Topic Wiki

*=More info below
Company  Price  Sim  Talk/SMS  Web  Free Int'l  Signup Bonus  Israeli CC  Real TZBlackerry
Hot99₪49₪Unlimited3GB31 countries49₪/6 months*  Yes*Yes*
Golan99₪49₪UnlimitedUnlimited  53 countries  ₪59 /1st yearYesNoNo
01292₪Unlimited3GB42 countries*44₪/6 months  YesYes29₪
Rami Levy89₪59₪Unlimited1GB  No1₪/3 monthsYesYesNo
PelephoneYes*Yes*Free
Partner129/135₪*0₪*Unlimited  1GB/3GBAdd'l 20₪NoNoNo*39₪
CellcomA lot of $180₪  NoNo75₪

Rule #1- The Israeli cell phone service market is difficult. But cheap.
Rule #2- It is illegal for a company to "lock you in" a contract. ALL plans may be cancelled at any time with no penalty. Though, they do prevent you from opening and closing plans by charging a sim card "fee". This fee must always be paid even if paid for once before, and ranges from 39₪ to 180₪.
Rule #3- For those places that need an Israeli credit card, you may need to get one from an Israeli bank with a passport and income information although YMMV.
Rule #4- It is rarely, if ever, worthwhile to rent a "vacation plan" or prepaid, as the price for a regular unlimted plan for a month is less that a vacation plan for a week. Get a GSM phone that covers 900/1800 bands and save your money
Rule #5- All Israeli plans, whether regular or prepaid, include free incoming calls/texts.

Hot- 99₪ a month - includes unlimited calls, text and data (3 gb, then slow) and unlimited to 32 countries. Free home internet supply included. They currently have an offer if you port a number from a different network, to get the first six months for just 49₪ a month. You can move your package to a 10₪ a month plan, which includes 50 minutes and texts. You can also freeze the line once a year for up to 3 months. Regarding signup- you can use an American CC and fake TZ over the phone as one user has done.

Golan - Service is passable, but can be subpar in certain areas. There are two plans with Golan. There's the 99₪ unlimited talk/text/internet/international calling plan, which also gives you up to 2 virtual foreign numbers. This plan also includes for many countries unlimited global data roaming (6GB high-speed), incoming calls & texts, and calls & texts to Israel. They also offer a ₪29 per day data-roaming plan which gives 100MB a day in these countries. These roaming options can be very useful for foreigners regardless of whether they need Golan for Israel. See their website for details.There's a promo deal to get the 99 plan for ₪59 /month for the 1st year. There's also a ₪10 a month plan, which includes 60 min for domestic/US & CA and landlines in many countries, unlimited SMS and 10 MB of Internet, with add'l mins ₪.18 domestic, ₪.08 to US/CA and landlines in many countries, and data ₪.09 /MB. Its great for those short trips here. SIM should work in an iPad for data; you can also order a car SIM which will allow you to have 2 SIMs which draw from same plan.
[To get the sim in the USA before your trip:  golanusa.net will ship it to you for $14 (more for rush) and the 49 nis for the sim. Golan bills on the 25th of the month.  The days before the first 25th are freeprorated.(So for a trip between the 26th and the 24th of the month, you don't pay the 59 nis or 99 nis plan fee.)]

012mobile - Runs on Partner service, you will get an 054 number (unless you ported). Unlimited - 49₪ for the first 6 months and 92₪ from thereon after for unlimited everything too. Includes 3GB Data and 500 minutes to US/CA (any phone) and 40 other countries (landlines only). 9₪ plan includes 60 minutes, 60 SMS, and 100MB data. Additional domestic minutes/SMS are ₪ .09, Int'l calls to to US/CA (any phone) and 40 other countries (landlines only) are ₪ .25 per min. Add'l data bundles are available starting from ₪ 19 for 1 GB. 5GB Laptop/Tablet (data only) is 98₪.

Pelephone - Online, they accept fake TZ and US CC.

Partner - 129₪ a month for unlimited talk, text, and 1GB. 135₪ for 3GB. Family plans are cheaper.Free sim for online orders. Extra 20₪/mo. for 500 min. int'l calling. Extra 39₪ for Blackberry. May need to give 500₪ deposit that you (may) get back when you cancel the plan.  One can freeze line without charges for up to 3 months when not needed (not sure if allowed more than once per 12 months).

