I’m not a vindictive man. I believe in sweetness and light. But I would encourage anyone with a brain who travels, especially in these trying economic times, to buy an unlocked GSM phone and purchase pay as you go SIM cards or a MaxRoam SIM and a Rebel SIMCard for the iPhone 3G. I also encourage you to use Boingo for Wi-Fi roaming in airports and, increasingly, cities. Why? Because I just paid the equivalent to a flight to Paris and back just because I wanted to use Google Maps on the iPhone 3G to find my way around gay Paree.
Note that I understood the costs involved in roaming, but I think it’s worth a post to warn business travellers of potential pitfalls and to call out a few good services I’ve used over the year (MaxRoam, Boingo) but, for various reasons, weren’t able to help me on this trip.
I used voice very sparingly during this trip and tried to use as much Wi-Fi as possible. Ultimately, however, my scrupulous use of the “Turn Data Roaming Off” button was for nought. AT&T charges $.0195/KB ($19.96/MB) while T-Mobile charges about $.015 ($15.36/MB). This, in the parlance, is bullshit. I checked email and Google Maps. I didn’t download hardcore pornography or video of dogs on skateboards. I did what any business user would do in the same situation.
Yes, I brought this upon myself and yes, I can write this off as a business expense, but it’s instructive to see how AT&T treats the business traveler. These charges are egregious and the last revenue refuge of a model that needs to die. I don’t think I’ve paid $15 for a megabyte of anything since I stopped paying at bottomlessfurrysex.com, and that was just one summer.
UPDATE
John
I have just added a discount offer for Crunchgear readers on Http://maxroam.com
when you buy a sim card enter the word “crunchgear” in the panel and you will automatically get a 10% discount on your sim card purchase
Many thanks for the mention.
UPDATE – Here is AT&T official advice. Had I known about these buckets, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. AT&T customers – buy the buckets!
We advise customers to either call 611 or visit www.att.com/wirelessinternational to check availability and rates – including special voice and data discount plans. (For example, there are a number of data “bucket” plans that offer significantly reduced rates in many countries.)
Consider purchasing an international data package, which can significantly reduce the cost of using data abroad. You can sign up for a package before you travel and de-activate it when you return. AT&T offers Data Global plans with low rates in 70 countries.
$24.99 per month – 20 MB package
$59.99 per month – 50 MB package
$119.99 per month – 100 MB package (iPhone only)
$199.99 per month – 200 MB package (iPhone only)· iPhone users, make sure you click on the link on the wireless page specifically for you (http://www.att.com/wirelesstraveltips)
· Visit www.att.com/travelguide to build a customized itinerary for up to 10 international destinations including cruise ships. Your itinerary will spell out you where your phone works and what the costs are.
· Our wireless network operates on the GSM world standard, which allows you to easily connect around the globe using your AT&T mobile phone. We currently offer wireless voice coverage in more than 200 countries and wireless data coverage in more than 150 countries. Of those, AT&T data plan subscribers can access ultra-fast 3G mobile broadband services in more than 60 countries.
· AT&T’s specialized international help desk is available for problems or questions while traveling outside the U.S. by calling +1-916-843-4685, a free call from your wireless phone.
welcome to any global roaming.. bend over and get ready to take it.. it’s not just AT&T or T-mobile.. it’s everyone of them..
I’m not saying I wasn’t prepared for the cost but once you see it on the bill it’s pretty alarming. KIDS! DON’T ROAM!
AT&T sells international roaming plans for $1/MB. You could have bought the $200 option for 200MB and then turned it off when you got back, the prorated charge would have been less than $50 for a week, I think. Has anyone tried this to see if they prorate the charges?
Jason you should have read my post on how to reverse ATT international roaming charges before you paid your wireless bill.
All I did is call ATT customer service, and after a short conversation, got all roaming charges dropped.
The phone companies try to take advantage of people who don’t carefully read their bills.
Not exactly applicable for Data roaming, but what lots of people do who travel frequently is keep a Skype # as their primary contact and a SIM card for every country and when they land just set the Skype # to forward to the local country SIM.
Saves a Bundle and your people can still reach you at the same number.
