Moving to the UK for almost a year, can I keep my USA cell phone number?
The UK pretty much has comprehensive coverage, all networks, everywhere. The only one I ever see people having problems with in Glasgow is T-Mobile. Traditionally, however, the best network for Scottish cover, particularly in the highlands and islands where signals can be weak, is Orange. If you’re only coming for nine months you won’t be able to get a contract phone: the minimum term is a year, and you’d have to pay the remaining time to buy your way out. You need to use pay as you go. You’ll need a handset. The new ones are subsidised slightly, but they’re a waste of money: any unlocked GSM model from eBay will do — and then buy a SIM card (£1) from the Orange Shop on either Buchanan Street or Sauchiehall Street. You then “top it up” with calling credit.
An extension to and (slight) disagreement with bonaldi: The UK is so damn small that coverage isn’t much of a problem. However, I have found that some networks are patchy in places, possibly due to hills and/or interference by buildings. When I was with O2, I had erratic and mostly unusable reception in my flat in West London, and workplaces in central London and rural Surrey. All of these locations were listed as “excellent coverage” on O2’s maps. Since I changed to T-mobile, I’ve had no problems. While there are coverage maps on the provider websites, the ombudsman OFCOM has more useful information if you know where you are going to live and work. While pay-as-you-go is used by a lot of people, I’m not persuaded that it’s necessarily cheaper. Handset deals for 12 months can be found at very nice prices (i.e. free handset, you pay for the yearly contract) if you’re not too fussy about getting the latest and greatest phone.
To keep your US number, transfer your current one to a pre-paid line, using Cingular, T-Mobile, or some other GSM carrier. Purchase an unlocked quad-band phone on eBay. Then, give your US chip to a friend who also has an unlocked phone, and figure out the minumum needed to keep that chip active. (Your friend will probably have to use it periodically, and refill it before the minutes expire.) Leave your chip in the US, and take the phone with you to the UK, where you can purchase pre-paid service.
I had a T-Mobile account in America for the past couple of years, so I was out of contract. A few months ago, I phone them to cancel it and ask them to transfer me over to being a T-Mobile Pay As You Go customer. According to the rep, I keep the same SIM card and number, and just need to buy credit as I use it. Of course, I havent been back in the US since then to check, so I cant vouch for it…..
