SIM card for Denmark (and Norway and UK)

[gnome12]

I will be spending 5 days in Copenhagen in July, and then cruising through the Norwegian fjords, across the North Sea to Rosyth, and then to London for 5 days. This will, of course, be post-Brexit (unless something changes). The total trip is less than a month.

 

I would like to purchase a SIM card in Copenhagen, and hope to be able to use it right through the trip. Realizing that Norway is not in the EU, is there a SIM card that I would be able to use throughout the trip? My main interest is data, but I would like to be able to text internationally a bit, and make at least local calls (for reservations or information).

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Danish viking]

Most sim cards should work fine in Norway. 

 

I can't comment on the mess they are doing in Great Britain so what cell phone charges will be post Brexit (if it ever happens) or if the sim cards purchased in the EU will cover over there is a good question. 

[kaisatsu]

Although Norway is not part of the European Union, it is part of the European Economic Area, and the EU Roaming Regulations apply to the entire EEA (the EU states plus Norway, Iceland, and Lichtenstein). So you can use a Danish SIM in Norway without incurring any roaming charges.

 

As for the UK, at the moment there would be no roaming costs for the Danish SIM. After Brexit, who knows. A lot of Leave supporters talk about "the Norway model," but I don't think they realize that as part of the EEA, Norway must still allow the free movement of people. (And must also enact a lot of the EU regulations, but without getting to vote on them!)  So basically, if the UK ends up staying in the EEA, you'd still be able to use your Danish SIM in the UK as you would in Denmark (except that the UK's cellular data networks are rubbish compared to Scandinavia).

 

The one other factor to consider is that international calling rates are not regulated by the EU Roaming Regulations. So if you need to phone a Norwegian number in Norway or a UK number in the UK, you would be charged the same rate as if you made the call from Denmark. For the most part, these charges aren't outrageous, but it's something to keep in mind. Especially if you expect to make a lot of phone calls. If you use a VoIP phone service (Skype, etc) or internet messaging system (iMessage, WhatsApp, etc) there is no difference.

[gnome12]

4 minutes ago, kaisatsu said:

Although Norway is not part of the European Union, it is part of the European Economic Area, and the EU Roaming Regulations apply to the entire EEA (the EU states plus Norway, Iceland, and Lichtenstein). So you can use a Danish SIM in Norway without incurring any roaming charges.

 

As for the UK, at the moment there would be no roaming costs for the Danish SIM. After Brexit, who knows. A lot of Leave supporters talk about "the Norway model," but I don't think they realize that as part of the EEA, Norway must still allow the free movement of people. (And must also enact a lot of the EU regulations, but without getting to vote on them!)  So basically, if the UK ends up staying in the EEA, you'd still be able to use your Danish SIM in the UK as you would in Denmark (except that the UK's cellular data networks are rubbish compared to Scandinavia).

 

The one other factor to consider is that international calling rates are not regulated by the EU Roaming Regulations. So if you need to phone a Norwegian number in Norway or a UK number in the UK, you would be charged the same rate as if you made the call from Denmark. For the most part, these charges aren't outrageous, but it's something to keep in mind. Especially if you expect to make a lot of phone calls. If you use a VoIP phone service (Skype, etc) or internet messaging system (iMessage, WhatsApp, etc) there is no difference.

I've been looking at Lebara Denmark pay-as-you-go. With their included minutes I can call home, or my sister in the US, and it includes Denmark, Norway, and the UK. I don't get international texting, but that was really if I couldn't call back to North America. (I can, of course, send an email.) The drawback is that the EU data is much more limited than data in Denmark.

 

However, for me coming from Canada, their 200 GB plan (capped at 8 GB in the EU), which comes with 20 hours of calls and  3000 local SMS is currently about $40 Canadian, which is less than I pay for my current monthly plan (unlimited talk/text Canada/US, unlimited international texting, and 1 GB of 4G data). Even that plan is probably more than I need; although I certainly use more data when I am away than I do at home. Even so, even that plan isn't unreasonable for peace of mind.

 

I still need to wait and watch out for the fallout from Brexit, but that is about 2 1/2 months before I leave.