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Going out of the country on vacation... (AT&T)

I

inspirations365

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 28, 2008
195
0
Hello, everyone,

I'm fortunate enough to be going on vacation to the Dominican Republic soon for a few days of vacationing time, and was wondering if there's anything special I needed to do beforehand to ensure proper, uninterrupted use of my iPhone while I'm there.

I'm using an iPhone 4 (not that it matters), and I'm on AT&T. It's only for a few days, so nothing long-term is required, I'm just checking to see if there's anything in my plan that I should change prior to boarding to avoid any extra-high roaming fees or anything like that.

Your help is much appreciated!

P.S. I heard the iPhone 4 is capable of HSPA+. Is AT&T already using this or are they just rolling it out now (I thought that was their LTE network)? If I'm right there's no way I would even know if I was using HSPA+ or HSPA, correct?
 
Heh funny thought - if you use an AT&T microcell out of country, will you still get domestic rates? If anyone knows the answer to this question, this will be an amazing help on my soon-to-be-adventure to McMurdo Base, Antarctica.

If you are able to use a Microcell out of country, buy one from AT&T (returnable probably) or off eBay if you intend to keep it for service outages afterward.
 
Calls are pretty steep so not sure how many calls you'll be making overseas. If you're planning on using ANY data there then you might want to sign up for their roaming data plan. AT&T's roaming data is frickin' ridiculous and, last I checked, it was somewhere in the ballpark of $20 per megabyte of data used. You may want to add that roaming data plan for your trip and then cancel it whenever you get back. Might seem like a hassle but with those roaming data rates, it's probably better to be safe than sorry.
 
If your able to unlock your phone I would suggest you do. You can roam but your going to come home to a crazy cell phone bill. I'm from D.R and you can roam but it's very expensive.
 
If your able to unlock your phone I would suggest you do. You can roam but your going to come home to a crazy cell phone bill. I'm from D.R and you can roam but it's very expensive....tahe care and Hope you enjoy your trip!
 
blevins321 said:
Heh funny thought - if you use an AT&T microcell out of country, will you still get domestic rates? If anyone knows the answer to this question, this will be an amazing help on my soon-to-be-adventure to McMurdo Base, Antarctica.

If you are able to use a Microcell out of country, buy one from AT&T (returnable probably) or off eBay if you intend to keep it for service outages afterward.
Click to expand...

Nope. The Microcell uses GPS to make sure you're only using it at home. It's one of the problems people had with it...they need to make sure it's near a window so it can confirm where it is, otherwise it doesn't work.
 
At&t roaming rates in D.R

There are two roaming rates you can take advantage of in the D.R. the first one is the standard rate which is $2.29 a minute every phone call you make.

The 2nd rate is cheaper it's called world traveler and for the time that your gone it cost $5.99 and it gives you a discounted rate of $1.69 per minute.


For text you also have two options as well first option is pay-per-use it cost 50 cents per message sent or recieved (sms only). ($1.30 for MMS)

2nd package is $10 and it gives you the option to send or recieve 50 MMS, or SMS messages.


For data i honestly don't recommend you use it at all because that's the most expensive part of international roaming but if it's a must:


Pay-Per-Use International Data Rates $0.015/KB in Canada
$0.0195/KB in the rest of the world

$24.99/mo 20 MB in over 100 select countries1
Overage: $0.005/KB. Rate in additional countries: $0.0195/KB

$59.99/mo 50 MB in over 100 select countries1
Overage: $0.005/KB. Rate in additional countries: $0.010/KB2

$119.99/mo 100 MB in over 100 select countries1.
Overage: $0.005/KB. Rate in additional countries: $0.010/KB2

$199.99/mo 200 MB in over 100 select countries1
Overage: $0.005/KB. Rate in additional countries: $0.010/KB2
 
Find out if there's going to be WiFi. Use skype.

Also, I never quite understood why people make such a big deal out of using their phones. You're going on vacation! Get off your phone! Relax baby!
 
inspirations365 said:
P.S. I heard the iPhone 4 is capable of HSPA+. Is AT&T already using this or are they just rolling it out now (I thought that was their LTE network)? If I'm right there's no way I would even know if I was using HSPA+ or HSPA, correct?
Click to expand...

Nope, the iPhone 4 doesn't have HSPA+, sadly. I wish it did so I wouldn't have to be coerced into upgrading when the 5 comes out (presumably it should have HSPA+...) :mad:
 
When me and the girlfriend went to Punta Cana last July we bought a pre-paid cell phone from one of the local GSM carriers at the airport. It was dirt cheap... we paid like $30 US Dollars for the phone and like $15 for the pre-paid sim card, which gave us about 500 minutes. Of course the minutes go faster when calling the U.S. but the nice thing is that incoming calls are free so if you give your friends and family the number they can call you and speak unlimited.
 
Last edited:
Airplane mode + holiday - annoying calls and outrageous data and roaming rates = music + games + wifi + fun
 
inspirations365 said:
Hello, everyone,

I'm fortunate enough to be going on vacation to the Dominican Republic soon for a few days of vacationing time, and was wondering if there's anything special I needed to do beforehand to ensure proper, uninterrupted use of my iPhone while I'm there.

I'm using an iPhone 4 (not that it matters), and I'm on AT&T. It's only for a few days, so nothing long-term is required, I'm just checking to see if there's anything in my plan that I should change prior to boarding to avoid any extra-high roaming fees or anything like that.

Your help is much appreciated!

P.S. I heard the iPhone 4 is capable of HSPA+. Is AT&T already using this or are they just rolling it out now (I thought that was their LTE network)? If I'm right there's no way I would even know if I was using HSPA+ or HSPA, correct?
Click to expand...
I went to Punta Cana in 2008. Did 20MB data roaming and the World Traveler plan. When not needing to use the phone, I turned it off. The resort that we stayed at had Internet for like 10 dollars a day. I ended up only making a few phone calls while there. When I went to England though...
 
Turn off cellular data, 3G and roaming. If you want to be 100% sure that your phone doesn't do any unauthorized roaming, use airplane mode. You can still use wifi.
 
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