3G prepaid internet in Europe

Mobile cell phone companies in Europe in 2009 have seen a steep rise in fixed postpaid 3G internet contracts for mobile cellphones enabling those with a smart phones to browse the internet on the go. Undoubtedly it's becoming the norm to have unlimited internet access wherever you are. That is when you're in your own country.

Cross borders, roaming kicks in and the comfortable post paid flat fee 3G internet contract becomes a painful financial risk. Reading e-mail, browsing and online navigation with Google Earth becomes very expensive with steep tariffs like several Euro's per megabyte. Many already found out that national comfortable internet access on the go becomes a very uncomfortable experience internationally. Unlimited 3G roaming for holidays or business trips are rare or horrible expensive.

The experience is the same when GSM cell phones became popular, many came home from holiday to find a GSM shock-bill from the cell / mobile phone company on the doormat. Now the same happens for those with postpaid 3G internet access contracts.

The recent decision of the European Commision to limit the maximum roaming charge for data roaming helps a bit, but it's not enough. An average 3G connection can do 32Kbyte/sec, meaning 1.8 Mb / minute. For example Vodafone charges a fixed cross-border € 2,50 per Mb. So an average e-mail download with a nice large picture attachment can easily tick off € 4,50 / minute. Do that during 15 minutes and the 3G data bill can reach a whopping € 67,50. That's a LOT for just a few e-mails with pictures. And that's only within the European Union - be aware for even higher chargers outside the EU.

On top of that, one needs to know a smart phone quite well to be able to prevent or control 3G connections while roaming in a foreign country. For example the Nokia N95 8Gb has several switches to fully control and throttle a 3G connection.

At this moment in time the only affordable way to access 3G internet in Europe outside your own country is to resort to 3G prepaid internet SIM cards. The experience to get one has quite a few hurdles, but it's worth it for those who can't do without. First it's the language, secondly understanding the full extend of a prepaid internet contract and third to control and throttle the prepaid balance.

Here are 3 examples of 3G prepaid access in France, Spain and Portugal.

Spain : Prepaid High Speed 3G Internet in Spain
France : Micro WIFI Hotspot with Nokia N95 - iPhone
Portugal : Fast 3G prepaid Internet in Portugal

For the future 3G data roaming in Europe will probably need another intervention of the European Union and / or rigid controls on 3G smart phones to fully eradicate internet connections while in roaming mode. The next 2010 holiday season will most likely make a lot more 3G postpaid shockbill victims with the increasing popularity of smart phones with fast 3G internet access. Having slow GPRS/EDGE cellular internet access in rural holiday area's might not be so bad afterall.