iPhone Wireless Carrier for Traveling and Low Data Usage

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

I haven't done any US traveling in a long time. Now that I'm done with my PhD program, I'll probably get a chance to do some traveling across the US (including rural areas).

 

Right now, I'm on T-Mobile for my iPhone (mother and I both are on a Magenta Max 55+ plan for $90/month, plus I have Stateside International Calling on my line for $15/month). I've thought about staying with T-Mobile through my Israel trip next year since T-Mobile includes international data roaming in my plan, plus if I need international roaming calling, I could add it on for $50 per line for a month (since I'll be there for about a month). I do have $50 credit with AloSIM though I could use over in Israel, plus my iPhone is SIM-unlocked and would accept a local carrier SIM. I could also get a Skype number or MagicJack and use the app for receiving US calls/texts and for cheap stateside International calling. We both don't use much data (I use less than 5GB/month and mother uses less than 3GB/month), so we could always bump down to just Magenta  for $70/month or Essentials for $55/month.

 

Around town here, T-Mobile coverage has been pretty sold and fast with 5G UC. I only get one dead zone in a rural grocery store I shop at with a metal roof.

 

However, if I do any traveling across the US, I'm wondering if I'll hit additional dead zones on T-Mobile or if their overall coverage across the US is pretty solid. I could look at a MVNO that uses AT&T or Verizon towers if I needed more extensive coverage. 

 

Mother is an AMAC member, and AMAC features PureTalk (which uses AT&T towers, I think they're part of H2O) that would run us about $45/month for our lines.

 

I've also been paying for mother's home phone service through our local cable company (a VOIP line). Now that she's gotten used to an iPhone, I can probably drop this coming up and save us close to $30/month.

 

I'm trying to make sure I'm being a good steward of our resources, plus have a plan that gives us solid coverage. Since I haven't traveled in a while, I could use any insight on iPhone plans I could get!

 

Thanks!

[Kristin]

Hi @Nathan Parker,
When it comes to coverage of rural areas, Verizon is better than T-Mobile in the US. I would probably take a careful look of the coverage maps the companies are claiming.

Concerning overseas, personally, I would not recommend getting an international plan, as you will typically find a better deal with a local carrier. Especially since European phone service tends to be cheaper. When I was in Europe I was able to get a plan for something of the equivalent of $10 a month. Then when I moved back to the US, I just swapped out the sim card and it was a non-issue.

Just make sure the iPhone in question is GSM compatible and not CDMA, but if you are currently using T-Mobile it should be fine. Also, make sure the phone is unlocked. That is pretty important.

[dandennison]

T-Mobile in Israel was solid. I opted for the high speed data pass to backup my photos while traveling to avoid wifi issues. 
 

If you’re going to do a lot of international Google Fi is a good idea

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

@dandennison Thanks for the info! Good to know T-Mobile's roaming in Israel was solid. I have been looking at their high speed data pass (although my plan includes 5GB of roaming, but I may still want it for voice calls as those could add up quickly). I've heard of Google Fi but haven't done much research on it.

 

@Kristin That's what I've also heard about rural areas. I've been looking at the carrier's coverage maps, but I've also wanted to see if there are some good maps where I could see customer-verified data. I used to do it with RootMetrics, but seems Ookla grabbed them up.

 

I've also heard Europe is pretty cheap with their local carriers. When I look at some of the European websites, I get envious! I think Israel is a little higher. 

 

My phone is definitely unlocked, and I believe it's both GSM/CDMA.

[EricC]

The rural areas I'm familiar with have increasingly poor Verizon coverage (my experience is in North Carolina / Georgia), even though Verizon used to be "the one" in those areas. I do not know if they are leasing out their towers to someone else, if it's a technology thing (3G/4G/5G) or what it is, but the Verizon coverage I experienced was tragic. Although T-mobile seems to be increasing its coverage in some rural areas (getting contracts for schools that apparently now teach mostly via ChromeBooks connected to the internet), my experience with T-mobile towers (via Mint) was not good. We had Mint (T-Mobile) for $15/month for unlimited SMS/voice and (I think 4GB of data). I've switched to the prepaid $25/month ($300/year) AT&T with 16GB of data (https://www.att.com/prepaid). I like AT&T much better since the coverage seems superior in my area. Just my experience on that – I'm sure it very much differs from place to place. What my wife and I have done is made it so one stays on the $15/mo. ($180/year) Mint plan and one on the $25/mo. AT&T plan. That way usually one has better coverage when traveling.

