Internet in Europe post. In Amsterdam, I’d stopped into a couple mobile stores and figured out that, despite it having worked as a hotspot with a Rogers SIM in Canada on our way up to and back from Alaska, our old iPhone 5 (the “Hot Phone, as we always called it) was not actually “unlocked” and wouldn’t work with a European SIM. While the mobile stores were happy to sell me their cheapest hotspottable phone, that was gonna run me over 100€. . Disheartened after riding the cargo bike with Wynne all the way across the city to a big electronics store and then back across to a super grungy discount department store only to find more expensive phones, I happened to see a storefront window advertising screen repair, phone cases etc. I walked out with a used Samsung smartphone that may or may not be the one you’re not allowed to bring on planes and, based on a good feeling from the shopkeeper, was possibly not stolen, for 60€ (note: Dutch law requires that all phones be unlocked and carrier independent). Back at a Vodephone store, I bought a prepaid 3GB (with a special offer for a bonus 1GB) SIM for 20€ and learned that following legislation that went into effect just this past summer, all European carriers were required to enable their plans to “roam like home” all over the EU. . After doing our best to turn off features like automatic app/music/podcast updates and video streaming on social media apps on our phones, we’re finding that a morning email/social media check, downloading “The Daily” podcast and doing a little route research in the afternoon, and another longer evening online session (usually involving researching camper models we’ve seen on the road like the ones in the last pics - floorplan for the family-friendly McLouis Van 3 Maxi parked next to us included in pics), we use about 300-500mb a day. . That means I have to call Vodaphone about every 8-9 days to buy another 4GB bundle, and we’ll end up spending about 80€ ($92) for our mobile internet. Unfortunately, I still get texts from them in Dutch! #mobileinternet #lifeontheroad #rveurope #eurocamperporn
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