Travel Technology - AT&T Lowers International Data Plan Prices

I just paid $50 for one month for 125MB usage abroad, and was looking at my AT&T account for another trip coming up and noticed the prices and options were different from before.

Link (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2405148,00.asp)

120MB of data for $30/month (used to be 50MB for $25)
300MB for $60/month (used to be 125MB for $50)
800MB for $120/month (used to be 275MB for $100, 800MB for $200)

Overages are $30 for the next 120MB on all plans.


Edit: Just noticed that all plans have a one-month minimum now. No more prorating for short trips :td:

Thanks for the info. $30 for 120mb is not terrible. 120mb per month is enough for email (as long as you aren't pulling down big attachments) and light browsing/ app usage.

Thanks for the info. $30 for 120mb is not terrible. 120mb per month is enough for email (as long as you aren't pulling down big attachments) and light browsing/ app usage.

120MB is more than enough ... I just used 117MB last month and that was after I used 20 MB the last day when I realized my month was ending and I had already paid for the bytes.

What is really nice is that the overages are predictable at 30$ for 120MB overage bucket. It used to be something stupid like 10$ a MB overage. These are much more reasonable.

(further discussion in the other thread)

yeah. No more prorating for some of us that only need it for very little use on very short trips. Still much better than the previous packages.

If you have an iPhone, this is still cheaper, and larger data limits

http://www.iphonetrip.com/

If you have an iPhone, this is still cheaper, and larger data limitsCheapest data-only plan is $5.99/day for one country, $7.99/day for multiple countries. 30 days = $179.70/$239.70.

Also, all plans have a 7 day minimum (41.93 or 55.93).

So if you'll use less than 120MB of data in a month, or if you'll be going to more than one country, the AT&T plan looks cheaper to me.

If you have an iPhone, this is still cheaper, and larger data limits

http://www.iphonetrip.com/

I took a look at the rates for Cameroon and with the above one month would cost $ 269.7 for the cheapest plan (100MB/day plan at $ 8.99/day plan). Unlimited data would cost $449.7/month. Hardly cheap.

For my usage. AT&T is still the cheaper option. No need to change sim, have sim mailed to me, etc. Add/remove it online. It's as simple as it gets.

I was in Nigeria for 2 weeks last month. On my MTN sim 500 MB/ 1 month package cost me about $3. Unbelievably fast 3G speeds as well! I was using Skype on it daily.

I took a look at the rates for Cameroon and with the above one month would cost $ 269.7 for the cheapest plan (100MB/day plan at $ 8.99/day plan). Unlimited data would cost $449.7/month. Hardly cheap.

With the 1 month minimum requirement do they still lock that month to your billing cycle? I'm ok with paying the $25 for a month but in the past if your trip crossed a billing boundary being able to add/remove mid month meant that you could actually get the month rate (although tracking usage was more of a pain since you actually had 2 partial months to watch). If they still won't go off cycle then this actually means that for some trips the minimum becomes $50 for 2 months use.

I took a look at the rates for Cameroon and with the above one month would cost $ 269.7 for the cheapest plan (100MB/day plan at $ 8.99/day plan). Unlimited data would cost $449.7/month. Hardly cheap.

I use it when I go to another country for a few days, not a month, sorry

I use it when I go to another country for a few days, not a month, sorrySo you pay $42 for a couple of days of phone access? What countries do you go to where there aren't cheaper options available?

iPhonetrip is one tool in a traveller's toolbox. The new plans for Verizon & ATT defiitely cut into it, but there are times where it is a good deal. There are times where it isn't. If you've got multiple country trip, it make sense. There are also countries where getting a local SIM is a pain for a variety reasons. A prepaid SIM in the Bahamas costs $75. I hear that India takes a few days to get registered and going.

I am a huge fan of prepaid. I am one of the original members of prepaidgsm.net - where I am just "Stu". I think you need to need to judge each case and user seperately. My sister is going on a six country business trip and I recommended iPhone Trip for her iPad becasue it was cheaper than the roaming alternative and she wasn't going to visit six cell phone shops and six countries and reprogram her device for each one. She took a MiFi with her and used it for her data needs.

So you pay $42 for a couple of days of phone access? What countries do you go to where there aren't cheaper options available?

When you have a locked iPhone you have no choice. My contact is up on be 16th, then I will have a choice

iPhonetrip is one tool in a traveller's toolbox. The new plans for Verizon & ATT defiitely cut into it, but there are times where it is a good deal. There are times where it isn't.Yeah, but that's not what he said, and that's why I was trying to clarify ;)

I am one of the original members of prepaidgsm.net - where I am just "Stu".That's a great site, thanks for making it better! ^

I think you need to need to judge each case and user seperately.Never have truer words been spoken on FT. This really needs to be added to a new prepaid sticky, along with instructions on what people should post in order for others to suggest the best option. Current sticky doesn't seem to have much value anymore.

Example:
Countries being visited:
Length of time in each country:
Data & voice/data only/voice only:
Current provider & country:
Make/model of phone you'll be using:
etc.

