Best solution for Internet Access while traveling
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Central Mass
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Posts: 4,829
Best solution for Internet Access while traveling
Let's cut to the chase. What is the best solution for someone who is looking for internet access while traveling? We are talking personal travel here, so that means no budget to put it on, so price counts. Obviously want to be able to do things like email and twitter and facebook, but also want to be able to stream movies while waiting at the airport or in your hotel room. Being able to connect your phone to use it for WiFi calling is also a good thing. Hopefully it is something you can use in multiple countries, too.
#2
Join Date: Sep 2015
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Depends on the type of travel, i.e. international, regional (e.g. only US/Canada/Mexico) or domestically as there are different offers available. My mobile phone plan covers most of the destination I'm heading too. For the few countries that are not covered I usually use a local prepaid data sims.
#3
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Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 55,189
#4
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: GRU
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Free wifi + VPN = We should all feel pretty safe, including for most important transactions; Thus the starting point ought to be acquring a solid VPN provider, budgeting a $35 to $40 fee a year.
#5
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,628
Other than US/Canada, I buy a local sim card at whatever airport I arrive at.
I research before leaving home which is the best option, and save a picture of the booth (if available) and the airport map on my phone.
I let them set it up, and I make sure it is working properly before I walk away.
I probably pay a bit more than I would otherwise (5-7 USD per day, on average, I'd say), but given how much having the the internet/google maps, etc adds to my trips, I'm more than happy to do so.
Besides, it's a tiny percentage of my total trip budget.
I research before leaving home which is the best option, and save a picture of the booth (if available) and the airport map on my phone.
I let them set it up, and I make sure it is working properly before I walk away.
I probably pay a bit more than I would otherwise (5-7 USD per day, on average, I'd say), but given how much having the the internet/google maps, etc adds to my trips, I'm more than happy to do so.
Besides, it's a tiny percentage of my total trip budget.
#6
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Join Date: May 2002
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I use SkyRoam's original hotspot. Uses a proprietary technology to connect to cellular data networks in a huge number of countries around the world, and then makes a hotspot to which you can connect five devices. It costs US $8 per 24 hours of continuous use, including in multiple countries you might visit during those 24 hours. Activate a day pass only on 24-hour periods when you are away from free/hotel/lounge WiFi access. In addition to the built-in $8 day passes, you can insert a local SIM so that you can save some money if you are staying in one country for many days.
(I do not work for SkyRoam and have no connection to the company other than being a satisfied customer.)
(I do not work for SkyRoam and have no connection to the company other than being a satisfied customer.)
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Central Mass
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Posts: 4,829
How is the speed? I have gotten really tired of hotel wireless that even when you pay extra it is still slow as molasses and won't connect unless you sit right in front of the door to the hallway.
#9
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Central Mass
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Posts: 4,829
I have used T-Mobile for my phone. Works well enough, but had a bear of a time getting my phone to work the first time. Had to go in and change the APN settings. Then it worked like a charm. Of course I was using on an old AT&T G3, so that may have been part of the issue.
I have used the data on the phone itself, for things like checking email and google maps and such, which again worked fine once I had the right APN settings. But was never able to get this phone to tether.
I have used the data on the phone itself, for things like checking email and google maps and such, which again worked fine once I had the right APN settings. But was never able to get this phone to tether.
#10
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What I really like is that Skyroam does not require messing around with SIMs, and it replaces paying your cell phone company $10 per day for data roaming overseas, like most major carriers offer these days.
#11
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Pretty much every other country besides the US has figured out how to make "messing around with SIMs" trivial. Two weeks ago I had a 1h30m minute international-to-domestic connection at AKL and still stopped to grab a SIM. Took all of 90 seconds to buy and insert the SIM and walk out of the store fully connected with a plan that costs 14% of what these $10/day passes would for my trip.
Local SIMs, along with wifi hotspots, are going to be your cheapest and most reliable sources of internet while traveling abroad.
Travel SIMs make things easier, but usually not cheaper.
Local SIMs, along with wifi hotspots, are going to be your cheapest and most reliable sources of internet while traveling abroad.
Travel SIMs make things easier, but usually not cheaper.
Last edited by javabytes; Jan 7, 2018 at 10:04 pm
#12
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One caution: there are some countries where TMobile does not offer the coverage. I know Cuba is one place. It's all spelled out in their country list.
I was at a frequent flyer event last month in Germany with the German frequent flyer group VFT and some of those folks seemed very sensitive about using data as they did not have unlimited data and had to deal with caps. I seemed to be the only one at the table surfing and posting photos while others were sharing the restaurant wi-fi codes that were being passed around.
#13
Join Date: Nov 2017
Programs: Chase and American Express
Posts: 260
I have used T-Mobile for my phone. Works well enough, but had a bear of a time getting my phone to work the first time. Had to go in and change the APN settings. Then it worked like a charm. Of course I was using on an old AT&T G3, so that may have been part of the issue.
I have used the data on the phone itself, for things like checking email and google maps and such, which again worked fine once I had the right APN settings. But was never able to get this phone to tether.