Freedomhot.com - 2/19/2023 - They have local pickup in lots of major frum areas and delivery too. They accept US CC. Runs on Hot Mobile. Copying and pasting from their website.
All monthly plans include: Unlimited Calls & Texts to Israeli phone numbers Unlimited outgoing calls to USA and Canada and landlines to 33 additional countries.
Unlimited incoming calls and texts from anywhere in the world. Prices include all taxes.
59 Shekels - 70GB LTE Internet Data
79 shekels - 150GB LTE Internet Data
KOSHER - Voice Only - 64 Shekels
One-time SIM card fee: 49 Shekels
Optional: add a virtual USA number for $15 per month

Misc. Info
APN settings

On Hot Mobile you can check how much data was consumed either by downloading the app or by texting גלישה  to phone number 530 from your hot mobile phone,you can as well try calling this number *6733.

Note by Menucha:
Please note: as of 4/1/13, most carriers reduce period of intro rates and at times increased cost for monthly intro. I suggest we leave the above as is, but please keep in mind new changed, which are not negotiable and based on govt agreements. monthly flat rate is still great and same. (post intro)
Also, while reps wont tell you, typically you will get longer intro rate if you activate account on your own on line, and not via rep (phone or store). confirmed with carrier. Enjoy! flat monthly, even without intro rate is still one of the lowest you will come across in the west!

Israeli cellphone rentals:

1) Talkinisrael.com
Phone: +972587564477
Whatsapp: +972536299365
Email: info@talkinisrael.com 
if you should have any problems feel free to send me a pm and I will try to help you the best I can.
Plans for sale here are primarily for long term rentals.(students and the like.)


2) Israel Rent-a-cell SIM card or eSIM with calling and data. Also you can get SIMs for Israel Kosher phones!
Contact at Israelrentacell@gmail.com or WhatsApp 972-55-333-1234
Overnight or standard delivery in USA/delivery in Israel! Pickup locations in Lakewood and Israel.
* Unlimited calls and texts in Israel
* Unlimited calls to USA, Canada and landlines in 35 countries
* Unlimited incoming calls
* 70 GB of data (can add an extra 80GB of data)
* eSIMs available!
* Free voicemail
Student discount available, $29.97 monthly, including tax! Never surprise charges or hidden fees!

3) Cellular Israel - 072-224-3300 or 718-289-0195 Full Service - short term and long term, rent phones, Kosher phones, SIM cards, mifi devices, Waze by the day or month. American Customer Service!
info@cellularisrael.com

4) Simforisrael@gmail.com free delivery to anywhere

5) UnlimitedIsrael (DansDeals Advertiser with many positive reviews on DDMS & DDF) is the leading provider of SIM card & iPhone rentals for Israel in the US.
  • Unlimited calls & texts within Israel
  • Unlimited calling to the US and Canada
  • Lightning Fast 4G Internet Speeds
  • Unlimited 4G data
  • Sim Cards - $5/day
  • iPhones - $45/week
  • Kosher Phone - $4/day
  • Mifi Hotspot - $6/day
Use code SUAVE10 for 10% off any order
« Last edited by shmuelb on August 06, 2023, 12:48:30 PM »

Author Topic: Cell Phones in Israel  (Read 1606783 times)

Offline yfr bachur

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5940 on: December 31, 2024, 07:16:50 AM »
Is Pelephone service/reception/data speed much better than Hot Mobile?

I'm asking because I'm trying to compare Talk N Save (runs on Hot) Vs Pelephone prepaid, for a short stay (for a longer stay Pelephone would anywas be significantly cheaper).

TIA
All these things depend on where exactly you will be using it.
The topagraphy and concrete buildings mess greatly with reception, so the company that gives great reception on one street can be horrible on the next.

Pelephone is the equivilent of Verizon,T-mobile, or At&t, Hot is a virtual network like boost, consumer cellular, trackphone...

The plans offered by Cellular Israel, TripleTel etc... use the towers of multiple companies so they should have better reception (plus their customer service is in English...)

Apparently the 4G towers in Israel are reserved for data usage. I don't know anyone that can make a phone call in Israel on 4G, whenever I make a phone call it switches to 3G even though before hand I hand a good 4G connection. IDK if it is on purpose or it's just because there are too many users that are using the 4G towers for data, that they knock all phone calls onto 3G. That does not explain your problem with Hotmobile though
Sorry to be blunt, just not true.
My wifes phone has been running on 4g for ages. (I still have a 3g phone).
I've done experimenting and your theory just doesnt hold up. Though it can be company and location dependant...

