 MHz, 4G/LTE on 700 (band 28), 800, 1800 and 2600 MHz. In the less populated northern and eastern part Telia and DNA share one common network.

Elisa has had the best coverage and speed in 3G and 4G in the country. Telia has prepaid on a good network, while DNA as 3rd operator has the most flexible pricing as its own brand and through its resellers and very good coverage in the populated areas, covering above 99% (Dec 2016). 4G/LTE is open to all prepaid users and packages without surcharge (except where stated).

Roaming: No roam like at home?
Finland still offers very cheap data and real unlimited rates similar to the Baltic countries and has opted mainly out of the "roam like at home" scheme: Finland is part of the EU, where from June 2017 new international roaming rules are enforced. In most European countries you can now 'roam like at home' at domestic rates rather than excessive roaming rates.

The Finnish regulator has exemped all operators from the principles. So Finnish SIM cards fall mostly under the derogation and will charge EU roaming separately regardless of their domestic allowance between 5.7c and 9.5c per MB, if they don't block roaming like Telia. For specifics about the new regulation check the European Union chapter and every provider below.

Telia Finland (previously Sonera)
Telia, rebranded from Sonera in 2017, has the most customers in Finland and its coverage on 3G and 4G is pretty good, but not as good as Elisa's: Sonera coverage map. At the end of 2015, 4G/LTE reached 95% of population.

Voice and data SIM: Telia Prepaid
Their basic prepaid product for voice, text and data is called Telia Prepaid and available at their stores (shop locator), online to be sent to a Finnish postal address or at R-Kiosks (locator). Top-ups are available for 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 EUR. You will get a bonus of 5 EUR for the first 3 top-ups.

The starter pack is usually sold for 5.90 EUR with 7 EUR pre-loaded credits. In R-kioski and other outlets it may be discounted to 3.90 EUR. All SIM cards come as 3-in-1 (multi-punch) format, normal, micro and nano.

Default data rate is a low 0.01 EUR per MB with a daily cap of 0.99 EUR per calendar day (0-24h). Speed is up to 100 Mbps on 4G/LTE where available. Telia may apply a daily FUP of 3 GB. Check balance by texting 'Prepaid Saldo' to 15400.

Data-only SIM: Telia Prepaid Netti
Their prepaid data-only SIM for tablets, routers or modems is called Telia Prepaid Netti. It should be available at the same stores (see above) as SIM-only for 24.90 EUR, sometimes reduced to 17.90 EUR. It includes "unlimited" high speed traffic in 3G and 4G up to 50 Mbps for 31 days. A FUP of 3 GB per day applies.

General information

 * To check balance, send SMS with 'PREPAID SALDO' to 15400 (for free).


 * The SIM card and account balance is valid for 12 months since last recharge or starting from activation date. You can check the actual expiration time by sending SMS with 'PREPAID VOIMASSA' to 15400 (for free). Also you can check the expiration date in the mobile application.


 * Also you can use free Telia mobile app to check balance and recharge your account. It's available for Android in Google Play and for iOS devices in AppStore.


 * There is strictly no international roaming on Telia Prepaid. You can't use it outside Finland even in other Telia networks. They confirmed that roaming is completely disabled on their prepaid SIM. You can't even receive a SMS outside Finland.

Recharging
You can recharge Telia online using your credit card. Most of international credit cards accepted (verified with EU and Russian cards in January 2017). Minimal online recharge amount is 10 EUR.

On the payment page you can select to load money only (Saldoa) or instantly buy a package (select Netin käyttöaikaa option, for packages see below).

Also you can recharge with Telia mobile application, almost similar to the website recharging.

You can also recharge by cash or credit card in R-Kioski stores in Finland.

Data feature packages
Telia prepaid SIMs mentioned above can be extended by these packages:
 * unlimited data packages per day (a FUP of 3 GB per day may be applied):
 * 19.90 EUR: 7 days of unlimited data in up to 4G and 100 Mbps
 * 29.90 EUR: 31 days of unlimited data in up to 4G and 100 Mbps
 * combo packages with domestic calls, domestic SMS and data for 31 days (not available for Prepaid Netti):
 * 9.90 EUR: 100 mins of voice, 100 SMS and 1 GB of data
 * 19.90 EUR: 500 mins of voice, 500 SMS and 5 GB of data
 * 29.90 EUR: 1200 mins of voice, 1000 SMS and 10 GB of data

More info

 * Again: no international roaming outside of Finland for voice, SMS and data available


 * Website, partly in English: http://www.telia.fi
 * APN: internet

Saunalahti (by Elisa)
Elisa Saunalahti is Elisa's consumer sub-brand, which has the best coverage and speed in Finland. Take care: For 3G it uses the 900 Mhz band mostly (in contrary to 2100 Mhz in the rest of Europe) and its extended 4G/LTE network is available for prepaid without surcharge: Elisa Coverage map. In 2017 700 MHz was added for LTE on band 28.

