Overseas Prepaid Mobile Internet

Need Prepaid Mobile Internet for your smartphone when you’re overseas?

Good news is, you’re in the right spot.

This Overseas Prepaid Mobile Internet page focuses heavily on France, Spain, Italy and other parts of Europe but also has information for other destinations particularly if they’re cycling destinations.

If you want a quick, convenient, super-cheap and hassle-free way of getting prepaid internet in France, Spain, Italy and other places in the world, head straight to the MobiPassport website to buy a prepaid data SIM (read my review of MobiPassport).

France

There are two main ways to get prepaid mobile internet in France: through either Orange and SFR/Vodafone.

Orange provides a prepaid service called Mobicarte, onto which you can add unlimited internet, which is called Internet Max. You can get a Mobicarte SIM from MobiPassport website, ebay or from Orange stores in France.

UPDATE 5 APRIL 2013: Mobipassport tells me there is currently an issue with Internet Max. Orange seems to have disabled it. If you are reading this and it is past April 2013, contact Mobipassport as there may be a resolution (VeloNomad has probably just forgotten to update this page!).

Make sure you take note of the activations instructions. Mobipassport provides instructions for activating Mobicarte Internet Max, or you can read my instructions along with screenshots.

The SFR/Vodafone prepaid internet product is a bit of a mess really. Read more about Vodafone SFR Prepaid Mobile Internet.

I recommend the Orange Mobicarte Internet Max unlimited internet option. You can pre-purchase it before heading to France to ensure it’s ready to go when you land. You can get an Orange Mobicarte SIM with preloaded credit from Mobipassport.

More prepaid mobile internet in France information.

Spain Prepaid Mobile Internet

Getting Prepaid Mobile Internet in Spain is tricky business.

Your best bet is to get a Spanish SIM with preloaded data from Mobipassport – 1GB is €16.90 and tethering works!

Movistar has a product but you can only get 10MB on prepaid. Make sure you speak Spanish or find a store where they speak English.

Information on my Vodafone USB dongle hack.

Italy

There are a couple of good options for Italy Prepaid Mobile Internet – the TIM network and the Vodafone/UNO network.

Read more about Prepaid Mobile Internet in Italy.

Other Reading

Regular readers of this site will know that I am on a warpath with finding the best pre-paid mobile internet plans for travellers heading to France (and Spain, Italy, Belgium and so on).

You can see some of the older articles on this topic below:

About Tim Marsh

I am a mad keen cyclist who loves Cycling in France, loves doing Etape du Tour, loves climbing hills and helping others become awesome cyclists.

I also love surfing, growing food, I'm obsessed with coffee - I run a coffee finding/reviewing website and iPhone app called Wherespresso. Oh, I also run a coffee subscription service called Mayday.