People think that phones are universal. They are not necessarily so. Different countries use different channels/bands even in the same generation. A US market phone may not support the 4G bands in use in european countries, and vice versa.
« Last Edit: December 31, 2024, 09:40:39 AM by yfr bachur »

Offline kosherboy

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5941 on: December 31, 2024, 08:50:12 AM »
The plans offered by Cellular Israel, TripleTel etc... use the towers of multiple companies so they should have better reception (plus CIs customer service is in English...)

Tripletel's customer service is in English as well.

Offline yfr bachur

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5942 on: December 31, 2024, 09:41:36 AM »
Tripletel's customer service is in English as well.
I've never dealt with them, so wasn't aware if yes.
I've edited to show this

Offline moish145

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5943 on: December 31, 2024, 09:50:44 AM »
Hot is a virtual network like boost, consumer cellular, trackphone...
Hot started as an MVNO running on Partner's network but they now cover most of the country themselves.

Offline moish145

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5944 on: December 31, 2024, 09:57:00 AM »
Is Pelephone service/reception/data speed much better than Hot Mobile?

I'm asking because I'm trying to compare Talk N Save (runs on Hot) Vs Pelephone prepaid, for a short stay (for a longer stay Pelephone would anywas be significantly cheaper).

TIA
You can try work something out with a map like this https://www.nperf.com/en/map/IL/-/-/signal.
Its not more than a general idea though

Offline yfr bachur

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5945 on: January 01, 2025, 08:12:31 AM »
You can try work something out with a map like this https://www.nperf.com/en/map/IL/-/-/signal.
Its not more than a general idea though
Very Cool!
shows exactly why I have great golan service in my house, but none from Hot...

Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5946 on: January 01, 2025, 08:18:35 AM »
Very Cool!
shows exactly why I have great golan service in my house, but none from Hot...
Interesting how the map shows no service from ANY carriers in most of my neighborhood.
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Offline sky121

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5947 on: January 13, 2025, 10:04:56 AM »
I found an old unlocked iphone! Anyone use ttps://www.simtoisrael.com/ recently?

Did you end up using simtoisrael? Thinking I might use them for my next trip and wanted to know how coverage was.
"Not all who wander are lost"

Offline ch5699

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5948 on: January 13, 2025, 12:12:21 PM »
anyone know if there is a way to transfer a kosher israeli phone number to a regular one? my kosher one comes with a foreign number that i dont want to lose

Offline Jack Last

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5949 on: January 15, 2025, 12:14:29 PM »
You can redirect, there is a way but it is complicated. (purposely so and expensive)
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Offline pghtown

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5950 on: January 15, 2025, 06:03:16 PM »
Did you end up using simtoisrael? Thinking I might use them for my next trip and wanted to know how coverage was.
We used globusim and were very happy, good coverage

Offline myi

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5951 on: January 15, 2025, 10:21:23 PM »
Does the blue Kyocera Cadence s2720 work in israel?

I know it's horrible with T-Mobile bands, though 3G works with AT&T to some extent. Hence if it works in Israel?
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Offline yfr bachur

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5952 on: January 16, 2025, 04:30:45 PM »
anyone know if there is a way to transfer a kosher israeli phone number to a regular one? my kosher one comes with a foreign number that i dont want to lose
Depending on your provider, you may be able to port the foreign number to anothe il line.
Ask cellular israel if they can help you with that

Offline myi

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5953 on: January 16, 2025, 04:38:08 PM »
anyone know if there is a way to transfer a kosher israeli phone number to a regular one? my kosher one comes with a foreign number that i dont want to lose
Or try these guys.
https://www.prepaidisraelisim.com/contact-us
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Offline Darth1

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5954 on: January 16, 2025, 05:59:19 PM »
anyone know if there is a way to transfer a kosher israeli phone number to a regular one? my kosher one comes with a foreign number that i dont want to lose
Your two numbers are not necessarily dependent one another. I'm sure Nati Samet can do it for you (Tripletel/FreedomHot.) He may not be willing to allow you to get text on the kosher Israeli number.