Cell Phones in Israel

[Flying Fish]

They do, even though I never picked up my SIM card from their service center

So if I walk into their store in tachane merkazit Jerusalem with an American CC and no T.Z., they'll give me a SIM on the spot with no problems? The website requires a T.Z. at both sign up and delivery.

[Moishebatchy]

Then just get a cc. Np as a US citizen, but they have stupid fees

Can be avoided by bringing your bank a letter that you are a student when opening your account.

Or get a Yesh! CC, which has no fees for the first year.

[mmermss]

Can be avoided by bringing your bank a letter that you are a student when opening your account.

will that avoid the fee to open the bank account? or even to get a cc?

[Moishebatchy]

That will avoid ALL fees. Account fees, transaction fees, ATM fees, CC fees...

Furthermore, Le'umi has a promo that when you open a student account and take their CC, for the next 36 months, each month you spend 600 NIS or more on the CC, you get a credit of ~42 NIS. If you spend just about 600 (not too much more), that works out to a %7 rebate.

[mmermss]

That will avoid ALL fees. Account fees, transaction fees, ATM fees, CC fees...

Furthermore, Le'umi has a promo that when you open a student account and take their CC, for the next 36 months, each month you spend 600 NIS or more on the CC, you get a credit of ~42 NIS. If you spend just about 600 (not too much more), that works out to a %7 rebate.

Thanks!
sorry if off topic but do u by any chance know any where else in israel that doesnt accept america cc? cuz if im spending on israeli cc im losing out in points...

[Moishebatchy]

Thanks!
sorry if off topic but do u by any chance know any where else in israel that doesnt accept america cc? cuz if im spending on israeli cc im losing out in points...

Self-service gas pumps at Paz/Yellow stations.

Other than that... just keep your spending to exactly 600 per month, and you're not losing anything. %7 rebate is like getting 7 cpp for the points you could have earned - not too shabby...

[MEIR613]

i just went through the whole forum. i am going to israel for 2 weeks i have a tmobile bb. i want bb service and email and of course unlimited calling, sms, and international. i see with golan you cant get bb service so thats out. but someone mentioned pelphone for 120 shek and 39 activation but can i cancel after one month? is the cancelation process complicated? where do i get the sim from?

Does anyone have any practical advice?

[PlatinumGuy]

Pelephone won't sell u anything without an Israeli TZ #.

Orange is your best bet, but roaming will probably be cheaper.

[MEIR613]

Is a student visa good for a tz?

[PlatinumGuy]

Is a student visa good for a tz?

No.

[rots5]

does anyone know if the new iphone 5 will work with golan, bec the new iphone has a nano sim, is that the same as a micro sim?

[L'Chaim]

does anyone know if the new iphone 5 will work with golan, bec the new iphone has a nano sim, is that the same as a micro sim?

No, it's even smaller. Just walk into any phone store and they can cut it for you.

[mmermss]

does anyone know if the new iphone 5 will work with golan, bec the new iphone has a nano sim, is that the same as a micro sim?

golans website is down now but if IIRC they said that mid October they will be having sims for the iphone 5

[rots5]

golans website is down now but if IIRC they said that mid October they will be having sims for the iphone 5

thanks :-)   hope so, also they cant sut te sim into nano, bec its thinner too

[Moishebatchy]

<rant>

What the heck is up with micro- and nano-SIMs, anyway?! I mean, I can understand wanting to shrink, say, a CompactFlash card. Or a floppy disk. But a freaking SIM?! Wasn't it small enough to begin with?! And once they already made made micro-SIMs... are they still not small enough?! We have to go down to nano-SIMs??!! Tell me, Apple... does the three-and-a-half hairsbreadths you save on the SIM size really make such an earth-shattering difference in the design of your products, that we have to put up with so many different standards??!! 

</rant>

[WhyAich]

<rant>

What the heck is up with micro- and nano-SIMs, anyway?! I mean, I can understand wanting to shrink, say, a CompactFlash card. Or a floppy disk. But a freaking SIM?! Wasn't it small enough to begin with?! And once they already made made micro-SIMs... are they still not small enough?! We have to go down to nano-SIMs??!! Tell me, Apple... does the three-and-a-half hairsbreadths you save on the SIM size really make such an earth-shattering difference in the design of your products, that we have to put up with so many different standards??!! 

</rant>

We'll quite you on this in 5 years

[Moishebatchy]

We'll quite you on this in 5 years

It's been over five years and I STILL don't get why we needed SD AND miniSD AND microSD. At the very most, one regular size + one miniature version  (for really small devices that absolutely must have a miniature version) of something like that ought to be enough.

