T-Mobile’s Unlimited Global Coverage: Is it Worth it?

T-Mobile is my cellphone service provider and it is probably the best international provider currently available. It has been a life saver while traveling abroad. T-Mobile is partnered with cell phone service providers all over the world, I’m not sure how it works, but you can keep the same T-Mobile number and same plan you have at home and use it while traveling to many destinations under its global coverage network. With the plan, making phone calls will in fact accrue roaming charges, but you get to enjoy free and unlimited data and texting which opens up opportunities to use free VOIP apps on my smart phone. VOIP is short for Voice Over Internet Protocol aka internet phone services like Skype or Viber which works really well over data.

What’s the cell phone plan?

For some people, SIM cards are the way to go if they only plan to make a few phone calls and texts, but for anyone who needs to stay constantly connected like myself, having the T-Mobile plan was very beneficial. For example a 200MB Data SIM card from Telestial can be used in 55 countries for $49USD, however 200 MB can be very limiting and be used up quickly. For me paying $50 per month plus about $10 in taxes/fees for unlimited data is worth it. The plan is also month-t0-month meaning there is no contract involved. If I want to go ahead and cancel my phone service, then I could do so at any time without being penalized.

The Plan’s Details from T-Mobile’s Website:

-No annual service contracts
-Your choice of additional high-speed 4G LTE data
-Unlimited talk, text & data while on our network with no overages. Ever.
-Unlimited international data and text while roaming in 120+ countries and destinations and calls are just $0.20 per minute
-Unlimited streaming from great services like Pandora and iHeartRadio that doesn’t count against your 4G LTE data included at no extra charge with a Simple Choice Plan.

I kept my T-Mobile plan during my latest trip to Argentina and in times of no free wifi the unlimited data came in handy especially when we needed directions or bus schedule times. With the unlimited data I was able to use Google Maps, Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, and text SMS any number at no additional cost. I do have an iPhone so I was also able to send iMessages using my data plan. The downside is that if I made a phone call without using a VOIP, then I would be charged $0.20/minute.

How to Use Your T-Mobile Service While Traveling

T-Mobile has partnerships with cell phone service providers in over 100 countries and those become your cell phone providers when traveling. Every time you enter a new network, you will receive a free text letting you know of your unlimited global coverage.

In Argentina, Movistar and Claro are the two biggest cell phone providers so when I’m in an area that services one or the other, my cell phone service automatically switches to one of them.

When you enter a new region you’ll get a text that looks like this:

Welcome to Brazil. Unlimited text incl with your global coverage. Talk $0.20/min. Unlimited web included as part of your global coverage. To purchase high speed data, please visit: http://t-mo.co/4G-Data

In Buenos Aires and Mendoza I generally had excellent 4G speed, but the Hotspot feature did not work for my laptop or iPad. Once I got into smaller towns in the mountains my service slowed down, but I was still able to send messages through Whatsapp consistently and even FaceTime. In Rio de Janeiro I had solid 4G the majority of the time especially in Ipanema and Copacabana.

 Do I Recommend it?

While in Argentina and Brazil, I was able to use T-Mobile’s international coverage quite extensively and it came in handy more often that I thought. For $50 a month, the contract free Simple Plan was well worth it because I enjoy staying connected to family and friends back home, but beyond that I was able to use it to pull up confirmation numbers, addresses for hotels, I was able to make phone calls using Skype and Viber and check my e-mail as often as I needed. Even back home in Los Angeles the unlimited minutes available for phone calls and unlimited data comes in handy and I never have dropped calls. While I haven’t used T-Mobile’s global coverage while in Europe, I imagine that it works just as efficiently in most areas because T-Mobile is a German company. Another option of course is to look for public wifi in cafes, but they’re not always available and I don’t want to neccessarily purchase something every time I need wifi.

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