Travel Technology - T-Mobile, Verizon or ATT???

Hello all,

Need your help suggesting a good cell phone plan for my situation.

1. I don't talk a lot on the phone. So I prefer to go with fewer minutes.

2. I travel internationally a lot. (10 times a year to various countries), and I wish to be able to stay in touch by email/texting whenever possible.

3. I am hoping to get some sort of "hotspot at home" service- does this allow me to browse the Internet online while I am home?

4. I live in North New Jersey and it seems the above 3 phone companies are the better carriers...

I plan to get Blackberry 8900 and am hoping to find a package that fits the best to my situation.

THank you for your help!

None of the alternatives you list are particularly attractive (ok, won't go off-topic with a rant about US cellphone carriers...)

AT&T and T-Mobile are GSM carriers which are better in terms of roaming. Most likely your phone will come sim-locked so you can't pop in a SIM while traveling.

I plan to get Blackberry 8900 and am hoping to find a package that fits the best to my situation.



You can knock off Verizon on your list since the 8900 in only for GSM service while Verizon has CDMA. There is a Verizon version and it's the Curve 8330; I believe. However, it doesn't have the features of the 8900.

Concerning your home "hotspots"; I believe you are referring to home Wi-fi. The 8900 does have Wi-fi built in so you will be browse the internet at home on your Wi-fi network.

3. I am hoping to get some sort of "hotspot at home" service- does this allow me to browse the Internet online while I am home?

WiFi is one way to do it. AT&T and T-Mobile are also working on a box which connects to your high speed internet and gives you an actual cell antenna in your home. I've seen that it's being tested right now, but can't find a link at the moment. It would give you the ability to use your voice minutes if there's a bad signal in your home.

Take a look at this thread for intl travel: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-technology/953373-international-sim-cards.html

Verizon's international rate is MUCH higher than T-Mobile and AT&T.

Internationally, AT&T is slightly more costly than T-Mobile, but can be cheaper if you order a package.

Using data, AT&T's phones use the same GSM bandwidth as the Europeans while T-Mobile (USA) opted for the GSM 1900 which does not work in Europe, not even with T-Mobile in Germany.

WiFi is one way to do it. AT&T and T-Mobile are also working on a box which connects to your high speed internet and gives you an actual cell antenna in your home. I've seen that it's being tested right now, but can't find a link at the moment. It would give you the ability to use your voice minutes if there's a bad signal in your home.

You're referring to a "micro cell". AT&T is in the process of developing one (http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/09/21/at-microlaunch-imminent/). T-mobile has gone a different route: instead of a microcell, which amplifies and retransmits the regular cell signal, they use a normal Wi-fi network, so you can use your phone anywhere there's a usable wi-fi signal. For an extra $10/month, you can get unlimited wifi calling.

Using data, AT&T's phones use the same GSM bandwidth as the Europeans while T-Mobile (USA) opted for the GSM 1900 which does not work in Europe, not even with T-Mobile in Germany.

Not true.

Cell phone bands in the USA are 850, 1900, and 1700 MHz. AT&T runs a combination of 850 and 1900 MHz, while T-mobile runs most of its network on 1900 and is rolling out 3G on 1700 MHz.

It's not so much that a given carrier "opted" for these frequencies. Rather, these are what the regulatory bodies set for cellular communications. The only reason T-mobile US picked the oddball 1700 MHz band for 3G is because 850/1900 had no available licenses, 2100 is used in the US for other things, and the FCC made 1700 MHz available.

Cell phone bands in Europe (and much of the world outside the Americas) are 900, 1800, and 2100 MHz.

Most new 3G phones will work with the 3G network of the carrier you bought it from, plus the world standard 2100 MHz bandwith. If you buy a non-3G phone, all but the very cheapest will usually have at least one of the non-USA band capabilities.

The Blackberry 8900 is a non-3G phone that works on all four common GSM bands: 850, 900, 1800, 1900.

Mostly agree... Verizon is not a great choice for international travel. T-Mobile UMA (wifi calling, hotspot@home, etc.) is extremely useful while traveling. While connected on wifi you're not roaming. If you pay the extra $10/mo, it doesn't use minutes, if you don't pay they it's as if you're home.

T-Mobile offers an international blackberry email add-on service for $20/mo (in addition to normal blackberry service which is either $25 or $35 depending on what voice plan you have or not have). With T-Mobile, you can turn that on or off at will and they prorate the charge. So if you're overseas for 5 days per month, you'd be paying $4/mo for the feature.

AT&T has an unlimited BB international data plan ... IIRC, it's like $40/mo, but you can't turn it on and off at will... I think it's got to stay for a year.

