Originally Posted by
CApreppie
How is the 256K roaming nowadays? My family are going to Italy this summer and was thinking we should just all upgrade to the 256K for the month since (from web searching), it is good enough for maps, texts, emails and basic non-bandwidth hogging activities. I think it'll largely be form maps and contacting each other via iMessage. 128K just sounds too slow (not that 256K is that much better). I wish T-Mo would up included to 256K and say 512K as the add on.
I used the highest roaming data plan before from T-Mobile and it worked quite well in the UK pre-pandemic.
5G appears to have improved T-Mobile. The mid-band signal can be quite fast but also can be like LTE speeds. Of course, I live in a dead spot for T-Mobile mid-band UC coverage. I have dreadful LTE service inside.
Not sure what you mean by "upgrade" to 256K for a month - do you mean changing your plan? I have the 256K with my plan, it works for some things - e.g. WhatsApp calls, but still seems slow. You basically have to be a patient person.
Assuming you have an eSIM capable phone, I think it's just better to get a data eSIM. It would be data only, but there are lots of VOIP options for making or receiving calls. In fact, if you only make calls occasionally, you can make those for 25 cents per minute using your T-mobile line.
Everyone seems happy with Airalo as an eSIM provider, and they have some reasonable rates for Italy:
https://www.airalo.com/italy-esim