Before leaving for Italy, I already planned how to stay connected to the internet using my Nokia N85 (version RM-333) and a prepaid SIM card. It proved to be harder than I thought during the first four days of my stay. I’m not sure whether the problem is the phone or the SIM card.

I purchased a TIM prepaid card once I arrived in Milan. I bought it from a friendly staff that spoke English at Central Station. They only needed to see my passport and not a Codice Fiscale that people mentioned. The card by itself was 12 euros. I had to add 20 Euros for a feature called Maxxi Alice Facile, which the staff told me I would be able to use 1GB of internet data for 30 days. They also told me to wait about 30 minutes before using it.

The TIM card worked flawlessly after using it on my Nokia N85. I was snapping photos and quickly uploading them to Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr, using Pixelpipe. I was even surprised of getting 3G speeds while uploading data during the 2 1/2 hour train ride to Venice. Unfortunately, it stopped working a few minutes before arriving in Venice.

I was unable to access the web or upload photos. Since we had a busy itinerary, I was able to visit the only TIM store in Venice during Day 3. I had a difficult time trying to speak Italian, and they had a difficult time trying to speak English.

The person helping me told me that I already used up my voice credit, so I cannot use data anymore. I didn’t believe him because I did not make any voice calls at all. I was told to purchase 5 Euros of credit and wait 15 mins for my data to work again. After 30 mins, no luck.

I went back to the store and told them it didn’t work. The person became frustrated and told me that I already used up the 5 Euros of credit I purchased just 30 minutes ago. I was surprised because I was unable to access the web during that time and how can 5 euros worth of data can get killed in 30 minutes? He told me there is something wrong with the phone settings that is killing my credits. I showed him the APN settings on my Nokia N85 which were correctly set to ibox.tim.it. He then told me that the problem is that the Nokia N85 is not compatible with Europe and that he couldn’t help me. The TIM coverage map also shows Venice as completely covered as well, so it cannot be the phone.

Even after trying to explain to him it worked the first few hours after I activated the card, he told me he couldn’t help me anymore. I called the customer service (119) posted on my card, and was told I cannot be transferred to an English-speaking person for help. They hung up right away when I couldn’t continue the conversation in Italian.

This situation does not ruin the trip. I can still upload my photos when we get back to the hotel using wifi, but I was really hoping to use the service I paid for. We are leaving for Florence tomorrow and will check with another TIM store to find out what’s the problem. If it stays unresolved, I’ll have to purchase another SIM card from another company called WIND and hopefully not face any problems.