Greek 'Pay as You Go' Data sim card

[Alenka]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Why do you think standard sims give that setup. It varies all over the place.

Dave

Thanks dave,

I appreciate deals vary. What I was trying to put over is that I don't want a deal that offers voice and SMS that I will never use.

It seems most people in the Greek region are suggesting the COMSMOTE network.

[Jacques2]

OK, what you are looking for is called a "Pocket wifi" by Cosmote in Greece :

COSMOTE

[Alenka]

Originally Posted by Jacques2

OK, what you are looking for is called a "Pocket wifi" by Cosmote in Greece :

COSMOTE

Thanks Jacques,

If it allows around four people to log on then it could be perfect for my needs.

Cheers

[beneteau-500]

infact on noosite a yachtie has posted the same thing i use a voda phone modem which i found great

[Jacques2]

Originally Posted by Alenka

Thanks Jacques,

If it allows around four people to log on then it could be perfect for my needs.

Cheers

Yes it allows 4 other devices to be connected.

[miyagimoon]

Originally Posted by Alenka

Thanks dave,

I appreciate deals vary. What I was trying to put over is that I don't want a deal that offers voice and SMS that I will never use.

It seems most people in the Greek region are suggesting the COMSMOTE network.

As I said in my first response. Cosmote have the best coverage, which is why most people in Greece use it.

We actually us their USB Dongle along with this TL-MR3020 - Welcome to TP-LINK. That way we can have multiple users no matter who'se network we are on.

N.B Some networks will only work using thier dongle / mifi. Turkcell is one for example.

[Chris Robb]

Originally Posted by miyagimoon

As I said in my first response. Cosmote have the best coverage, which is why most people in Greece use it.

We actually us their USB Dongle along with this TL-MR3020 - Welcome to TP-LINK. That way we can have multiple users no matter who'se network we are on.

N.B Some networks will only work using thier dongle / mifi. Turkcell is one for example.

Go for Cosmote, especially if its data you want. We were scarcely without 3G in the summer all the way from Ionionian to Leros. Before we have had Wind in the Cyclades which we found never had much better than the old GPRS system and pretty useless and last year we used Vodafone which was better but no where near Cosmote which picked up a strong data signal on Levitia presumably from miles away - Kalymnos perhaps?

[Yofy]

We used a WIND SIM card last summer with terrible results. Never could Skype. We wrote a blog about the whole thing we were so frustrated.

Good to hear there are better alternatives.
Robyn

[Palarran]

Alenka, When will you be returning to Greece? I need the exact same thing as your looking for. Would it be too much to post your results when you get it connected. They should have a Cosmote store in Messolonghi so I can get one when we arrive in May.

[Alenka]

Alas I won't be back on board until early May myself, but I will definately post findings once I am up and running.

[Zai]

We have been using a Cosmote 3G dongle for the past three years with no problems and VERY good coverage.
It is called "Internet on the go" and it costs 40 euro for the dongle and 40 euro for 30 days of access. As long as you use it at least once a year you don't need a new sim card.

[Alenka]

Originally Posted by Zai

We have been using a Cosmote 3G dongle for the past three years with no problems and VERY good coverage.
It is called "Internet on the go" and it costs 40 euro for the dongle and 40 euro for 30 days of access. As long as you use it at least once a year you don't need a new sim card.

Thanks for the info. I won't be giving it that much use to justify €40 pm. I will doing pay as you go.

Actually, compared to what I pay at home for ultra-fast broadband and my monthly iPhone package I think €40 pm is very steep!

[Alenka]

It's been a while since I visited the forum, but here goes with an update on my wifi onboard experiences.

First up if you are going down this route in Greece I CANNOT RECOMMEND Cosmote.

Yes they do have the best coverage but that's (for me) where it ends.

Day 1

Walked my feet off looking for the Cosmote shop - Guess what it doesn't say Cosmote on the outside!

Day 2

Better directions from shopkeepers in the area and found the shop but it closed at 14.00 for the day!

Day 3

Returned bright and early got a very brief overview about the mifi hardware I was looking for, but they couldn't sell it to me because you need your passport to sign up.

Day 4

Returned with passport. Transaction took an age, mainly because freinds and family kept coming through the shop and everything stopped whilst they had a chat!
Assured the box contained English instructions and pushed out the door with pay-as-you-go sim card and hardware.

Back at boat. The instructions inside the boxes are in Greek only! Managed to find English translations on the web at a nearby wifi cafe.

NB. This is not a plug and play system. First you must deactive the pin code on the sim card for which you will need an unlocked mobile phone, plus you need to know your way around the security menus on said phone.

Several hours later and with the sim security de-activated it was time to put the sim into the wifi device. Guess what, the adapter supplied didn't want to fit.

Day 5

Back to the shop. Please make this work and I am not leaving until you do. (first they had to sort out a German couple with excatly the same problem).
Making the sim fit was no problem for them - They forced it! It went in and I suspect it will never come out again, well not in one piece.
As you might expect setting it up was no problem for them either - they spoke Greek.
Checked iPad and iPhone in shop to make sure it would indeed work with both but when I asked about topping up online I was told it was not a good system. Sometimes your cedit card would be debited but your phone won't get the extra data you paid for - Advised only to buy top-ups in Cosmote shop!

When I said this wouldn't always be possible they were at a loss to suggest an alternative method. It took another customer to point out that all the little newsagent kiosks sold top up cards.

Having a Wifi network on the boat that we could all use at the same time is great. Well it was for 4 weeks until the sim had to be topped up (time limited). With top up cards in hand I went onto the english website of Cosmote and accessed 'My Cosmote' to access my account. The page that came up was in Greek! No english version!!
Even using Google translate to change it to English made little sense and when I entered my password details (as agreed in the shop) I was duly informed I didn't exist.

The couple on the boat alongside nodded their heads in sympathy. They have had all the same problems. They gave up with pay-as-you-go and signed up for yearly contract even though they only spend 5 months a year onboard.

Cosmote shops are few and far between in the Greek islands so I am now on the hunt for one that can get me up and working again.

One last sting in the tail. If I go more than 90 days without a top-up the sim card is cancelled and you have to start all over again!

Think I will check out Vodafone. If nothing else they seem to have far more shops than Cosmote!

[monte]

The best site for finding data sim details by country.
http://prepaidwithdata.wikia.com/wik..._SIM_with_data

[Alenka]

Originally Posted by monte

The best site for finding data sim details by country.
Pay as you go sim with data Wiki

Thanks for the info.

Note at the top that says you must provide proof of identity, this means Passport if you are not Greek. Other forms of photo ID are not accepted.

I'm back in the UK and looking at the deals where I can change my plan to operate in Europe and pay £2 per day but get the same free calls and data I would here. Using an iPhone as a network might not be the cheapest but it might be the less stress option.

There's a sort of irony to all of this. In most of Europe you can't buy a toaster without an getting an instruction book that covers every language going. But trying to get a simple sim card from Cosmote, the biggest phone company in Greece, that's a different story.