Posted on 05/09/2010 1:31:13 PM PDT by KevinDavis
Here is the story..
I'm looking to get a decent cell phone provider that is good, have excellent phones, and be used in overseas. Right now I have a pay go phone (I used to have trash mobile but long story) and I can't use it globally..
I did ask companies like Boost and Cricket and they can't be used overseas. Out of the 3 which of would you recommend??
So true. When I went to the Philippines, there are markets where they actually replace the card for both Blackberry and Iphone that makes calling local free without charging the overseas call.
They all suck.
That said, ATT is the best for international.
Beware of data usage overseas and Japan has a unique system that will not work with any American phones. If you travel there, rent a phone for the duration of your visit.
http://www.jcrcorp.com/ are good.
FWIW, I’m an IT manager for a VC that travels extensively overseas.
Worth saying again, watch your data usage outside of the US.
To limited also I think they we be brought out by another cell phone company.. I used to work for them many moons ago..
The ONLY reason I keep AT&T is the iPhone. For me, it is a must-have item. My contract expired last year, so I can move on now, but could not make it without the iPhone...I hope the new iPhone 4G will have services other than AT&T...
I also have a Virgin pay as u go Phone here in Hollywood if the need arises, which has top-notch CS. The phones are cheap that if u lose them, it’s only $10...and boy, I;ve lost a lot of cellphones throughout the years.
Metro PCS that my buddy pays for $40 unlimited everything, he swears by it instead of using Boost $60 unlimited.
Sprint stinks. I leave in the burbs south of Cleveland. If I’m at home and the cell rings, I have to walk to the end of my driveway to use it. Fun in the winter.
“They are superior to any other smart phone.”
The HTC HD2 makes the iphone look like a tin can with a string attached.
Your best bet is to find out which phone carrier works where you will use it the most. You can’t say that any given cell company works the best everywhere because none do. You can make this determination by trying out their prepaid offerings where you plan to work. You could also invite friends over to your home to let them show you how well their phones work. Once you find which carrier works best, then choose one of their phones that has international roaming capabilities.
Hmm, that’s an AT&T phone isn’t it? I wanted to look at one of those recently but the local AT&T store didn’t have one. What are it’s advantages? I don’t have an I-phone myself but only because I’m told the voice quality is terrible where I live on I-phones. How many apps?
Do not roam on your US account. You will almost certainly get raped.
A few years ago, we went on a trip to the UK. We had a $90 Nokias. When we got to England, we loaded our phones with £25 SIMs from Orange. The phones worked all over the country, except for one or two remote spots in Wales. Lots of mobile-to-mobile calling and some calls back to the US. I think I reloaded mine once (over the phone, credit card).
Something is going to have to happen with 4G networks. Part of that service is going into a part of the spectrum prevously used by emergency services. When the FCC pulled those frequencies, they mandated a 15mhz drop in 800mhz radio traffic. Unfortunately, a lot of agencies don’t have the money to reband their radios.
We are just back from Europe — Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany. My husband took his iPhone. We had International Roaming but NOT International Data Roaming. He said it cost about $50 extra. He also turned off ‘a bunch of things.’ Can provide details if you want.
PS — Husband used his iPhone with AT&T — I forgot to add that. It was excellent service and we had no problems. International Data Roaming can cost thousands, I have heard, for things we take for granted here in the US.
I'm on a Sprint SERO plan for 500 min a month plus unlimited Internet and text for $30 a month (grandfathered in) and have a HTC Touch 2 "World phone" that does both CDMA and GSM
Heh. That’s what you get for asking......
True... Looks like AT&T is the way to go.. Funny thing happened to me.. I went to the UK on a business trip and I thought my prepay phone will work.. Nope. I was without a cellphone for a week!!! Luckily everything went smooth..
AT&T just got them apparently. Here’s a review and the AT&T version has the windows 6.5 software.
http://www.phonearena.com/htmls/HTC-Tilt-2-Review-review-r_2297.html
Stay away from Sprint. We travel quite extensively. Go 5 miles out of town and forget service.
Verizon is CDMA, which is not used many places but the USA. But Verizon gives their customers a GSM phone for foreign trips for only a nominal shipping fee. We used that service on our Italy trip last year, and aside from no phone-rental charge, the per-minute and text-message prices were competitive.
I believe that unless you travel overseas frequently, it is is best to shop for phone service for each foreign trip individually. Depending on your destination, there may be bargains to be had. Some years ago I got a very cheap phone rental for a trip to Israel.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.