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Firsty.app – free 300kbit/s eSIM for US/EU

firsty.app

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Re: Firsty.app – free 300kbit/s eSIM for US/EU

#151

Wow. 1.95 euros a day for the non-ad version? In India (where I live) I pay less than 3 euros a month for a 1.5GB everyday 5G connection and unlimited nationwide calls. So it's definitely not a "fair local rate" as they claim.

"Fair local rate" is indeed a bit ridiculous compared to actual local rates in some countries, but compared to roaming these rates are quite good. If I want to use my NL plan in India, my provider charges me €20 for a 2GB bundle or €2,50 per MB (yes, MB, not GB!). If I would only be there for a week or so, I would probably not bother with the trouble of getting a local SIM (and in some countries that is not even possible if you are not a resident).

Re: Firsty.app – free 300kbit/s eSIM for US/EU

#152
post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most eSIM providers are just resellers, what I care about a travel eSIM is: 1. is it a reseller, if yes, from whom? 2. does it have local breakout in the target country? 3. what network does it use in the target country? 4. is it data-only? 5. does it allow tethering? 6. can I pay with Apple Pay? 7. can I use it without an account? Very, very few eSIM services fulfil the second criteria above, and no comparison websi…

What is local breakout?

It means routing data to the Internet directly through the network the user is using rather than going to the operator's network.

When normal roaming, even though you use some local network, all the trafic gets tunnelled out from the local network to your own network provider, to the internet, and then back. So if you're from, say, France, and you visit Australia, all your traffic gets tunned back and forth to France. This is bad. Most eSIM providers work like this, usually tunneling through Israel or Poland.

With LBO you get direct Internet access just like you would with a local SIM.

Basically you need LBO to avoid a VPN connection to some random far away country.

Re: Firsty.app – free 300kbit/s eSIM for US/EU

#153
Interesting, might be useful as a backup connection.

Currently I am using https://silent.link since several years and I am very happy with that. For 5$ you get a eSim without any time limit and roaming in almost all networks in almost all countries. You just pay for ever MB of data a reasonable amount (not as cheap as local options, but not bad either). This is perfect as a backup eSim for traveling, even just in my own country because I can roam in all three available networks. You can only pay with Bitcoin/Lightning but it works great since 3 years or so. This is just so much better than all those travel sims which only work for 30 days in only one country...

Re: Firsty.app – free 300kbit/s eSIM for US/EU

#155
post #41

For travelers’ eSIM (paid), many people whom I asked, have recommended Airalo - https://www.airalo.com I have no affiliation.

I wish the prices were even remotely competitive, every time I check and compare, it's always _significantly cheaper_ to just get a SIM locally. I just checked Morocco, and it's $31.50 for 5GB. I think I paid 7$ for 20GB or something. Then again, I have a phone with a regular SIM card. Maybe the prices are comparable if you have a new iPhone with no regular SIM slot and are forced to use an eSIM. In my mind, eSims sh…

I think that's country specific. For example, for Denmark its £4.70 for 5GB [1]. Thats probably cheaper than buying a local sim and worth it for the convenience especially as I tend to use far less than that and only need 1GB as I'll just go for a few days. Then I may as well pay for the £1.10, 1GB option.

1. https://esimdb.com/denmark/bnesim

Re: Firsty.app – free 300kbit/s eSIM for US/EU

#157

How would this interfere with the primary eSIM already on my device? Is it easy to swap back and forth between eSIMs?

Very easy on a iphone. Whole new menu structures for managing multiple esim open up when you have multiple sims.

Does this drain the phone's battery at all? Does it have to do more work to talk with different towers?

Re: Firsty.app – free 300kbit/s eSIM for US/EU

#158
post #147

Next stop: Different traffic tariffs per time of day & credit rating. I really don't see how esim is beneficial to ordinary citizens. There is a plethora of downsides that can't be evaded. :/

Its great for tourists though. You can have your normal sim for use at home and just buy an eSim for when you travel overseas. I found it very useful and cheaper than a sim card for two weeks in Canada.
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