Mobile Phone While Traveling In The Usa

[milopus]

Going to be in the US for 2 months, and we are taking our unlocked GSM phones that we use in Thailand.

I wanted to know what kinds of services are available and what you recommend.

Plus your experiences regarding service and cost would be very helpful.

thanks.

[britmaveric]

T-Mobile has prepaid sim cards available.

[lomatopo]

What are the makes/models of your phones? If they are "tri-band": GSM900/1800/1900 then they will work on on T-Mobile and AT&T (Cingular's networks). Neither have ubiquitous coverage. You should check both provider's websites, and ask friends for opinions, re: coverage and service.

You could buy a tri-band phone here; 2nd hand models should available for less than 1,500, with new models closer to 3,000.

T-Mobile is by the far the easiest to deal with on a pre-paid basis. They'll sell you a pre-paid card at one of their thousands of outlets (outright shops, retail partners).

So, you need:

1.) Unlocked GSM 1900-capable handset.

2.) A pre-paid SIM from T-Mobile.

Rates vary on the amount of top-up, the best is 1,000 minutes for $100. Those are nationwide minutes; international and SMS rates are separate.

Check out T-Mobile's website as it is flush with details. (T-Mo is also a pretty big WiFi vendor.)

Lastly, you can buy bargain T-Mo SIMs on eBay, check that out as the deals are incredible, just be aware of any expiration dates. Get friend in the U.S.A. to buy one for you if you are unabe to do so.

I have been a T-Mo mobile customer for 6+ years; I transitioned from post-paid to pre-paid ~ 2 years ago and am happy with the coverage and service, but I am mainy in larger metropolitan areas during my visits.

[YaiJung]

I just got a Net10 basic nokia phone and 300 min for $30. No contract, no service fees, etc. Just 10 cents per min to anywhere in the US. SMS are 5 cents.

Apparently they buy minutes from the big players. This means I have coverage just about anywhere. Gotta say the service has been great and as promised.

U can get them at walmart and various cellphone shops.

net10.com explains it all. I think u can also just get the sim if u already have a phone, but the phone was free so I took it and will use it until it dies.

Oh, yeah...not once did I give them my name or any personal info(suprised this is legal in the US, but then again all those illegal aliens wanna buy minutes too).

[sbk]

What are the makes/models of your phones? If they are "tri-band": GSM900/1800/1900 then they will work on on T-Mobile and AT&T (Cingular's networks). Neither have ubiquitous coverage. You should check both provider's websites, and ask friends for opinions, re: coverage and service.

You could buy a tri-band phone here; 2nd hand models should available for less than 1,500, with new models closer to 3,000.

T-Mobile is by the far the easiest to deal with on a pre-paid basis. They'll sell you a pre-paid card at one of their thousands of outlets (outright shops, retail partners).

So, you need:

1.) Unlocked GSM 1900-capable handset.

2.) A pre-paid SIM from T-Mobile.

Rates vary on the amount of top-up, the best is 1,000 minutes for $100. Those are nationwide minutes; international and SMS rates are separate.

Check out T-Mobile's website as it is flush with details. (T-Mo is also a pretty big WiFi vendor.)

Lastly, you can buy bargain T-Mo SIMs on eBay, check that out as the deals are incredible, just be aware of any expiration dates. Get friend in the U.S.A. to buy one for you if you are unabe to do so.

I have been a T-Mo mobile customer for 6+ years; I transitioned from post-paid to pre-paid ~ 2 years ago and am happy with the coverage and service, but I am mainy in larger metropolitan areas during my visits.

This is the way I go as well, but you must have a tri-band or quad band phone. You can also top up online with T-mobile (as well as with your phone but I usually just do it online). Only problem with the pre-paid SIMs is that they expire (like here) after a few months, so I end up getting a new one every time I go back.

[lomatopo]

If you are a "Gold" customer any top-up, even as little as $10, adds 365 days of expiration. Adding $100 top-up gives you 365 days and makes you a Gold customer for perpetuity; there may be other ways to get to Gold? T-Mo's pay-as-you go WiFi service is a bit steep: $6/hour. There are deals and promotions available, as well as pre-paid cards on e-Bay.

The Net10 style phone/SIMs are an option but those phones will only work in the U.S.A. (GSM850/1900). Agree these phones are typically used by people who want to keep a low profile, and/or only want to use the phone for a few days before throwing it away (a 'burner' for those familiar with "The Wire").

If you are going to do a lot of international calling then also consider supplementing with a calling card.

Edited March 15, 2008 by lomatopo

[nikster]

I used AT&T pre-paid last time, got $100 because I will be back and need the 365 day expiry. They gave me $20 as bonus. SMS were pretty steep at 15 ct (what a rip-off! the guy in the store even explained to me that they "just got more expensive" recently). But calling other ATT phones was free, which was cool. There's also a daily usage fee of $1, but that only applies if you use the phone.

Gotta mention that SMS to Thailand only worked sporadically. Most of the time, they never arrived. So if you plan on sending SMS to Thailand, I'd recommend T-Mobile. I had that before and that was not a problem. Problem was that the card expired after 3 months and it was pretty expensive to use.

Net10 sounds like a better deal if you are not going to be back (and maybe even if you will be back, depending on expiration).