For my usage. AT&T is still the cheaper option. No need to change sim, have sim mailed to me, etc. Add/remove it online. It's as simple as it gets.But there is an advantage to removing your original simcard and using another; you can't get incoming phone calls (at $1.29/minute) by accident with a different simcard installed. And if you actually are going to use your phone as a phone, the combinatin of a higher data limit (via iPhonetrip) plus Skype could save you a lot of $$$. Overseas, Skype is your friend. ^

I hard call forward my phone to a different number when I'm off of the country. You can also *21# pound the number directly to your voice mailbox. You need to find out the number your phone is conditionally call forwarding to and then simply do a hard call forward. That way the phone never rings. I preferred to forward reminder Google Voice and get everything on the data side.

I always unconditionally forward my AT&T number to one my international sim cards (Telna or Ekit) with a USA number. So, I will not be getting any incoming calls on my AT&T number. I agree, skype comes in handy when traveling internationally. As I mentioned earlier, I use it via data on my local country specific sim.

I will be heading to Jamaica for 7 days next weekend. AT&T's $30/120 MB package will suit my needs and I will sign up for that. The resort itself has WiFi in the certain areas. But this is for those situations that I will not be near WiFi.

But there is an advantage to removing your original simcard and using another; you can't get incoming phone calls (at $1.29/minute) by accident with a different simcard installed. And if you actually are going to use your phone as a phone, the combinatin of a higher data limit (via iPhonetrip) plus Skype could save you a lot of $$$. Overseas, Skype is your friend. ^

I hard forward my ATT number to a foreign or roaming SIM if I am within six hours of my home time zone. When it goes beyond that, I've decided that it creates more problems than it solves.

People understand the time zone issues in theory, but not reality. When they call you at 9am EST and you are walking out of a restaurant having had two or three drinks in Hong Kong and tried to candidly tell them this isn't the time to require you to dig into the minutia of a complicated issue, they don't hear you. The few times I was even more candid and told them that it was 10 at night where I was, that I had a few drinks, and didn't think it was a good time to have complex discussions, you could hear their opinion of me go down a notch. Conversely, at 10pm there time, they would understand this.

I make exceptions. When I was in Dubai pretty much full time, I deliberately altered my schedule to increase overlap with the US business day. That brings me back to my original point about one size doesn't fit all. Some times you want to be reached instantly. Other times, you would prefer to have better screening mechanisms in place.

Definitely a step in the right direction from AT&T. Would like to see the rates get even better but these are pretty close to acceptable in some instances.

Definitely a step in the right direction from AT&T. Would like to see the rates get even better but these are pretty close to acceptable in some instances.

I think now that they're unlocking older iPhones, AT&T must realize that they'll lose some business from travelers using those older iPhones while traveling.

For a recent trip to the UK, I simply used my iPhone 3. Went to an O2 store, bought a UK SIM card for GBP 10, and was good to go for over 2 weeks.

I had my iPhone 4 with me also...when there was WiFi and/or I wanted to take better pictures.

Probably an improvement, but it's not all gravy.

Previously you could add those dataplans on the day you left and remove them on the day you got back and they would be prorated down to the day (say you leave day 3 come back day 5 - you could get 800mb of data for those three days for 200/30*3=20 dollars). Now, those plans require at least a full month of service.

Moreover, I'm guessing ATT is realizing by offering cheap data internationally, they make a reasonable profit on calls.

Probably an improvement, but it's not all gravy.

Previously you could add those dataplans on the day you left and remove them on the day you got back and they would be prorated down to the day (say you leave day 3 come back day 5 - you could get 800mb of data for those three days for 200/30*3=20 dollars). Now, those plans require at least a full month of service.

Moreover, I'm guessing ATT is realizing by offering cheap data internationally, they make a reasonable profit on calls.Definitely a big incentive for ATT to offer lower-priced data plans... if they can encourage people to stop looking for alternatives, they capture all that voice use, at stiff prices. I think you nailed the reason they brought down the prices.

I went ahead and did this on one of our devices for a recent trip to Peru. (I still have int'l data roaming on one device today, but might actually cancel it at this point)

I opted for the 30$ 120MB amount, figuring I MIGHT NOT use 300MB and would rather just be charged another 30$ for another 120MB if I needed it rather than pay the 60$ upfront for the 300MB and not use it.

I was using this on an iphone4s (it only connected at 3G speeds in Peru and also EDGE and GPRS - ehgads!)

What I did before landing was setup data tracking with a couple programs, dataman pro, and datausage. These both have free versions, but I bought the .99 cent versions for more detailed tracking. They both use a little more battery than I would be comfortable with on a daily basis, but for this test they were very useful, to track and breakdown usage to the application level and down to the KB/MB level. It offered a lot of very insightful information that allowed me to change behavior and alter usage accordingly.

I also turned off PUSH email, and set my email to MANUAL, so I would only get which of the five accounts I WANTED to and WHEN. I setup email to NOT DOWNLOAD images, and to only show 1 LINE preview, and only the last 200 messages.

