Telekom Romania SIM card: why the prepaid card moved to Digi

A Telekom Romania SIM card is no longer the thing a visitor should look for. Digi announced that it had completed the takeover of Telekom Romania's prepaid mobile business on 1 October 2025, and Telekom's prepaid customers were being moved to Digi's network. We read Digi's pages on 8 October 2026. Older guides, including some of our own network notes, still list Telekom as a prepaid choice, and that should be read with the following in mind.

What happened to the Telekom Romania prepaid SIM card?

Digi's announcement describes the acquisition of the prepaid business, together with spectrum licences and towers. Digi says customers get an SMS about the change of operator, keep their credit and are offered terms at least as favourable. Its notice page says the transfer happens between November 2025 and March 2026, remotely, with no new SIM and no phone settings to change. If the network name on the phone has changed to Digi, the move is done. It also says customers who do not want Digi can port their number elsewhere.

On unactivated SIMs, Digi's page recommends activating Telekom prepaid SIMs by 19 January 2026 inclusive, and says they cannot be activated after that date, whatever expiry date is printed on the pack. A search result quoting Telekom's own pages gives a final date of 7 May 2026 for the migration, after which unmigrated prepaid numbers would be disconnected. We did not open Telekom's notice, so treat that date as unconfirmed.

Can a visitor still buy a Telekom Romania prepaid SIM or eSIM?

We found no sign of it. A search result mentions a youth-targeted #BESTY eSIM card from Telekom, but we did not read its page, and Digi's side says the prepaid business has been handed over. Telekom's own mobile pages were not readable for us. A SIM bought from a stray reseller stock is not worth risking: it could not be activated after January 2026 per Digi.

What should you buy instead?

For a local SIM, see Digi Romania, where prepaid options start at 2.50 EUR a month, though its cheapest eSIM is for ages 14 to 25 with a Romanian CNP. Orange Romania lists PrePay options from 5 EUR. Vodafone Romania sells the Cartela Vodafone. Each has its own rules, and none of the pages we read states a passport requirement for a visitor.

Telekom Romania SIM card coverage

Digi says it expects better voice and data quality and wider coverage from the spectrum and towers it acquired. That is Digi's forecast, not a measured result. We have no coverage figure for Telekom. Our network notes call Telekom's 4G strong nationwide, which cannot be checked against current pages and is out of date after the takeover.

Telekom or a travel eSIM?

With Telekom's prepaid gone, a travel eSIM bought before landing is the simplest alternative for a short trip. See the Romania comparison, the Romania hub and the cheapest eSIM page.

What we could not confirm

Whether Telekom still sells any prepaid, what happened to numbers not migrated, and whether Telekom's postpaid is open to visitors. We did not read Telekom's own mobile pages.