I agree. That is exactly what I do. I actually run SKYPE on my two phones – Verizon (North America) – Unlocked GSM (International). I use SKYPE on my cell phone as well. I think I bought the cell version from Handago. You can find it on the Blackberry site.
yeah it’s a scam
i paid 20 euros for just checking the mail once in Munich (Germany) with Vodafone Italy….
Is the “gay” reference really necessary? Is it being used in a negative manner? Please adjust your post. Thank you.
Straight guy from Seattle.
ummm… it actually isn’t. As I recall it was a artistic epoch. http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/fourpaintings/manet/paris/gay_paree.html
LOL!
Damn, I got orange juice coming out of my nose and onto my keyboard.
Me too, and it’s odd because I’m drinking coffee.
Seriously dude, where have you been. Gay actually was in common use before it’s use as a euphemism for homosexuals…Read a book will ya.
Straight Guy in Portland
“Please adjust your post”? How pretentious and obnoxious. Oh, and uninformed. “Gay Paris” is an adjective that’s been used for decades, where “gay” means fun and lively – the original meaning of the word.
Also a straight guy from Seattle. And Christian.
Not to mention, just because something offends you doesn’t mean you should request the other person to censor themselves. Go read something else. In other words, vote with your own feet, not others.
To not be offended is not a human or constitutional right. Get over it. Political correctness is eroding this nations capacity to discuss serious issues.
-Straight “no on prop 8″ supporter in the Bay Area.
@Marcus:
Telling people to shut up because you decide whatever they say is politically correct is also eroding this nation’s capacity to discuss serious issues.
I do get the reference to “gay paree” and am not offended in this case but I do not like people dismissing attempts to bring civility to conversation as political correctness gone wild.
@ Bob : Requesting someone to not use a term because it offends them is not injecting civility, its a request for another to stifle their right to free expression. Don’t confuse morality with civility.
Passing judgment on the term “gay” being used offensively is a moral judgment and when requesting someone else to change their words because you object to their usage is not an attempt to keep courteous or politeness, but in fact an attempt to push for your moral views on the speakers right of free expression.
This is America and the Internet. Here, the author and people have full rights to his own opinion and expression. People must be free to express themselves freely and own the consequences and responsibilities for being able to do so. You can yell “fire” in a crowded theater but be prepared to suffer the consequences.
Either way, the author has already stated he didn’t mean for it to be interpreted in such a manner as “Joel” did.
Get over it — it’s a colloquialism. It’s “necessary” in the same way you might refer to the “Big Apple” or the “Windy City”.
I didn’t read that offensive at all… but what do I know.
Now if he said his bullshit overcharged AT&T bill was gay, using the term as a negative, that might come off a bit offensive. But even in that situation it just makes the user of such obscenities seem like an uneducated douche more than anything else.
- Gay guy in Los Angeles…
who would want to go to hetero-paree anyway :P
I added a small 20 MB international plan for $24.99 before I left NY for London. Not much but plenty so far for checking email and Twitter. Although I did launch the facebook app and noticed it used a couple MB’s just to load the home page and Google Maps I could imagine is just as heavy. I am sticking to Skype for calls to the U.S. at $0.021 instead of $1.29 on iPhone/AT&T. I reset the data counter to keep track like they recommended here: http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/iphone-travel-tips.jsp
dam
what, there’s no way to flag spam posts? that’s not a very tech-y crunch if you ask me.
Weight loss tea makes you crap your pants
Hi John,
Yea, I just got an email from AT&T concerning intl roaming rates and they were all pretty ridiculous. Sorry to hear that you got hit.
I bought a separate cell phone in Italy (for under ~80 Euro) a few years ago, and just take it back with me whenever I go to Europe. From there, it’s easy just to by a few euro of credit on a SIM card from nearly any European country.
If you combine a “local” cell phone with a “local” calling card, you can get hundreds of minutes to call back home for only a few euro. Text messages to international phones are also relatively cheap.
