# Global roaming with T-Mobile plan



## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I've run into something kind of incredible. Although I've obtained this in the US, it may still be useful for many of you frequent travelers and could be obtained by snowbirds or maybe people who have family in the US.

I'm on a T-Mobile plan called "Simple Choice North America", billed monthly to a US address, for 50 USD/month. This includes:


 Unlimited free calling to Canada/US/Mexico while in Canada/US/Mexico
 Unlimited data and texting while in any country (data speeds are slower internationally)
 Unlimited texting to any country
 Roaming calls at 20 cents/min if not within Canada/US/Mexico

I was just in Europe in Turkey. The whole time I was roaming, I was sending text messages, using the web browser for data services (including tethering Wifi to a laptop) and made both local calls and North America calls. The data rate was 128 kbps in Europe (quite slow), but apparently there are now 4G data speeds in Canada. I just got my bill ... the only charge on top of the $50 was 60 minutes of calling @ $0.20 = $12.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

I think they have a rule about the majority of use needing to be in the US.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Oh, I didn't even consider that. Do you remember where you saw this rule?

It just occurred to me that with number portability, you might even be able to port a Canadian phone number to this. I have already ported two 416 numbers to a US-based voip.


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

On the page you linked to, at the bottom in the fine print, it says:

Not for extended international use; you must reside in the U.S. and primary usage must occur on our U.S. network.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

You're right, I didn't see that. That pretty much kills the idea to use this as a mostly Canadian/global plan. Nuts.


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

Why not buy a cheap Android, unlocked phone and simply buy a pay as you go SIM card for the international country you travel to?

I used my old Samsung phone in Scotland this summer. Paid $25 CDN for unlimited data, unlimited text, unlimited calls, etc. for a couple of weeks. Put SIM in e-recycling bin when I left the country - done!


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Yes, that's mainly what I've done until now


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

Cool, makes sense.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

Yeah, I too was fooled by that T-Mobile plan when it first came out a year or two ago, and I posted a similar message here; someone pointed out that it wouldn't work.

What I do now for Canada is I have a prepaid plan with Fido: I pay $100 up front, which lasts an entire year, and I'm billed at 40 cents per minute. I typically make only 1-2 calls per month, so my $100 will likely last an entire year with no problem. For roaming in the US, I use Roam Mobility. For roaming overseas I'll just buy a prepaid SIM for that country, or I might look into KnowRoaming, which generally runs 10 cents per minute in Europe, no roaming charges.


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## FrugalTrader (Oct 13, 2008)

Rogers has a new roaming feature that allows you to use your regular phone minute and data package while in foreign countries. The charge is $5/day up to 10 days max (ie. $50 max /month) while in the US. I believe it's $100 max/month while in Europe.


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