Welcome to
Florence

Calling Internationally

You’ll find that calling internationally can be very expensive. For free texting and calling, download WhatsApp on your smartphone. Textem.net is a great website for sending one-way text messages too. 

Roaming

As of 6/15/2017, the European Union has established a new law called “Roam like at Home”, which states that if you have an Italian or other existing European contract, you will have the same charges that you have in other European nations. This goes for calls, SMS, and data use. Learn more here.

Depending entirely on Wi-Fi is not recommended.  A strong Wi-Fi connection is not available everywhere. In local coffee shops, restaurants and cafes, you need to purchase something in order to connect to their WiFi.

We discourage connecting often to public Wi-Fi networks, as they may not be secure. If you expect to use public networks frequently, we strongly recommend using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to help protect your personal information and online activity. 

International Phone Plans

Your carrier may provide an international plan. This is often the easiest strategy, especially if you are only abroad for a few weeks, but keep in mind that these plans may be more expensive minute-for-minute than an Italian plan.

Local Phone Plans

If you are concerned about the possibility of losing your phone, you may consider purchasing a low-cost smartphone for approximately €100 as a practical backup option.
If you are interested in obtaining a local SIM card (which is often the most economical choice for stays abroad of several months) you can replace your current U.S. physical SIM or eSIM with an Italian SIM card for approximately €15.
Keep in mind that this option will also give you an Italian phone number, and your phone must be unlocked in order for this to be an option (check with your US plan carrier).

Mix and Match

You can get the cheapest local Italian phone for local communication and use your existing phone for data when you need it, either depending on WiFi or switching on/off your international data/roaming as needed.

Note: When you go to buy a phone or SIM card, you will need to bring your passport!

There are many companies that offer SIM cards. Here are a few of the most popular companies:

• VODAFONE
• TIM
• WIND
• ILIAD

Find your nearest branch, bring your passport and head on in to get connected! 

If you are studying abroad in Italy, using an eSIM is one of the easiest ways to stay connected without buying a physical SIM card. You can activate it by scanning a QR code from your phone provider before or after arriving in Italy. Major Italian carriers such as TIM, Vodafone Italia, WindTre, and iliad Italia all support eSIM technology. Travelers and international students also often use global eSIM providers like Airalo, Holafly, Nomad, and Saily, which offer prepaid data plans for Italy and Europe. Some services, such as Saily by Nord Security, include extra privacy features similar to a VPN, while you can also combine any eSIM with VPN apps like NordVPN for safer browsing on public Wi-Fi networks. 

Refilling Your Account

If you use all of your allotted minutes or your plan expires, you’ll need to put more money on your phone. This can be done online, at the company’s stores or at any supermarket, convenience store or tobacco store. Give them your preferred pre-paid amount and your phone number and wait for a few seconds – you’ll get a text telling you that your phone account has been “refilled.” 

Tricks for Saving Money

You’ll find that just making a call will take money from your credit, but there are ways to get around tricky payments:

• Hang up before the voice mail message starts to play, and you won’t be charged for the call. 
• Similarly, use “missed calls” by calling someone and letting it ring twice and then hang up. Between friends this can be used as a code, such as “I’ll send you a missed call when I get to the metro stop.” Your phone rings twice to let you know they are there, but it won’t charge either of your phones if no one has picked up. 
• Receiving calls is always free, so let people call you. Your parents can call your Italian cell phone from the US and it is free for you, but will charge them their international calling rates.
• Only download things or upload photos when you’re using WiFi. Your phone will use up any data plan you have by trying to find signal when you’re walking around, so turn off the data signal when you don’t need it. 
• You can download maps to be available offline.

How to Make Calls

From an Italian Phone to Another Italian Phone

From an Italian Phone to a U.S. or Other Non-Italian Phone Number

1. Dial 00. That’s Italy’s international access code. If you’re dialing from an Italian cell phone (or your phone with an Italian SIM), you can often just dial the +, no access code needed.
2. If you’re dialing a US number specifically, dial 1 (the US country code). If you’re calling another country, dial that country’s code. So that’s 00-1 (or other country code).
3. Dial the rest of the number. All together it will look like: 00-1-555-555-5555 (for US number).

From a U.S. or Any Other Non-Italian Cell Phone to an Italian Phone Number

Going the international data plan route? Treat it like an international call:

1. Dial +. Your cell phone “knows” to replace that + with the international access code that you need to dial out of the U.S. to another country. 
2. Dial 39. That’s Italy’s country code.
3. Dial the rest of the number, including the first 0. So it’ll look like +39-055-555-5555