ATT also doesn't have anything like the wifi calling that T-Mobile has.

Domestically, ATT has better coverage than T-Mobile, and Verizon has better overall coverage than either ATT or T-Mobile. 3G coverage won't be an issue with the Blackberry 8900... although if you wait a week or two you can get the 9700 which does have 3G (on T-Mobile).

With regard to coverage, I'd suggest you look at each carriers coverage maps vs. places you use the phone. Note that in areas on the edge of coverage, you'll likely have no indoor service with either ATT or T-Mobile (unless on wifi with T-Mobile).

Good luck.

No, T-Mobile USA does not use the international 3G frequency that is used elsewhere. I was referring to the 3G high-speed data.

Cell phone bands in Europe (and much of the world outside the Americas) are 900, 1800, and 2100 MHz.

Just to emphasize a point made by gfunkdave, 2100 MHz is largely the 3G standard in Europe, and both T-mobile and AT&T 3G phones usually work on the band (this does not have to do with calling, but, rather, with data transfer).

That being said, please note the outside the Americas part above. Most of Mexico, the US, and Canada do not use the 2100 band, but rather the 850/1900 bands for 3G data transfer. If you want this service world wide, your best bet is an AT&T phone that has 850/1900/2100. Most T-mobile phones are 900/1700/2100, which (I believe) restricts their 3G coverage to the US, Asia, and Europe and does not work in Mexico or Canada.

No, T-Mobile USA does not use the international 3G frequency that is used elsewhere. I was referring to the 3G high-speed data.

Correct, but most T-mobile ( and AT&T) phones are capable of connecting at 2100 MHz, which is mostly the standard in Europe and Asia. Where T-mobile fails is the inability to connect at 850/1900, which is the standard in Mexico and Canada.

Hello all,
Need your help suggesting a good cell phone plan for my situation.
1. I don't talk a lot on the phone. So I prefer to go with fewer minutes.

Get the Even More Plus plan, no contract and with h@h you should never go over your minutes


2. I travel internationally a lot. (10 times a year to various countries), and I wish to be able to stay in touch by email/texting whenever possible.

Ask them to unlock phone for you, turn on international roaming/calling and you can either use TMO phone and/or use prepaid sim cards.

3. I am hoping to get some sort of "hotspot at home" service- does this allow me to browse the Internet online while I am home?

hotspot@home is the best - works great at home, minutes are 'free'
BB has wifi so you use to browse internet (don't need h@h plan for this)

4. I live in North New Jersey and it seems the above 3 phone companies are the better carriers...
Verizon by far has best US coverage but with h@h you won't have problems ever at home.
I plan to get Blackberry 8900 and am hoping to find a package that fits the best to my situation.
TMO sells BB with H@H and UMA.

Correct, but most T-mobile ( and AT&T) phones are capable of connecting at 2100 MHz, which is mostly the standard in Europe and Asia. Where T-mobile fails is the inability to connect at 850/1900, which is the standard in Mexico and Canada.

T-Mobile's voice network is an all-1900 network, and all of the phones they sell (that I know of) support 850 MHz, since T-mobile has a lot of roaming agreements with rural carriers and AT&T on 850.

T-Mobile's voice network is an all-1900 network, and all of the phones they sell (that I know of) support 850 MHz, since T-mobile has a lot of roaming agreements with rural carriers and AT&T on 850.

OP is looking at a BB 8900 - Quad-band GSM/Edge - will work anywhere.

Some additional thoughts....

VERIZON
For a long time, their strong points have been great US coverage, good customer service. Weak points: crappy devices and weak international.

The 'crappy devices' will get better tomorrow, and in the next few months. Tomorrow, Verizon releases the "Droid." Some people call it an 'iPhone killer," but it's not. Very fast device, great screen quality. However, CDMA only (not a "world phone").

I've been using Verizon internationally, across Europe and South Africa, and it's been very good to me on my BlackBerry Storm.


AT&T
Probably has the most solid BlackBerry device, the "Bold."

AT&T's network is bogged down by a lot of iPhone data usage. I find their customer service lousy and their network marginal.


T-MOBILE
Aggressive new pricing plans, ones I'm going to look into myself.

The knock on T-Mo has always been good coverage in major metro areas, but outside of said metro areas, the c verag is r ther spot y.

They have good BB devices out too.


Good luck!

hotspot@home is the best - works great at home, minutes are 'free'
BB has wifi so you use to browse internet (don't need h@h plan for this)



I have the BB curve (8320) via T Mobile. I switched from ATT last year specifically for the TMobile wifi calling because ATT has ZERO coverage in my neighborhood (though TMobile is not much better). With my BB phone that switches automatically to WiFi when I walk up to my house, I never miss a call at home. I don't pay for the unlimited hot spot at home service because I never use all of my allotted minutes.