Availability
Saunalahti Prepaid SIM cards are widely available from several retailers: Elisa Shops called Elisa Shopit (survey)  kiosks like R-Kioski (use "HAE KIOSKI" Button for store locator), supermarkets like Prisma (locator), Alepa (locator), Sale (locator), Valintatalo (locator), S-Market (locator)and Siwa (locator) or petrol stations like Shell/St1 or ABC.

The SIM card is sold for € 5.90, when ordered online to be sent to a Finnish postal address. Or normally sold for € 5.90 in the shops mentioned above. Both include € 6 of credit and no registration or ID are required. Take care: There are various Saunalahti SIM bundles sold at higher prices at local stores, e.g. SIM including 4G/3G hardware or SIM including data, calls and texts for one month.

The new SIM comes as a combined micro-, mini- and nano-SIM. Set prepaid subscription messages to English by sending SMS message ENGLISH to 18258 from your prepaid number. PIN code for Saunalahti Prepaid is 1234. Remember to store the SIM holder in a safe place as it contains both the PIN and PUK codes.

Extra credit can be purchased from the above mentioned retailers or online. The website accepts Visa and MasterCard from 10 € and has special offers not available from retailers. The SIM is valid for 3 months and 12 months after the last recharge. Check balance by *100#.

Default data rate
Default rate is 0.066 € per MB with a daily maximum of 0.99 € for unlimited data (max. 100 MBit/s on 4G), when the SIM card has been purchased after June 1st, 2015. For older SIM cards the daily maximum is 1.90 €.

Data feature packs
Saunalahti's packages are really unlimited on 3G and 4G, they only differ in maximum data speed. They offer two packages with voice, texts and data: Furthermore, they offer these unlimited data packages differing in speed: For activation text code to 15020. You can book a new pack ahead of time. This will come in effect when the old pack is terminated. You can check status by texting STATUS to 15020.
 * Rajoitukseton 3G: unlimited domestic calls, 5000 domestic texts and unlimited data (max 21 MBit/s) in a month: 24.90 EUR. Activation: text '3G' to 15020.
 * Rajoitukseton 4G: unlimited domestic calls, 5000 domestic texts and unlimited data (max 50 MBit/s) in a month: 29.90 EUR. Activation: text '4G' to 15020.

50% discount offer available on lataa.saunalahti.fi if you are using your SIM card for the first time. An alternative to using your credit to pay your purchases is to go to lataa.saunalahti.fi/ and pay the plan of your choice with a payment card (by Visa or MasterCard).

Router offer
Elisa Saunalahti also offers a starter pack with a router for 39 € called Elisa Saunalahti Prepaid Perhenetti. It includes a month of prepaid internet service and an additional 6 € credit valid for voice, SMS and data, a router, cables and manual in English. The router is a Huawei E5520 up to 3G and 21 Mbit/s. Additional days after the first free month are 0.99 e/day. Alternatively, monthly data prepaid packages can be bought.

EU roaming
EU roaming remains surcharged past June 2017. The general rate is 0.727c per MB for roaming data.

More info

 * APN: internet (for prepaid only)
 * Tethering: allowed
 * Website mostly in Finnish: http://elisa.fi
 * Internet is really unlimited, but P2P networks like BitTorrent etc. are not allowed.
 * Elisa customer service with English option 01019 0240 (local/mobile fee applies). Open Mon-Fri 8 am - 7 pm, Sat 10 am - 4.30 pm, Sun closed.

DNA
DNA is the 3rd operator in Finland, yet it offers arguably the best coverage and very high speed at good rates: coverage map. It's 4G/LTE is open for prepaid without surcharge.

Availability
DNA prepaid SIM cards are widely available from several retailers: online to be sent to a Finnish address, at the kiosks of R-Kioski (locator), at the stores of Suomalainen Kirjakauppa (locator) or at post offices (Posti, Itella) (locator). No registration or ID required.

