Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM) to offer Apple iPhone in Italy
By Will Park on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 at 2:47 PM PST In Announcements, Apple, Devices, Telecom Italia, iPhone, iPhone OS
Italy’s going to have some competitive iPhone sales later this year. With Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) already on-board to bring the 3G iPhone to Italy as part of a 10-country iPhone launch, the juggernaut wireless provider is an iPhone-force to be reckoned with. But, that’s not going to stop smaller Italian carrier Telecom Italia (NYSE: TI) Movil (TIM) from giving it their best shot with an Italian iPhone offering of their very own.
TIM has announced that it “has signed a deal with Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) to bring the iPhone to Italy later this year.” There’s no mention of whether TIM’s Apple iPhone will be the current-generation iPhone or the next-generation iPhone capable of 3G network data speeds. Previous speculation has hinted at TIM launching the 3G iPhone without contract or network-lock. We can’t wait to see if Apple will indeed let TIM launch an unlocked 3G iPhone alongside Vodafone’s offering…
Dear Sir/madam
I purchased a pre paid phone card from Tim in Rome a couple of weeks ago. I was informed that I could use this around the world. I purchased a 20 euro after paying the initial 5 euro.
I do not receive calls and can not send sms or make phone calls from my Tim phone card. Can you please advise why I can not use this credit on my pre paid phone card. My Tim mobile phone number is 3341422549. I hope you can help. Regards Helen Wall
Hate to say this but if your phone is set up to receive/send data–you won’t be able to receive any MMS/SMS traffic. I learned that the hard way when I brought my GSM phone to Italy and put my TeleCom Italia Mobile SIM in it. Once I programmed it myself–I was able to receive picture messages and SMS.
Forgot to mention that many pre-paid phone cards will not actually work around the world unless you have a regular monthly plan. I tried using my quad-band GSM phone in the U.S but it didn’t work either.