Only caveat is that you must make sure that the phone you purchase has this capability; not all TMobile phones do.

Only caveat is that you must make sure that the phone you purchase has this capability; not all TMobile phones do.

Fortunately most of their BB have this capability. But you're right, the other models are very limited in number - and nothing new in the past year++ except for the BB's.

A minor correction to a post above. AT&T only has about 3 phones that will support the 2100 3G band. Tmobile has may be 1 or 2. The statement that most of their phones have the 2100 band is incorrect.

The forthcoming BB9700 seems to have it all: http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/blackberrybold9700/bold_specifications.jsp...


3G (HSDPA) compatible
UMTS: 2100/1900/850/800 MHz (Bands 1,2,5/6), 2100/1700/900 MHz (Bands 1,4,8)
GSM: 1900/1800/900/850 MHz
Quad-band support: GSM 850; GSM

I have ATT (the bold)the service is not that great in the US but it is worth the international data plan if you travel alot. It is great to use BBM anywhere in the world free. So if most of contacts have blackberry it is what I would chose. I never use it for calling internationally only data and BBM. That is why I travel with a 2g Iphone and buy a sim in every country I go to. It will always beat the price of using ATT or any US based Cell Service.As for using pre-paid sim's it fine for calling but you will get no internet or bbm. I have yet to see a pre-paid sim with BIS.

It really comes down to what you want the most. If it is international data in my mind ATT is the clear choice as tmobile's service is only international email. T-Mobile has finally figured out how to charge people for data roaming when you are international. I can't count how many times I have used gps navigation internationally. But if you want hot spot at home more then it may be better to look at other options.

The forthcoming BB9700 seems to have it all: http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/blackberrybold9700/bold_specifications.jsp...

Yup. If you buy it from T-mobile it will be the second UMTS option; if you buy it from AT&T it will have the first group of freqencies.

Yup. If you buy it from T-mobile it will be the second UMTS option; if you buy it from AT&T it will have the first group of freqencies.

I noticed TMO isn't 'aggressively' touting their H@H and UMA features. Their website and shop for phones section no longer includes H@H and WiFi features. They haven't come out with any new UMA enabled phones in quite a while....I hope this doesn't signal the demise of a great feature!

T-Mobile, at least currently, seems to have disabled UMA (WiFi calling) on all 3G capable handsets. Not sure what is behind this decision, as it is not a technical one, as far as I understand, but a business / marketing decision.

2. I travel internationally a lot. (10 times a year to various countries), and I wish to be able to stay in touch by email/texting whenever possible.Verizon is a poor choice for international because its roaming plans are very expensive. However, Verizon has a nice Motorola phone, a z6c, that is CDMA/GSM. I have one -- it's a simple matter to buy a local SIM card and put it in the phone. Note as well that Verizon has the best coverage of the three networks domestically.

3. I am hoping to get some sort of "hotspot at home" service- does this allow me to browse the Internet online while I am home? Verizon has a femtocell for $200. I have one and it works great. It does not work for EVDO -- it only supports 1TX, so it will not improve a Blackberry's web browsing. You can, however, use your internet connection for browsing from your computer while you're using your cellphone on the femtocell.

I plan to get Blackberry 8900 and am hoping to find a package that fits the best to my situation.As noted, the 8900 is not a GSM device. However, Verizon has the Blackberry Storm (again, I have one), a nifty device that, like the Motorola cellphone, is CDMA and GSM. Again, just drop in a local SIM card when you travel and you're in business.

With that much international travel, you'll want AT&T or T-M. The problem with AT&T is:

Call failed
Data path unavailable (with 4 bars and 3G)
Phone not ringing, straight to voicemail
3G not any faster than 2G
Rebooting your BB once per day

You might want to look into experiences with T-Mobile. I just broke my AT&T contract to get a Blackberry with Verizon. It was really that bad.

i loathe att & verizon equally

tmobile customer service is good. and its gsm network

T-Mobile, at least currently, seems to have disabled UMA (WiFi calling) on all 3G capable handsets. Not sure what is behind this decision, as it is not a technical one, as far as I understand, but a business / marketing decision.

Actually not quite true. There were technical issues with handoff... lots of discussion over at howardforums. The BB 9700 AFAIK is the first to have both 3G and UMA. Also, they've taken UMA out of the search, but wi-fi calling is still listed as a feature for those phones that are capable. There are also strong indications that UMA on Android is in the works ... some site cross-linked a job ad for an experienced Android+UMA developer.

