Originally Posted by
zyxlsy
+1
This is quite useful, although the speed is 2G, but you can get all the exchange rate with EDGE anyway.
Actually, the $120 rate I listed is the top tier. The lowest is $30 for 120MB.
The problem with local SIM is that you first have to be there once to get the SIM, so next time you can do the swap on the plane. And if you are traveling through Europe, getting local SIMsssssssss can really be a challenge.
Also, if you use iPhones, swapping SIM cards can cause some technical issues on iMessage and so.
That's why I have a China Unicom iPhone for China, a 3HK HTC for HK, and a AT&T HTC for USA. I also have a AT&T hotspot, and I always activate the $120 for 800MB before any week long vacation. That will survive the internet surfing of me and my wife for about 10 days.
I'm in a similar boat. I use an unlocked HTC One from T-Mobile USA, and I maintain a Taiwan Mobile and Optus (Australia) SIM card. With T-Mobile offering the global data, it's certainly more convenient than stopping and getting a SIM card at every country. In some places like Macau or the UK there are prepaid data SIM cards for purchase in vending machines. In other places it's difficult or impossible for foreigners to get SIM cards (think Japan), and it's certainly a time sink if you're visiting a different destination every few days. I've also received bad information from vendors at the airport and run down a €30 prepaid balance in a few days. There was a vendor at Frankfurt who said my prepaid card was €1/day for 1 GB HSPA+ plus 4¢/minute calls to the US. It seemed too good to be true, but I was elated when it worked... for two days. After it quit working I went to another shop where the person said the data package was only 200 MB/month.
I ended up having to buy another SIM. So, in that sense, the T-Mobile package has been great for international traveling and a quick way to get information like exchange rates or pending credit card transactions to see if I've been hit with DCC.