Gap Year Mobile provides travelling students with international mobile phones at low cost.

Welcome to Gap Year Mobile. We know that most students don't want to take their expensive mobile phones abroad, especially if it means paying extortionate roaming charges while they're out of the country.

We've also found that there's a common misconception that any old mobile phone will work as long as you use a local sim card. That's why we created this simple service to help you keep in touch.

So, you're in the right place if any of the following are true:
  1. I want to keep in contact with friends and family while I'm away.
  2. I might want to call local numbers (hostel/taxi).
  3. I don't want to risk losing my precious iPhone/BlackBerry/Nokia/etc
  4. I don't want to pay the crazy roaming charges of my normal mobile operator
    5.

This is where we can help.

Wordle graphic showing all of the coutries that Gap Year Mobile supports

We've bulit a comprehensive database of all the GSM mobile frequencies used around the world. As a result, we can offer you a personalised mobile phone package that will keep you in contact with your friends and your folks throughout your adventures.

We offer all our phones on a pre-pay basis (so no monthy contract) and give you a couple of simple options to ensure you get the best deal.

When you return from your travels, if you're finished with the phone, you can even recycle it with us for cash.

Here's an example:

Example of a bundle deal for dual band

Let's say you're going on a blowout tour of South-East Asia. So just select the countries that you're visiting:

Malaysia, Laos, Thailand and... Vietnam

Perfect! We'll ring you up and give you the good news:

"All you'll need is an unlocked dual band phone and an international sim card to keep your calling costs down.

Our basic bundle costs from only £44.99. You might want to add an aquapack case though to keep it out of the monsoon!"

How to order your Gap Year Mobile:

It won't be long before our full featured online shop is running. In the meantime, please use our super-simple three-step no obligation quote request form:

  1. Pop in your contact details in these boxes:
    Title*
    First Name*
    Surname*
    Your Email*
    Contact Telephone Number (6pm -> 8pm)*
    House Number/House Name
    Street Name
    Town
    County
    Postcode
  2. Now, select the countries that you'll be visiting on your travels: (If there's more than 5 countries, make a note in others)
    Country 1
    Country 2
    Country 3
    Country 4
    Country 5
    Others
  3. Finally, click the "find me a phone" button on the right and we'll aim to call you back in the next 24 hours (usually between 6pm and 8pm).

    If you like the deal we offer, we can take payment straight away via PayPal.

A little background

Our founder, James Pipe, is a recent graduate from the University of Southampton. The idea sprung from a couple of roadtrips, the first around Europe and the second in the USA, and the experiences of friends heading off travelling for the summer.

It seemed that the risk of taking an expensive phone away on an expensive roaming contract was too great. Many people were assuming they could just buy a phone when they arrived and, as a result, had to do so every time they crossed a border.

To remove the problem we developed a system that specified a phone based on the countries to be visited. You may know that countries in different parts of the world use different mobile frequencies - perhaps you've heard of "dual, tri and quad band"?

We also scoured the internet for the best international sim card deals to go with them. So here we are, based in London and off to a flying start. Get in touch using the number below if you'd like some more information or just fancy a chat.

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