With that much international travel, you'll want AT&T or T-M. The problem with AT&T is:

Call failed
Data path unavailable (with 4 bars and 3G)
Phone not ringing, straight to voicemail
3G not any faster than 2G
Rebooting your BB once per day

You might want to look into experiences with T-Mobile. I just broke my AT&T contract to get a Blackberry with Verizon. It was really that bad.

I've got TMO (and had ATT as well). Domestically, ATT generally has better coverage, especially indoors. TMO has far better customer service, costs less, and is far better internationally (even with the unlimited data plan from ATT). I (and others) have had significant issues with voice roaming while overseas. Depending on the roaming partners you connect to, features come and go, calls work or don't, and most annoyingly, dialing rules change. TMO works fine with standard international conventions - i.e., using the +1xxxxxxxxxx to call back to the US. on ATT, sometimes that works, sometimes I needed to use the ATT data plan to figure out the local carrier's dialing idiosyncrasies.

Net-net, even with small data roaming charges (I was careful), TMO cost less overall, and it was reasonable to hold off data usage until using wifi. Email was sufficient.

Oh, and if T-Mobile, put google voice on the phone - while on UMA, it's much less expensive to use that to make "local (in the country you're in) calls than the long distance you get hit with if you call from the US (on UMA Roaming).

As noted, the 8900 is not a GSM device. However, Verizon has the Blackberry Storm (again, I have one), a nifty device that, like the Motorola cellphone, is CDMA and GSM. Again, just drop in a local SIM card when you travel and you're in business.

Um, the 8900 is quite emphatically a GSM device. GSM 850/900/1800/1900. I have one. T-mobile sells them. :)

The T-Mobile BB international data plan works well. As mentioned earlier, the $20 per month charge can be prorated which makes it makes it economical. I use the H@H with my plan minutes and it works great.

HUGE fan of TMo international. Can't even count anymore how many AT&T people I've converted to TMo after I had 5 bars and no difficulty with either email or calling with TMo internationally while the AT&T couldn't place calls or get emails. This happened both in "routine" international destinations such as Paris, and more exotic like Indonesia. With unlimited blackberry international email, since you're using primarily email, in my book it's a slam dunk. I love my TMo and 8900.

(But that doesn't stop me from lusting after the 9700!)

HUGE fan of TMo international. Can't even count anymore how many AT&T people I've converted to TMo after I had 5 bars and no difficulty with either email or calling with TMo internationally while the AT&T couldn't place calls or get emails. This happened both in "routine" international destinations such as Paris, and more exotic like Indonesia. With unlimited blackberry international email, since you're using primarily email, in my book it's a slam dunk. I love my TMo and 8900.

(But that doesn't stop me from lusting after the 9700!)

Of course, those overseas networks are not run by AT&T or T-mobile. They just have roaming agreements with AT&T and T-mobile.

(But that doesn't stop me from lusting after the 9700!)

Just ordered mine :D

Of course, those overseas networks are not run by AT&T or T-mobile. They just have roaming agreements with AT&T and T-mobile.

The various TMobiles operates networks in Germany, USA, United Kingdom, Poland, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Hungary, Austria, Croatia, Slovakia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands

I recently switched from TMobile (which didn't have a problem with international roaming) to ATT (which can't roam for squat). The most irritating thing is I picked ATT for the iPhone and it's more world compatible 3G frequency.

This has absolutely nothing to do with AT&T or Tmobiles local coverage. It's all about roaming agreement. May be Tmobile has more roaming partners in that country, or your friends do not have roaming activated yet.

HUGE fan of TMo international. Can't even count anymore how many AT&T people I've converted to TMo after I had 5 bars and no difficulty with either email or calling with TMo internationally while the AT&T couldn't place calls or get emails. This happened both in "routine" international destinations such as Paris, and more exotic like Indonesia. With unlimited blackberry international email, since you're using primarily email, in my book it's a slam dunk. I love my TMo and 8900.

(But that doesn't stop me from lusting after the 9700!)

This has absolutely nothing to do with AT&T or Tmobiles local coverage. It's all about roaming agreement. May be Tmobile has more roaming partners in that country, or your friends do not have roaming activated yet.

That is true, but, isn't T-Mobile USA more likely to have roaming agreements in Europe because many networks in Europe are operated by other T-Mobile subsidiaries, which all have the same parent company, Deutsch Telekom?

I doubt you will find any country where tmobile has roaming agreemant and AT&T does not as well. Yes, they could possible have roaming agreement with different carriers in each country. Your friends on AT&T may very well have been roaming on a carrier without a roaming agreement with AT&T. In that case, and I am sure had they searched and selected another carrier, they would have been fine.