I figured that I could probably find WIFI at night to get whatever I needed, and make calls with skype, etc. using the cellular data only during the day for google maps, making calls with skype while out and about, send texts either locally or back to the states (I used textfree and google voice for SMS texting)

Over a two week period, I used a grand total of 52MB on the cellular side, and that was with a LOT of forced usage during the last three days, when I figured I'd never using my 120MB cap and might as well just use the phone as I would back at home. PUSH email was turned back on, setup for 15MIN fetch, etc.

I made about 45 minutes of skype calls on the cellular data side, downloaded about 400 emails on the cellular side, used google maps about 25 times, sent about 75 texts, checked CNN.com a LOT, downloading full news stories to a couple of browsers for later viewing on the iphone and had a nephew using my phone to do about 20 minutes of FB surfing (or whatever it is they DO on FB)

I didn't do any video streaming or use a lot of other applications, and didn't use the apple app store to update any apps unless I was on WIFI.

As for the wifi side, I actually only downloaded 120MB of data while on WIFI during that entire period. (Normally, I'm using about 300-400 a MONTH here in the bay area, and that is pretty heavy usage for me)

So, with this new program and pricing (and it will most likely drop a tad again in the future) I think I'm pretty happy with just turning it on when I travel and having it available for calls, texts, emails, news, etc.

My protocol was to forward my AT&T number to my google voice number. Then, I received texts for VMs and could text back to callers right from the phone. I didn't pay AT&T anything for calls, inbound or outbound (skype) so that kept one of the high variable costs, CALLS down low or zero.

One of the interesting things and ANNOYING things that I did find was ADS! Specifically in application ads. For example, textfree (a great free texting app that uses the data channel) actually has A LOT of ad bloat and that bloat translates into increased data use, about FIVE TIMES the actual data use of the application. TOTAL waste of my data bandwidth. I think at some point in the future, consumers will have to be compensated for this. Same is true for apple iAds. Of the 52MB of usage I used over two weeks, over 8MB of that was ADS. One nice thing and ODD thing about the google voice app on the iphone is, you can text/sms from the app and it doesn't use/display any ads, so when travelling internationally THAT APP will be my goto texting app.

Slightly off topic, but with Korea Telecom I get unlimited data roaming for the equivalent of $9 USD a day abroad. And to think at one time in my life, I paid AT&T $100 for a few megabytes and thought I was getting a deal.:rolleyes:

nmenaker - very useful info. I appreciate the new international data roaming plans. Of course, they could be lower, but they are much better than the highway robbery before.

Stu, re: prepaidgsm.net

why is iPhoneTrip.com not listed in the International Cards section?

Duplicate post. Please disregard.

I always unconditionally forward my AT&T number to one my international sim cards (Telna or Ekit) with a USA number. So, I will not be getting any incoming calls on my AT&T number. I agree, skype comes in handy when traveling internationally. As I mentioned earlier, I use it via data on my local country specific sim.

The best travel solution to me is having a single inbound Skype phone in your home country + a local prepaid sim card for each country I'm going to spend much time in. You then leave a voicemail on your home cellphone number, giving people the Skype number and dates you are away. As soon as you install the local sim in another country, you go to the Skype app and forward calls from your Skype number to the local sim number.

It works like a champ, except in those countries that have high Skype phone rates. For those I just call my home cell using Skype from a wifi location and change the recording to list the local sim number to let the callers foot the bill, if they feel the call is important enough.

Local prepaid data rates are often a bit steep, so I'm still trying to find an effective global smartphone data solution (see "International Network for Smartphone Data Roaming?? (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-technology/1365044-international-network-smartphone-data-roaming.html)" in this forum).

Stu, re: prepaidgsm.net

why is iPhoneTrip.com not listed in the International Cards section?

It is not prepaid. As you will see, I've plugged it a few times on the forum. I suppose that isn't a perfect answer since Telna is also technically not prepaid and we do cover it (and Mobal). As I am looking at it, we also cover Truphone's PAYG plan, but not their monthly plan.

Do the AT&T rates for DataConnect Global (eg $120 for 800Mb) include international roaming charges applied by the local telcom companies? Or should you expect additional charges on top of the advertised rates?

Also, what taxing authorities are involved? Say, if you purchase the service as a US resident, will you pay taxes for your home jurisdiction (where your account is registered) as well as for the jurisdiction where the data is accessed/sent?

It is not prepaid.Ah, OK.


As you will see, I've plugged it a few times on the forum. I know, I read that long thread till my eyes went dry! That's why I was surprised it wasn't on that other site when I clicked on the link.

Excellent info. I was totally ignorant of MiFi till reading it.

Do the AT&T rates for DataConnect Global (eg $120 for 800Mb) include international roaming charges applied by the local telcom companies? Or should you expect additional charges on top of the advertised rates?

Also, what taxing authorities are involved? Say, if you purchase the service as a US resident, will you pay taxes for your home jurisdiction (where your account is registered) as well as for the jurisdiction where the data is accessed/sent?

It's been awhile since I've paid for a data pack however when I did I was only charged the AT&T Rates, e.g. AT&T covered charges from the local telecom. This was still the case when I selected a carrier rather then using the autoselected carrier (that's not to say that one won't only that I wasn't).

Note that the DataConnect plans don't include data roaming on a cruise ship.