You can buy top-up vouchers from R-Kioski and Posti (see above) with cash or card, also you can recharge online (using international Visa / MasterCard credit card or with Finnish bank accounts).

They have these different prepaid products on offer:
 * DNA Rajaton Prepaid: SIM card with voice, SMS, MMS and data
 * DNA Super Prepaid: SIM card with voice, SMS, MMS and data
 * DNA Dataprepaid Tablet: data-only SIM without text or voice, no roaming

DNA Rajaton Prepaid
DNA Rajaton (= unlimited) Prepaid was called Smart Prepaid before. Its starter packs cost 7.90 € often discounted to 4.90 € at the post office or 3.90 € at R-kioski including 7 € of credit. The starter packages contain SIM of 3 sizes (cut out).

They charge by the day and the charge is deducted for each day, no matter if you are actually using it, until credit runs out. This is unlike Elisa, that only charges for the days when the SIM is used. You can however halt the daily charging, but it costs 2.50 € to do so. They offer only one rate:
 * Unlimited domestic voice, SMS and 4G data: 0.89 € per day (FUP: 5 GB per month)

A day starts from midnight and ends at midnight. EU roaming is at surcharges, see below.

DNA Super Prepaid
DNA Super Prepaid starter packs cost 7.90 €, often discounted to 3.90 € (30.6.-10.8.2017) including 7 € of credit. The current starter packages contain a SIM with mini, micro and nano cutouts.

Data has a maximum charge of 0.99 EUR per day with unlimited domestic data only on the days when data are used.

These data packages can be added as alternative choice: You can activate packages on their mobile website or online when you have enough loaded credit. Surcharges are applied to EU/EEA roaming, according to the list below.

DNA Dataprepaid
Their Dataprepaid SIM cards have data-only for laptops and tablets. Starter pack with unlimited data for 30 days is 24.90 EUR, often discounted to 19.90 EUR.

Also, a pack with 1 GB or 10 GB domestic data valid for 180 days is available for 9.90 EUR or 24.90 EUR, respectively, at least from R-kioski. You also get 9 GB of additional bonus data when you register your sim card here. That bonus data does not show up as balance at prepaid.dna.fi anymore though.

Mini, micro and nano SIMs are available. 4G/LTE has been opened for this product line and download speed is up to 150 Mbps where 4G is available. There is no international roaming outside Finland on this plan. All Dataprepaid SIM cards can be extended by these packages: The top-ups can be purchased online with Finnish bank account or in a store (e.g. R-kioski) where you get a scratch card. The code on the scratch card needs to be entered here. There is no internatl. roaming on this SIM plan.
 * 7 days of unlimited data: 7.90 EUR
 * 30 days of unlimited data: 19.95 EUR
 * 10 GB for 90 days: 19.90 EUR
 * 30 GB for 90 days: 29.90 EUR

EU roaming
Roaming in other EU/EEA countries will still be surcharged past summer 2017. The base roaming rate is 5.7c per MB, FUP excess rate is at 9.5c/MB. For the daily rate 100 MB on Rajaton DNA and 110 MB on Super DNA plans are given out per day with the base roaming rate of 5.7c/MB on top and all further consumption adds the excess rate of 9.5c/MB. Data packages are given out with all of their volume plus the base roaming rate of 5.7c/MB. Note that there is generally no international roaming at all on the Dataprepaid DNA plan. There is no 4G/LTE roaming available so far, only 2G/3G, but plans to offer it by the end of 2017.

DNA announced to apply a time restriction on roaming. They may monitor your presence or usage for 4 months. If either one prevails in roaming rather than in Finland, all surcharges will be based on the excess rate of 9.5c/MB. More details : https://www.dna.fi/euroaming-in-english

More info

 * APN (only for DNA Prepaid): prepaid.dna.fi
 * Tethering is allowed
 * Balance inquiry through customer service costs € 2.92! Better use: m.prepaid.dna.fi (for free) from your mobile device
 * Website in Finnish: https://www.dna.fi/prepaid-liittymat and in English: https://www.dna.fi/prepaid-liittymat#english

Tele Finland (Helppo)
Tele Finland discontinued the sale of their prepaid product previously known as Helppo in 2016. No new SIM cards are offered anymore. Old customers are grandfathered and can stay with their SIM as long as top-up vouchers can be found, but no new customers are allowed. The only offer on prepaid for the Telia network is now their own-branded Telia prepaid SIM.