Originally Posted by
longhorn24
Does anyone know whether the $50 international pass (not the Global Pass $50 option) offers high speed tethering, and if so, whether they have a separate limit? Global Pass has 5gb high speed tethering limit, but the international pass does not specify. I would prefer to go international pass route, since it allows me to set the start date rather than being tied to the billing cycle but would need to be able to use tethering / hotspot to do some work abroad (wifi abroad prevents VPN access). Thanks,
Yes. It includes tethering but it all comes out of the same bucket. Be aware that T-mobile uses STUPID "abuse" monitoring*. If you use the full 15GB abroad, be sure to burn through more than 15GB of mobile data when back in the US.
Even if you purchase a 15GB pass. T-Mobile defines roaming abuse as using more than 50% data abroad for x number of cycles. In the past I've gotten nastygrams from them threatening to cancel my account because I use little data domestically (always on wifi) but used slightly more abroad. In one case I had the 15GB Global plus plan and used 110mb in the UK and 100mb in the US. They threatened to cancel me for "abuse." After complaining on reddit, other uses told me to just burn a ton of data domestically to avoid this stupid ratio/based system.
Originally Posted by
draver
An esim in current phones expands the possibilities for travel data service quite easily. An Airalo $20 Euro esim gives 5Gb of 4G data for 30 days, and allows tethering. You can configure the service start date at time of purchase so it is in effect wheels down. I have used them on a few continents and they are reliable and save the hunt for a cell store with an honest rep who speaks English and has a sim in stock. The newest iPhone has dual esims, so you can have your main voice line on esim and still add a second esim data line. This will allow for making free WiFi calls to and from the US over the simulated WiFi the IMS service permits.
Airalo is really a great solution for the technically adept. I just added a regular T-Mo Data pass for my parent's trip to Europe.... but for me I'd go the airalo route.