How to Use Your Phone Internationally- Without Breaking the Bank

[Leslea]

I have used Skype when travelling internationally. It costs about .03 cents a minute Skype to phone. Recently we went on a 3 week trip thru the states (live in Canada) and we got a Jethro SIM card for the phone (from Amazon- I understand you can get it for less on their own website)- which treated all of Canada and the States as local- so unlimited phone calls and text out plenty of DATA for our Waze. Very inexpensive - current price is 35 dollars for 30 days with 5 gigs of data. No problem at all using it. Would definitely do it again

 

[Ken555]

One thing to think about when considering signing up with one of those mobile companies that advertise that they use one of big national company's networks (such as Verizon, T-mobile, etc.) is that often you do not get the same data speed vs. being a direct customer of those companies. For example, while Mint uses T-mobile, Mint customers connections are prioritized lower than T-mobile's customers. Often Mint may be getting 4G speeds while a T-mobile customer standing right next to them will get 5G speeds (but both will report a 5G connection).

This may not be an issue for many people, but if you often rely on the higher-speeds or are in marginal reception areas, it can make a big difference. The tradeoff is, of course, a smaller monthly bill, but you should realize what you are giving up for that smaller bill -- it never comes "free".

Kurt

BTW, as I think about this comment more I realize this is similar to the fear some have regarding buying timeshares on the resale market. The fear is that your mobile connection will be slower than expected due to lower priority, yet it has never happened to me. That doesn’t mean it wouldn’t happen to you… but it’s all about fear… pay less and oh no, it just won’t work as reliably, etc. I call bs on this, since it’s never happened to me (of course, it could) and of all the places I expect it to happen would be at stadiums with tens of thousands of people and yet it still works great there. So while it’s technically possible, it’s unlikely. So would you rather save $$ and have this unlikely possibility or pay more? Admittedly, the $$ involved is much lower than timeshares, but it’s a similar decision.


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[PigsDad]

BTW, as I think about this comment more I realize this is similar to the fear some have regarding buying timeshares on the resale market. The fear is that your mobile connection will be slower than expected due to lower priority, yet it has never happened to me. That doesn’t mean it wouldn’t happen to you… but it’s all about fear… pay less and oh no, it just won’t work as reliably, etc. I call bs on this, since it’s never happened to me (of course, it could) and of all the places I expect it to happen would be at stadiums with tens of thousands of people and yet it still works great there. So while it’s technically possible, it’s unlikely. So would you rather save $$ and have this unlikely possibility or pay more? Admittedly, the $$ involved is much lower than timeshares, but it’s a similar decision.

Well, since it didn't happen to you, it must not happen at all. Did I get that correct -- that is your argument? BTW, how exactly would you even know if it was or was not happening to you?

I just reported what is documented by the companies themselves -- that the major cell carriers can and do deprioritize connections for non-native customers on their networks. I just thought people might want to know those documented facts in order to make an informed decision. Evidently, I somehow got under your skin since you felt the need to respond twice to my single post. I think I should start charging rent for the space I seem to be occupying in your head.

Kurt

 

[Cornell]

One thing to think about when considering signing up with one of those mobile companies that advertise that they use one of big national company's networks (such as Verizon, T-mobile, etc.) is that often you do not get the same data speed vs. being a direct customer of those companies. For example, while Mint uses T-mobile, Mint customers connections are prioritized lower than T-mobile's customers. Often Mint may be getting 4G speeds while a T-mobile customer standing right next to them will get 5G speeds (but both will report a 5G connection).

This may not be an issue for many people, but if you often rely on the higher-speeds or are in marginal reception areas, it can make a big difference. The tradeoff is, of course, a smaller monthly bill, but you should realize what you are giving up for that smaller bill -- it never comes "free".

Kurt

I honestly never knew about this. Thank you.

 

[Ken555]

Well, since it didn't happen to you, it must not happen at all. Did I get that correct -- that is your argument? BTW, how exactly would you even know if it was or was not happening to you?

I just reported what is documented by the companies themselves -- that the major cell carriers can and do deprioritize connections for non-native customers on their networks. I just thought people might want to know those documented facts in order to make an informed decision. Evidently, I somehow got under your skin since you felt the need to respond twice to my single post. I think I should start charging rent for the space I seem to be occupying in your head.

Kurt

Way to take my response(s) to an extreme. Not sure how it got personal, but it sure did. Perhaps my equating your fearful posts with buying timeshares got to you. Oh, well.

It seems you want others to be fearful of carriers like Mint, so I responded with what I know… based on my personal experience and those I’ve read. Yes, the carriers admit it’s possible to have data be limited, which I agreed to earlier. In practical terms, it has never happened to me or anyone I know who has service with them (and that’s a lot of people). But if it makes you feel better for whatever reason, go ahead and pay more for the same service…doesn’t bother me at all, though it’s too bad you aren’t open to learning of others actual experience. Have a great day.


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