That is true, but, isn't T-Mobile USA more likely to have roaming agreements in Europe because many networks in Europe are operated by other T-Mobile subsidiaries, which all have the same parent company, Deutsch Telekom?

HUGE fan of TMo international. Can't even count anymore how many AT&T people I've converted to TMo after I had 5 bars and no difficulty with either email or calling with TMo internationally while the AT&T couldn't place calls or get emails.


Both have good roaming agreements with international carriers.....

What usually happens is either user forgets to ask ATT to turn on international calling and roaming, and/or ATT forgets to turn it on after a request is made.

Both have good roaming agreements with international carriers.....

What usually happens is either user forgets to ask ATT to turn on international calling and roaming, and/or ATT forgets to turn it on after a request is made.

So ATT is crappier because you 1) have to turn it on 2) they can fail to do it

Ironically, same thing has happened to me while I had T-Mobile.

Also, in Riyadh, I could not get data on my T-Mobile. I am hoping I can get that on my AT&T when I am there in a month from now.

So ATT is crappier because you 1) have to turn it on 2) they can fail to do it

You had to ask T-Mobile USA to turn it on as well, and they can forget as well. No different. The reason is that even though this is a free add-on (to charge to more money) they check your payment history and perhaps a soft pull on your credit as well to limit the risk of you running up a large bill and then not paying them.

This is also true for the ability to call out to international numbers from the US.

I have been happy so far with my Blackberry Tour (Verizon) on 2 trips to South America. I use the data features only, and they work as well as home. I have not dared to pick up the phone at those rates, however.

Exactly! I have read of folks on tmobile as well as AT&T not being able to roam because the CSR forgot to activate international roaming. Actually with AT&T, the system automatically adds to your account, depending on your credit rating and how long you have been with them. Mine just showed up after 90 days I believe. The only time you have to manually request it is if you need it activated before the system adds it. Or if at some point, you asked them to deactivate it.

I believe you can now add all of the voice and data roaming plans via the AT&T website, which cuts out the middleman and should prevent those issues of "AT&T forgetting." I could not do that last fall/winter when traveling to Asia/Australia/France and ended up calling AT&T multiple times to change packages, but I do see it online now. I'm not sure when that capability was added.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/imagehost/attintlfeatures.png

You can also do it directly from the AT&T iPhone app if you use an iPhone.

You had to ask T-Mobile USA to turn it on as well

In my experience, no, you didn't.

In my experience, no, you didn't.

I know I did.. and they did forget as well. That occurred about two years ago.

I believe you can now add all of the voice and data roaming plans via the AT&T website, which cuts out the middleman and should prevent those issues of "AT&T forgetting." I could not do that last fall/winter when traveling to Asia/Australia/France and ended up calling AT&T multiple times to change packages, but I do see it online now. I'm not sure when that capability was added.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/imagehost/attintlfeatures.png



Correct. Three (3) days ago I added the AT&T World Traveler option to my plan using the same screen above in preparation for my trip next month.

When you look on that screen you'll see that the international roaming option is already selected meaning that international calling is enabled on ATT accounts.

If you want the so called 'discounted' rates you have to select the World Travel option or the other international plan.

As far as how well the phone works once you leave the country, I guess that'll depend on the network. As some mentioned earlier, ATT has roaming agreements with the major carriers.

Correct. Three (3) days ago I added the AT&T World Traveler option to my plan using the same screen above in preparation for my trip next month.

When you look on that screen you'll see that the international roaming option is already selected meaning that international calling is enabled on ATT accounts.

If you want the so called 'discounted' rates you have to select the World Travel option or the other international plan.

As far as how well the phone works once you leave the country, I guess that'll depend on the network. As some mentioned earlier, ATT has roaming agreements with the major carriers.

It looks, too, like adjusting the options online will, when possible, prorate the package. Something to be aware of: if you sign up for the 20MB data package halfway through your billing month, you'll actually only get 10MB of data (but you'll only be charged $12.50).

Also, it doesn't matter for international voice roaming, but when using international data roaming, you have to be careful about ensuring you're connected to one of the discounted data roaming partners. For example, in Singapore, AT&T will connect to all three networks (SingTel, StarHub, and MobileOne), but only data on StarHub and MobileOne (http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/dataconnect-global.jsp) counts for the iPhone data roaming packages (http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/affordable-world-packages.jsp#8). If you connect via SingTel--which is the one the iPhone connects to by default--and transfer data, be prepared to pay through the nose.