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New T-Mobile "Data Passport" and unlocked iPhone

Wow. If there are no strings attached, this could be huge for travellers (especially if they allow personal hotspot).
 
Wow, I could have used that a month ago when I was in Dublin for work. Accidentally turned on mobile data for literally 20 seconds, and thanks to a great 4G signal that 20 seconds cost me $50 in international roaming. :p

This will be fantastic for me if true because I'll be going back there a few more times in the next year. \o/
 
I suppose T-Mobile has an easier time offering this because they are owned by Deutsche Telekom. I wonder how or if Verizon or AT&T will respond. Those who travel internationally for business may be very interested in this. Interestingly, Verizon Wireless just rid itself of Vodafone (at a cost of $55 billion).

Granted, voice calls are $1.29/minute or more while roaming, and I don't see that changing yet. But we use our phones less and less for calls, and more and more for data. Remember all the bad publicity that carriers got when the iPhone first came out and people took it with them on cruises, only to get phone bills more expensive than the cruises?
 
This will be huge. Game-changing over the long-term if T-Mobile approaches it correctly.

Being a low-cost subscriber network, eliminating contract plans with subsidies, and now offering a "traveler's" package will make T-Mobile the go-to solution for anyone wanting to tap in to a US network around the globe. There is the potential to grab millions of customers for ease of use and utility alone.

I really like the direction that T-Mobile is taking. For now they will offer lower speeds, but after a 3-5 year period (read: once they gain more subscribers and have a bigger R&D budget) they they can work on upgrading their network through spectrum acquisition and LTE implementation.

This is a great move and I think a great way for T-Mobile to differentiate itself from ATT's "fastest" and Verizon's "most coverage" networks.

I'm still sticking with ATT though lol.
 
Nice perk to have for data roaming.

I loved tmobile blackberry $20/month international pro rated email plans world wide including cruise ship. So one week cruise only cost me 7/30 of the $20.

Too bad this isn't world wide data roaming but its a bonus for those who travel to the 100 plus countries DT has roaming or native data coverage.
 
KPOM said:
Granted, voice calls are $1.29/minute or more while roaming, and I don't see that changing yet. But we use our phones less and less for calls, and more and more for data. Remember all the bad publicity that carriers got when the iPhone first came out and people took it with them on cruises, only to get phone bills more expensive than the cruises?
Click to expand...

It sounds like there's a list of "Simple Global" countries that you can use this unlimited data in-- in addition, it sounds like calls will be .20/minute max while roaming in those countries.

http://www.tmonews.com/2013/10/t-mo...-a-little-closer-together-with-simple-global/
 
well they say 'coverage' not consumption.

I have AT&T World Traveler and it's just a discount price (that is still way too high) on minutes while roaming.

Maybe this Tmobile one is free access to data, but charge for consumption while roaming?
 
Carlanga said:
well they say 'coverage' not consumption.

I have AT&T World Traveler and it's just a discount price (that is still way too high) on minutes while roaming.

Maybe this Tmobile one is free access to data, but charge for consumption while roaming?
Click to expand...

That's how it works now (i.e. you get roaming "access" at no charge, but pay a roaming fee when you use it).

This is different. You get data globally without paying extra. I think they have an advantage since they are owned by Deutsche Telekom. Sprint might be able to match since they have a foreign owner too, but Verizon just rid itself of Vodafone and AT&T is purely domestic, as well.

Anyway, we should probably move the discussion to this thread now.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1652240/

----------
rumz said:
It sounds like there's a list of "Simple Global" countries that you can use this unlimited data in-- in addition, it sounds like calls will be .20/minute max while roaming in those countries.

http://www.tmonews.com/2013/10/t-mo...-a-little-closer-together-with-simple-global/
Click to expand...

Wow, that is nice with the voice roaming. I guess that's one benefit of BYOD and their unsubsidized approach.
 
2G data is good enough to iMessage and maybe tweet. I am much more keen about the free texting in countries. i go to canada all the time and to text my friends there for free, im down.
 
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