 

I do not have any clue about mobile carriers in Israel, but I have had experience in other countries (Europe). There I found it far cheaper to get a temporary prepaid SIM than to use a US carrier with roaming. For one thing, if you are on a post-paid plan, you won't even know how much they are nailing you for until you get your next bill …

Edited August 12, 2023 by EricC

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Good points! Thanks for that! A friend of mine who travels across the US has AT&T and said coverage is pretty solid for her when she travels except for super-rural hiking areas, and Verizon's coverage isn't any better there anyway from what other tourists have said.

 

Thanks for the info on Europe roaming as well!

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

I found this which looks like a really interesting option: https://www.simtoisrael.com/

[dandennison]

T-Mobile MVNO service is not the same as regular T-Mobile. Regular T-Mobile has more tower access than the resold service. 

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

True on that with the prioritization. I had one T-Mobile MNVO once that wouldn't even give me 5G access at all.

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

I see that AloSIM has a sister company called Hushed that offers pretty cheap US calling/messaging.

 

Side question: 

I’ve been wearing and love my Israel-made Adi non-smartwatch. It’s gorgeous and practically no-maintenance.

 

I gave up an Apple Watch a couple of years ago, and I haven’t missed the Apple Watch.

 

However, I’m wondering if I should consider taking an Apple Watch along on the trip (the $249 SE would likely be fine since I don’t need anything fancy, and I don’t need cellular, ECG, or blood oxygen tracking) for an extra way to access my flight boarding passes, Apple Pay, and GPS tracking. I don’t really need apps or notifications on my wrist since I could use my phone for that, and I’m still a bit undecided about re-strapping a screen and electronic device back on my wrist.

 

Additionally, I wonder if I should wear it at my desk now while working (I could wear my non-smartwatch around town) since at times I have had a high heart rate, and those notifications might be beneficial to be alerted about. I also sometimes work on computers for a few hours at a time and forget to stand up. The stand alerts might be useful to have (unless there’s another, lower-tech way to remind myself to stand up such as setting a timer, but I could forget to set it). 

 

Eventually, I’m going to need some form of altimeter as well. I see that the Apple Watch does have one, so I can decide if that would work or if I should get a manual altimeter instead. The trail info stuff coming in watchOS 10 might also be beneficial since I may get to hike some trails down the road.

[Frank Jones]

Nathan, I left the Apple Watch over a year ago. The constant "you are not standing" when I was ... "you need to move" when I did, finally got to me. I brought a Garmin. It, too, will have features that you don't need but it has health monitoring that seems to just work. Also, battery life is days instead of hours. It should be cheaper. Just a thought for consideration.

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Good info. I'll check it out. Thanks! I also found a stand timer app for my iPhone I might try since it's free.

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

I decided against the Apple Watch. Stand Timer app is working great for me.

 

I moved to PureTalk tonight, and I'm going to do ALOSIM or a Local Israeli SIM plus a MagicJack or Skype Number in Israel. My bill has been cut more in half than using T-Mobile, and I'll have better domestic coverage when I need to travel to rural places.

[Lawrence]

If they charge per-day roaming costs, it can be more economical to get a tourist SIM instead for longer stays.

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

I'll definitely be doing a tourist SIM. PureTalk doesn't offer any form of International Roaming. T-Mobile did included in my account, but it was a little paltry and still needed a paid data pass for a longer stay. I can definitely get the most bang for my buck with a tourist SIM.

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

PureTalk just added International calling to all their plans free of charge tonight. It covers most landlines and mobiles I call, plus the countries with mobiles it doesn't cover yet, they give me enough credit in my account that should cover those calls. Another perk that I'm glad I made the switch.