- Eric
Wow, I just came back from Paris. I spent 10 days there and I got the international roaming plan which was around 30 bucks and also the 20mb data roam plan which was 24.99. In my 10 days there I made 2-3 calls used up 10mb of cellular data service. I got my bill the other day and it was only 125 bucks. (this includes the 75 ish I pay for monthly local access. I think if you’re going to know you’re going to out of the country It would be prudent and cost effective to add these services on to your plan if you cant get an unlocked phone.
with at&t?
yeah with att. you just call customer service and tell em to turn on the features and when u get back home you can just turn em off.
ok sorry let me correct my initial statement of a 30 dollar roaming voice plan…it was actually a 5.99 world traveler plan that allowed me to get discounted 99 cents per minute voice rates calling from paris, along with the 24.99 global data addon w/ 20mb
I use Nokia Maps with predownloadable maps. Google Maps is gay.
I’ve been there. I’ve received several $800 bills from AT&T myself. The first time was the month after the first iPhone came out. Boy, what a shock!
I’ve learned from my mistakes though. Perhaps jailbreaking the phone and using another, local SIM card is the answer?
Note to all: Do not roam internationnally on any operator!
yep, i learned the same lesson … the crazy thing is that they have what’s called delayed billing with international roaming, that countries will bill at&t and then bill you the next months. they told me that i should keep the international data plan on for 3 months to not have additional charges! i got 2 months of ridiculous billing and so i called at&t and they reversed all my charges.
never again.
turning off data roam if you dont have these features on and turning off fetch mail helps a great deal too.
You have to admit it’s pretty awesome for the iPhone to be javascript friendly, so you’re guaranteed to be downloading 10:1 data:content.
I too went to Paris with my iphone but made sure to do some research ahead of time. From what I remember, Data Roaming is turned off by default to prevent this sort of thing. But I did use my google maps on the iphone a ton… but with free wifi. The layout of Paris is confusing as hell and I was constantly checking google maps to see where we were. Free wifi is pretty easy to find. Use wifi for emailing. For calls just get a cheap calling card and use a payphone or the hotel phone. Calling cards are 10Euro for a million minutes.
I’m on your side though. Sure maybe that won’t work for a business person but for a regular tourist it got the job done.
I spent two months in China this summer, covering the Olympics. I’d planned to bring my iPhone, but decided to buy a BlackJack and an international SIM card. Thank God, I did… a friend of mine brought his and spent $2,700 for a month of usage. He was on the 50mb international plan and also monitored his usage, to no avail.
Incredible. If there’s one drawback to the iPhone, it’s AT&T and its ridiculous international plan. Until it changes, I’m never bringing it overseas.
I’m not one to defend any of the carriers, because yes they will absolutely pillage you every chance they get, no matter how much you spend with them, but I think you might have missed something somewhere b/c on AT&T you can get unlimited Blackberry international roaming for somewhere in the range of $15-$20 *more* than the normal unlimited data plan, which allows you to do unlimited email, SMS, B’berry msging, etc, just as if you were in the US and exactly how you would use it at home. I even used it once while stranded in a jungle in Central America (don’t ask). Now, if you use something besides Blackberry, well then you deserve the increased charges, not to mention the fact that you have really bad taste (or you’re in junior high).
Mark: It looks like you are the only clever person here. Yes, $69/month gets you an unlimited global roaming data plan from ATT – but only on Blackberries. I go to “gay paree” several times a year and am a happy Google Maps addict there.
I understand that T-Mobile have a similar arrangement – again for BBs only. Also similar plans may be available in other countries.
Somebody should do a report on how Rim have been able to set up these pricing structures. In any case this helps explain why you see a lot of people who travel internationally using Blackberries…
These are words of supreme wisdom…. I took my 3G to Europe on July 12 (day after the launch) and spent the next two weeks in texting and browsing bliss…. until I got my $1253 bill, soon after I got back. Apparently, in my frenzied glee my hearing was impaired when they discussed the .50¢ per text (sending and receiving) part. I would have totally jumped on the international-roaming-chip-in-the-iPhone-bandwagon had I known it was coming through Prague.
ATT incorrectly set-up one of my SIM accounts last year and then tried to bill me $10k for international roaming charges while I was in Europe (the SIM was supposed to be set up for all you can eat data on blackberry). I’ve been disputing the bill for over a year now. Their billing department admitted the mistake but they won’t take the charges off because their managers won’t approve the change.
In the meantime I’m using T-Mobile on my iphone 2G. I use skype as my dial-in number and always forward to a local sim when I’m traveling.