Besides, in five years, if they have an iDevice the size of a pack of gum that needs a SIM, maybe I'll have no problem with it. But right now, there is no logical reason why an iPhone is bigger than my LG or my wife's Samsung, yet our phones have room for a regular SIM AND a memory card slot AND a removable battery, while the iPhone barely fits a micro (and now a nano) SIM.

Plus, people are still getting the hang of the whole regular-vs-micro SIM thing. No need to throw ANOTHER size into the mix, is there?

Finally, consider the point of diminishing returns: smaller may be better and more efficient, but there comes a point when things become TOO small. Too small to hold, to small to handle, too small to pass to a friend without fear of dropping that rice-grain-sized piece of technology. I keep multiple SIMs in my wallet when I travel to different countries, and as it is, I'm afraid of them falling out without me ever noticing. And those are regular sized SIMs. Micros would be even worse. And nano? Fuggedaboutit!

[Moishebatchy]

Like everyone else, I got tired of paying Cellcom through my nose. So I decided to call them up and threaten to switch to Golan or Orange, and see if they offer me a retention deal. Here is what they offered me:

Price: 299 NIS/month

2 lines (SIM only, no phone)
-Unlimited talk
-Unlimited text
-1 GB of high speed Internet; throttled after that
-200 minutes/month calls to USA

1 tablet with SIM
Choice of:
- iPad 3 16 GB
- Galaxy Tab 10.1
- Xoom 2
- ASUS Transformer TF101G
1 GB of internet at high speed; throttled after that

Home Internet service
Netvision Internet subscription (up to 10 Mbps) for home Internet, included in the cell package


Is it worth it? Can I do better? (Note: I am willing to pay a few shekels more for a legacy carrier, since I've heard that Golan hasn't worked out all their issues yet, so telling me "Golan is 100 NIS" ain't gonna the answer I'm looking for$.

[bh]

So if I walk into their store in tachane merkazit Jerusalem with an American CC and no T.Z., they'll give me a SIM on the spot with no problems? The website requires a T.Z. at both sign up and delivery.

In my experience they won't

[avielan]

Like everyone else, I got tired of paying Cellcom through my nose. So I decided to call them up and threaten to switch to Golan or Orange, and see if they offer me a retention deal. Here is what they offered me:

Price: 299 NIS/month

2 lines (SIM only, no phone)
-Unlimited talk
-Unlimited text
-1 GB of high speed Internet; throttled after that
-200 minutes/month calls to USA

1 tablet with SIM
Choice of:
- iPad 3 16 GB
- Galaxy Tab 10.1
- Xoom 2
- ASUS Transformer TF101G
1 GB of internet at high speed; throttled after that

Home Internet service
Netvision Internet subscription (up to 10 Mbps) for home Internet, included in the cell package


Is it worth it? Can I do better? (Note: I am willing to pay a few shekels more for a legacy carrier, since I've heard that Golan hasn't worked out all their issues yet, so telling me "Golan is 100 NIS" ain't gonna the answer I'm looking for$.

This "deal" really depends on what you want and need. What is the payment plan for the tablet? I assume its the charge/refund policy that the legacy carriers in Israel are infamous for. This usually is spread over 36 months. You should find out what you will have to pay if you change your plan in the future.

As far as the rest of the plan, your international calling is limited which in my mind is a big minus unless you don't really use it (keep in mind that you can use GV and Talkatone for unlimited free calls to and from the US) also the data is limited to 1Gb as opposed to 3Gb, I would also try to find out what minimum speed they are willing to guarantee. I switched from Cellcom where on a good day I was getting 1mbps.

I currently have 3 unlimited Golan plans.
For my home internet I get 12mb. For ISP I pay NIS 30 to Bezeq Benleumi and another NIS 70 to HOT for my tashtit (note that Cellcom's offer does not include tashtit so make sure to take that into account when you compare).

I have heard of offers which include home phone lines (although with unlimited cellphones I am not sure if you need that).

Bottom line for me, I wouldn't want to have any long term commitment to any of the communications companies. The tablet aspect almost definitely has a 36 month commitment to pay off the tablet and if you leave Cellcom it will cost you. If you really want the tablet it will almost definitely be cheaper to buy it elsewhere.

There is a really good Israeli site (in hebrew) for comparing the various communication bundles, I recommend that you check it out to compare the latest promotions being offered - www.kamaze.co.il