I have used the data on the phone itself, for things like checking email and google maps and such, which again worked fine once I had the right APN settings. But was never able to get this phone to tether.
I do. I changed to that plan the month it came out as it met my needs perfectly, being out of the U.S. 6-8 times a year. Prior to this plan I did not have an international plan as I couldn't find one that worked with my travel pattern at a decent price. In the last few months I've used it in Canada, Australia, Singapore, Germany, Heathrow Airport while in transit, and back to the UK for a visit this week. I'm on the over-55 plan which is a flat $50 a month including all taxes. I couldn't be happier with my choice. I do tend to upload a lot of photos on my phone and have found the connections reliable. Although they only guarantee 2G, I find that I get faster speeds (3G/4G) most of the time.
One caution: there are some countries where TMobile does not offer the coverage. I know Cuba is one place. It's all spelled out in their country list.
I was at a frequent flyer event last month in Germany with the German frequent flyer group VFT and some of those folks seemed very sensitive about using data as they did not have unlimited data and had to deal with caps. I seemed to be the only one at the table surfing and posting photos while others were sharing the restaurant wi-fi codes that were being passed around.
One caution: there are some countries where TMobile does not offer the coverage. I know Cuba is one place. It's all spelled out in their country list.
I was at a frequent flyer event last month in Germany with the German frequent flyer group VFT and some of those folks seemed very sensitive about using data as they did not have unlimited data and had to deal with caps. I seemed to be the only one at the table surfing and posting photos while others were sharing the restaurant wi-fi codes that were being passed around.
Has anyone been to China with Tmobile, were you able to visit gmail and other google services with it or should I get a vpn before going?
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Central Mass
Programs: Independent
Posts: 4,829
Make sure it is compatible, first. TMobile is all GSM, and uses bands 2,4, and 12 for 4gLTE. Verizon I think uses bands 2, 4, and 13, and is cdma. Some phones can work pn multiple netwoprks, others cannot. You have to be very specific - not just for instance an LG G3, but an LG G3 D850.
#15
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 2,303
I currently use ProjectFi for mobile data while traveling outside the US. The initial overhead cost is higher as you need to buy a Fi supported phone to activate the voice + sms sim and you also pay for any data used in a covered country, unlike T-Mobile which allows unlimited slower roaming. I prefer pay for $10 for 1GB of LTE speed data when using Google Maps to navigate via car/train or downloading a chunk of e-mail. Fi will credit any unused data from the prepaid data bucket so if you used 500MB, it will issue $5 credit applied to next month's prepaid bill. $10 for 1GB is also a low enough price point for me to forgo a local sim if I have decent access to wifi for data hogging applications. I also use the data only sims in secondary devices like a tablet and it also supports a mifi, where I could choose from region specific models that include more LTE coverage than SkyRoam's unit. The data sims share the same data bucket as the voice+sms sim. Fi Pixel/Nexus phones also have automatic VPN Wifi-Assistant on public wifi networks in multiple countries https://support.google.com/nexus/ans...where_it_works
Offers a good comparison between Fi and T-Mobile
https://sightdoing.net/project-fi-vs-t-mobile/
TheFlightDeal's summary & $20 off.
https://www.theflightdeal.com/2017/1...tional-travel/
My domestic carrier is Verizon (Prepaid) because that's what offers good coverage in the places I spend 95% of my time in. Data usage is mostly via wifi.
Basically, I can maintain 2 prepaid lines per month for the cost of 1 post pay domestic mostly line. MVNO's are pretty competitive with their pricing. You just need to make sure to setup auto-pay and pick a stable provide to avoid losing your phone number (new activation while you're out of the country would be difficult).
Pixel 2 supports Fi with eSim and a local sim (one or the other, not dual sim standby) if you need a local sim https://www.reddit.com/r/ProjectFi/c...riers/dojkeqf/ Cell phone reviewers mention good things about Pixel 2 camera. https://www.frequencycheck.com/model...gb-htc-walleye
Offers a good comparison between Fi and T-Mobile
https://sightdoing.net/project-fi-vs-t-mobile/
TheFlightDeal's summary & $20 off.
https://www.theflightdeal.com/2017/1...tional-travel/
My domestic carrier is Verizon (Prepaid) because that's what offers good coverage in the places I spend 95% of my time in. Data usage is mostly via wifi.
Basically, I can maintain 2 prepaid lines per month for the cost of 1 post pay domestic mostly line. MVNO's are pretty competitive with their pricing. You just need to make sure to setup auto-pay and pick a stable provide to avoid losing your phone number (new activation while you're out of the country would be difficult).
Pixel 2 supports Fi with eSim and a local sim (one or the other, not dual sim standby) if you need a local sim https://www.reddit.com/r/ProjectFi/c...riers/dojkeqf/ Cell phone reviewers mention good things about Pixel 2 camera. https://www.frequencycheck.com/model...gb-htc-walleye
Last edited by freecia; Jan 9, 2018 at 10:27 pm Reason: ETA: TFD link