Turkey

Mobiles phones purchased outside Turkey must be registered with the government, separate from any SIM registration. There is a grace period advertised as 30 days, but can be as short as 18, after which the phone will be blocked. Registration is best done at the same time as purchasing a SIM from a network operator's high street store (resellers are unlikely to be familiar with the concept). To avoid any misunderstanding, make sure they understand that you want to "register the IMEI" (the unique number that identifies your device). Turkcell charge 5 TL for this service, which involves them printing a template letter which you will need to sign, as well as copying your relevant passport pages. (Communications tip - ask to use Google Translate!)

You can also buy a cheap Turkish phone, but again you need to provide paperwork showing who you are. I have never taken the same phone to Turkey for more than two weeks, so cannot say if this time period is reset for each visit.

That said, you can still buy PAYG sims if you are planning on being in the country for only a short period. The tarrifs were once horrendously complicated, but are starting to be a lot simpler.

There are certain coastal areas where a Greek island is close enough for you to use their mobile networks (and thus also gain from the cheaper intra-Europe rates). However, these are rather limited.

Turkcell
A Turkcell SIM costs 32 TL. This includes 20 TL of call credit. You can check your balance by dialling *123# then Send (green call button).

International calls to many countries cost 0.75 TL per minute. International SMSs cost 0.75 TL.

They offer a monthly 3G data package of 4GB for 29 TL. The 3G network gives quite good speeds. To enable this, with a balance of at least 29 TL send an SMS to 2260 with the text "KALAN MB". You will get a bunch of response texts, including a configuration file that does not configure your internet access point (it's for streaming media - PIN code to open is "12345" - but exact usage unknown). You may need to configure your access point manually; the only non-default setting you need for this is the access point name: "internet".

Schlurch March 2011 - my journey to get a galaxy tab (android 2.2 froyo) hooked up on turkcell:


 * bought a sim card with 20TL credit on it for 50TL


 * shop clerk didn't tell me to dial 8090 to activate sim, told me it'll be aktivated by itself within 30min. Not!


 * after 3hrs i found out with customer service that i have to do so (phone# for english operator: 0532 4440535 then dial -77 for english)


 * ok i could make calls now, next step: data


 * there was an offer for 100MB for just 5TL for which i could use my 20TL credit for: write SMS with text '3AY' to number 2222

you get a response from number 2438. You have to respond to that with another sms and the word 'EVET' (for yes)


 * finally the package can be used. If not, set a custom APN named 'internet'

UPDATE: to use 3G with HSPA-speed you need to send another sms to numer 2323 with text '3G'. Reconnect to network and you are all set.

that was a long way, boy!