Talk:European Union/@comment-33991484-20171217070858/@comment-24682153-20171218223058

Hi Bartolini. There is no best roaming SIM card around. The providers make it very hard to substitute a domestic data SIM by an roaming SIM indefinitely. There are multiple obstacles:

1.) registration laws: many SIM cards need to be registered in person in about 1/2 of the EU countries now and are not sold anonymously through the internet. You'll have to go there.

2.) activation: Some providers of non-registration countries require to activate the SIM first on the home network with the same consequence as 1.)

3.) quota-FUP: The minimum data quota given out at the domestic rate will be raised in Jan.18 to around 2.8 GB per €10 package price. 1 GB at around €3.60 is better, but still not a great deal.

4.) FUP against permanent roaming: As it looks like the implementation of the 4-months-rule is somewhat erratic. Some providers have already send messages, others (who have mentioned it) simply don't care. The most restrictive seems to Austria, Poland and Three UK at the moment.

5.) Topping up: more and more countries require domestic payment systems for recharges. Some are simply impossible to be topped up from abroad, others only with a surcharge.

6.) Depriorisation: There is still not much 4G/LTE roaming around. Many of the cheaper offers ban 4G/LTE access for roaming even if they offer 4G in the home country.

So you see. There will be probably not a "best" solution available. This is true to the countries outside of the EU/EEA roaming area too. There are some good options for light use, but for big data you should always opt for a local SIM. "International" SIM cards have come down a bit, but are still not really competitive.