I get international roaming on my iphone for free using this method (remember, the US is one of the only backwards countries that charges for incoming mobilke calls). Actually I pay skype out charges which are basically nothing compared to carrier roaming charges.
I STRONGLY recommend this approach for international roaming for voice.
On the data front, local prepaid sim’s are better than international roaming charges but still very expensive. I highly recommend not using cellular data when roaming and sticking to wifi. I use the apple airport express in my hotel room which makes wifi available to laptop and iphone for price of one device.
I go to Australia once a year and I rent a local phone with a pay-as-you-go SIM card at the airport when I land in Sydney. The iPhone is only for emergencies or when wi-fi is available. One day the phone companies will be exposed with this scam – must be a huge profit center for them.
We had that problem but I called and explained to them and they revoked the charges…. we didnt’ have to pay one cent of the data roaming charges but I also added an international data plan roaming for the cell phone.
Get an AT&T International Data Plan – $99 gets you 100mb of data usage abroad, I believe they go up to 200mb for $199 – still expensive, but at $1/mb far less than the a-la-carte option.
It’s even worse if you have a cellular internet card for your laptop. A couple months back I was in Toronto for work for about 36 hours. In that time, I used my AT&T aircard to get online for work email. 36 hours of roaming. Total bill?
$2500
AT&T actually contacted me after a vacation in Italy and offered to give me their international data plan retroactive so I wouldn’t be billed at their higher roaming rate. You should ask for credit and the international roaming plan to be applied retroactively.
Yeesh. I’m just going to leave my phone at home next time I leave the country.
Try this for data roaming:
http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/affordable-world-packages.jsp
Try this for data roaming:
http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/affordable-world-packages.jsp
i sadly didn’t see that before I left. I thought turning on international roaming was all i could do.
Why not unplug while on vacation and buy a map or guidebook?
10 bucks and you’re good to go.
i was totally thinking that last night. What did people do before Google Maps? I actually had a guide book but walking GPS beat it out.
because that would be like re-electing bush, not only is it not possible, its just plain dumb.
I signed up for AT&T’s unlimited internet service, used it to check email and download a few podcasts. Had the services for one day. They sent me a bill for $5,200! After going around and around they dropped the charge to $167 on something that was supposed to be a free trial. This is why I’ll never Use AT&T or have an iPhone.
PAPER MAPS WORK GREAT. Asking people things is great when traveling. Sometimes technophilia is ridiculous.
Jeez. You didn’t have to do this, and I can’t believe you were never nailed by roaming before, which should have taught you. I was once, and never again.
A friend, who is 79, got a new iPhone and went off to Thailand and then to Argentina, coming back to a $1,500+ data bill!
Read all about it here http://www.attscrewedhim.com
I think roaming days are soon to be over.
Femtocells will kill all those stupid rates.
You’ll take your femtocell with you next time when you go abroad,
connect it in your hotel and you’ll have your own base station with free service abroad wherever you are
regards
m
interesting point. with free wi-fi in hotels, roaming will be kind of moot.
Listen carefully to John’s message….don’t roam, period. I just went out of my way to get all the plans you would want for a trip to Scandinavia and for my efforts at thrift I received a $3200 bill for two weeks of iPhone use.
Roaming screws users deliberately…take heed.
Like any other service, it is better to call them regarding the roaming stuff. Heck, I called them when I went to Hawaii. I did get a good AT&T plan for roaming and it wasn’t too expensive – something like 20$ for 20 MB. Always good to call and let them know that you are going to roam. And it is not just AT&T, all of them are like that.
John
I have just added a discount offer for Crunchgear readers on Http://maxroam.com
when you buy a sim card enter the word “crunchgear” in the panel and you will automatically get a 10% discount on your sim card purchase
Many thanks for the mention.
Wow!
Thanks so much for the post John. I am going to Argentina and was thinking about doing roaming. Sounds like it is a lot better idea to bundle up the old cell phones and stick to good, old-fashioned Internet Cafes.
This is so typical of cell phone companies. Nice of AT&T to run all the ads about global roaming. With those costs you might as well get a satellite phone.
I went to Europe in September and brought my IPhone. Fortunately, I read the ATT roaming charges and tips for using abroad. The only time I used it was in a wifi hotspot which most hotels, coffee shops, and airports have for a small fee or in some cases free. If you need to make a phone call, just use the hotel land line. Yes, they still exist and it’s relatively cheap. Almost all hotels also have an internet station or go to an internet cafe. Need a map? Just ask the hotel reception.
