Hi all,

I’ve had this problem a few times when using my UK mobile (which I have on a contract with Three UK) when in Boston or elsewhere in the States. For context, the standard deal with Three UK is that I get my call allowance, SMS allowance, and internet allowance as if I was at home in the UK (though see my point at the end about 3G throttling; also, I don't like Three's braggy advertising about this 'Three Like Home' product but bygones). As such, it costs me nothing in the short-term to use my phone when visiting the States.

So two ways I've dealt with the problem you describe are below. These complement but aren't better than the great suggestions of others above me:

First, I’ve found that changing my network from AT&T to T-mobile solves the issue (or maybe it is the other way around, I can't remember). Three mobile apparently have negotiated roaming access to both networks, and this problem with blocking certain numbers appears restricted to one but not the other, I just can never remember which. On an iPhone, you can change your network carrier by doing something like Settings > Carrier, and switching the network search to Manual rather than Automatic. It'll take a few seconds to find the networks but you can then choose the network that you want; in my case AT&T or Tmobile. I tend to leave it like that for the rest of my trip. However, remember to flip the switch back to 'Automatic' before you take off for the UK though otherwise you'll be left scratching your head why you can't get onto your home network once you land, which I've been known to do for a few minutes.

Second, I’ve found that having a Skype To Go number helps in this situation (http://www.skype.com/en/features/skype-to-go-number/). This is not the service that gives you a telephone number for others to call you on, though that is useful and I make use of it. Instead, the Skype To Go service gives you a UK telephone number for you to call in order to be connected onwards to a telephone number of your choosing whether that is in the UK or overseas. Depending on how you want it set up, you can have a different telephone number to call for each of your speed-dials which you just program into your phone. Or you can have a single number and then choose the speed dial from a list (or, dial it yourself if it isn’t in your list). I’ve use it in both those ways, and have setup speed dials for British Airways numbers in the UK and the US. It might sound like a hassle but it really takes like 2 minutes to set up and it is nice to have around for those few instances when when I’m in the US/elsewhere without decent internet access (for Skype) or access to a local cellphone (to call the 1-800 number directly). My speed dials are all local-rate London numbers (but you can choose elsewhere) so they’re free for me to call using my call allowance.

The blocking of the number sounds a good idea too, as do all the other ideas - I’m sure I’ll take these up next time. The ideas above are just additional ones for the toolkit.

I hope that might help a little bit, and add to the ideas for anybody else.

Simon


P.S. My main issue is that Three UK clearly haven’t negotiated a contract with AT&T and T-mobile to allow subscribers to use the 4G network so you’re stuck with 3G internet. I've found that the 3G internet is ever so slightly faster on AT&T vs. T-mobile which is useful when I was trying to watch Eurovision whilst out and about last weekend, or the London/Edinburgh's New Years fireworks when it is still 7pm in Boston and you want a taste of home whilst waiting at the subway station! Having access to the internet through Three is handy but even so, the 3G network on both AT&T and Tmobile seems quite throttled as I rarely get a decent speed - I presume this throwing is an active choice by AT&T and Tmobile themselves in order to maintain a good service for their own paying customers versus providing a throttled service to somebody like me who is just roaming on their network. Given the throttled speeds, I tend to rely on the Boingo service (through AMEX) and other complimentary wifi hotspots for when I need quicker downloads.

P.P.S. I actually use the Skype To Go number when I'm calling from the UK too, for instance I'm wanting to BA's US 1-800 number when the UK number has gone to sleep ( there are a fair few other examples too where I do this for other numbers too, but this is a BA board). Often I'd just use the Skype app itself. However, sometimes there are situations near where I live that the Internet signal is shocking but I can still get good enough service to make a phone call. Or, alternatively, I'm driving and have my bluetooth speakerphone set up for voice dialing but that doesn't work with the Skype app on my phone, and even if it I did the 3G/4G on the motorway can be patchy in places anyway. In those situations, I just use my landline or my mobile phone to call up my Skype To Go number for BA's US 1-800 number, and it'll connect me automatically to BA at the cost of dialling a local-rate number in the UK (which is 'free' given that it is part of my call allowance, as I'm sure it'll be for most of you). Again, this is no real effort once it is set up and only take a few minutes to set up in the first place. It is particularly handy when driving to the airport late at night/early in the morning where BA UK is closed but BA HKG or USA are open.