Vodafone USB Modem Stick - if I buy it in Italy, can I use it elsewhere?

Question

I have been wrestling for a while now with the problem of how best to access the Internet, via my MacBook, while in Italy, where we have a holiday home.
I called in at the local Vodafone shop (in the town of Pergola, Pesaro-Urbino, Marche region). The guy there told me that I could buy a USB modem for 99 Euro, but he wasn't sure whether I would get a signal at my home, up in the hills behind the town. Now I can get a signal on my mobile phone there (with a UK Vodafone account).
I then came home and enquired about the USB modem at a UK Vodafone shop, to be told it could not be purchased outright (as it can in Italy), but only as part of an 18-month contract. As I would hardly be using it in the UK it makes no sense to pay the exorbitant fees that using it in Italy would involve.
So I'm left with the dilemma: should I shell out the 99 Euros for a dongle in Italy , presuming that I can use it anywhere that Vodafone Italy have coverage (maybe even my home there!)? And if I ever wanted to, could I use it back in the UK?
Any advice or suggestions from Mac-using dongle people would be welcome!

Answer 1

You need to check carefully with the local rules because the issue is not one of technical matters but policy.
First of all, the card will absolutely work. No doubt about it.
However, if it was purchased in Italy, it will have an Italian phone number associated with it (yes, even though it's not used as a phone it still has a phone number). When you use it in the UK it would be just the same as using a Italian-purchased cellphone in the UK with the same burdens of roaming charges, etc.
The situation may be worse with the data card because many wireless carriers place additional restrictions on data usage in addition to phone minutes and text messages. You may find that the Italian plan allows for, say, 5GB of data transfer per month, but only 10MB roaming data with a charge of €10/MB.
At that point the question is not whether it will work (it will), but whether you can afford to run it.