Jason,
How did you ensure that only the wifi was on? I see the turn data roaming off, but I am still afraid. It looks like you may be able to turn the airplane mode on and then turn on wifi. Your advice is much appreciated.
Sounds like a good question for ATT support.
I travel to Europe a couple of times a year, usually for about a week, and carry several handsets including a 3G iPhone. My iPhone bill is usually +/- $1000 for that trip due largely to the international data roaming charges, and this is on top of the $1000-$1500 ATT charges for the data I use on my Moto Q for pulling in email and docs. Completely insane, and I agree that this pernicious pricing model needs to die.
Thanks for pointing this out, since many may be unaware how high charges can be for something like that. Some may not realize they are downloading by accessing maps.
I had a friend who ran up a $7000 wireless Internet bill for one month. That was at home. He thought it was unlimited minutes, but it wasn’t. Consumer account, too. You’d think they might cut him off at some point, thinking no home user would intend to run up a bill like that for Internet access when not even traveling.
Is there such a thing as a prepaid data plan SIM card in other countries? I travel to Asia often and have a local mobile number, but I’d like to tap into international data networks on a pay-as-you go basis as well.
Also, for T-Mobile BlackBerry users, you can get your email internationally for a flat rate of $19.99/month. http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/addons/services/information.aspx?oscid=61C1A282-2E67-48CD-84B6-352D2CE3E5D1&tp=Svc_Tab_DataEmlSvcs&tsp=Svc_Sub_BlackBerry
Rogers in Canada charges $0.03/KB in Europe. That’s $30.72/MB. Stop complaining. ;-)
Thanks god …. I am not alone.
I got hit with a $876.64 bill last month. Same shit. Roaming in China and India.
Damn…$876?? My yearly phone bill is approx $350-400 in india…and i have unlimted texting…2000 minutes of voice every month..and 100MB/month data…
Solution for you:
Just buy a prepaid local SIM when u travel in india.
Again, I’m not sure why everyone is complaining. Your problem is that you have an iPhone with all of the other kids and toys out there. You can get unlimited Blackberry data that will allow you to function as if you’re at your house for approx $70/mo (normal data plan is $44/mo). I regularly travel to Europe, Central America and Africa … never had a problem with my bill. It’s more than worth the extra $300/yr or so, which is a business expense anyways.
Something I have always thought as a viable plan: Since business travelers can most often be pinpointed to sticking within major cities. Let the US carriers swap part of their spectrum with the carriers like Vodaphone in Europe. US travelers can purchase a cheap additional plan for business travel to major destinations where once they are in the city, can use their phone as if they were back in the US (or europeans traveling here using their phones as if they were in Europe). Let the carriers split the revenue. Now you can atleast make it through your business trip for a small additional fee with no hassles. Is that feasible? Maybe not, but it’s certainly better than what we’ve go
I’m an iPhone user from Ohio who was visiting Canada and needed to pull up directions via Google Maps. Over $30 was added to my bill for this.
United Mobile (www.united-mobile.com) have started offering data plans on their pay-as-you-go SIMs. I’ve been happy with their voice service, haven’t tried the data yet.
High charges hurt whether it’s prepaid or not.
Just use Fring+iPhone. I spent 2 weeks in Europe and I did not add a single cent to my AT&T bill.
You guys pay for incoming calls and texts. Over here in Europe we only pay for outgoing calls and texts. And yes, it makes it a whole lot cheaper for us – even in a minute per minute comparison.
Just saying I don’t really think the roaming charges are the issue you guys should be upset about. It is sort of like complaining about the lack of condom while you are being gangraped.
Use a Blackberry. Sign up for the $79.95/mo unlimited international roaming data plan ( vs $50 or so for regular plan). Requires a year term. The extra $360 a year is worth to a business traveler if you spend ~20 days abroad – accounting for any crazy WiFi or internet cafe charges.
Without a plan I find I use about $10/day when roaming and checking just my email on the Blackberry without a fixed roaming plan. I get ~400/messages per day.
They also use this source
http://www.iamlittle.net/?p=89