TheKingOfHearts

This used to be the case before proliferation of LTE, to a smaller extent it still is.

If the country you've visiting doesn't have LTE (GSM) or your phone doesn't have LTE then the SIM card will be used to fall back to the host countries 3G/2G GSM network if no CDMA networks are available.

That being said, 90% of the time your phone when, being used for Vz in the US, will be using LTE and the SIM card. But it can and will utilise CDMA if LTE isn't available in the region.

hungryhorace

WRONG.

This was true in the CDMA era, but both Sprint and VZW have LTE networks which require sim cards.

hungryhorace

No, it isn't. LTE is its own standard, outside that of GSM.

hungryhorace

Do you mean mobile subscription fees are more expensive? If so, that's true, however if you mean the phones themselves, then that's not true (the phone hardware is significantly less expensive in the US).

hungryhorace

Wrong. There are certain phones that work with T-Mobile's VoWiFi implementation regardless of where purchased / obtained.

Some that spring to mind are the Google Pixel, Apple's iPhone, and the Moto G5 (there are others).

hungryhorace

LTE != GSM.

GSM is GSM.
LTE is LTE.

You mean if VoLTE isn't available. There's a crucial difference.

hungryhorace

To answer the OP's question; I would initially go with ATT GoPhone's $45 plan for 6GB[1]. You can purchase refills through callingmart.com automatically for the price of $40.50 (no taxes), and add extra data (3GB) for $20 if required. Otherwise, you will be throttled to 128k/sec until renewal.

You don't tell us which model iPhone you have, but if you have a one of the last 3 generations, it will have the required bands for ATT (apart from band 30, but that's not widely deployed yet). Once you're settled, you can then make a decision as to which phone / cell plan suits your purpose best.

[1] I don't recommend T-Mobile until I know which model iPhone you have, as without Band 12 (700mhz) support you will have a less than optimum experience.

markonline1

Wow! Someone got up out of the wrong side of bed LOL. I did mean the contract charges. I've yet to see anything that compares with 3's unlimited data, text calls, and international calls for 15 quid!

mrken30

I upgraded my plan today, to unlimited US and UK calls, unlimited data and unlimited text. Now I have to pay $23 a month, no multiple lines required. I do have to put up with using the T-Mobile infrastructure and no short code SMS.

Ten years ago I used to buy unlocked phones for use in the US from Carphone Warehouse because they were so much cheaper than the US. Also the phones in the UK had much better features. Funny how things change in such a short period of time.

hungryhorace

I used to think this, and I see where you're coming from, but I've also experienced a different reality with US cell providers that justifies their prices.

1. They're simply better. LTE has been rolled out here for years, and VoLTE / VoWiFi technologies were deployed in the US far before they were in the UK.

2. The quality of coverage given the land mass scale the US has is very impressive compared to the inability of UK providers to roll out coverage to a tiny island.

3. Three (and other UK cell providers) have recently increased their prices across the board. The plan you cite does not exist anymore.

4. Three has hardly any low band spectrum; massively important for successful network coverage. It's why they are still plagued with coverage issues.

5. I pay $50 to T-Mobile for completely unlimited; nothing is even remotely comparable to that in the UK. The UK has gone for lower prices and lower quality. It shows.

hungryhorace

$23 all in? Which plan is this? T-Mobile does support short code SMS BTW, at least on post-paid.

Like Starbucks brought good coffee to Americans, the same happened with Apple and the iPhone. Remember, those phones you refer to weren't British, they were Finnish (or Swedish).

mrken30

I use Lycamobile, a T-Mobile MVNO. I think I also get a 9% discount with auto renewal. It is a PAYG (Prepaid) plan.

The last 2 phones from that era, which I still use sometimes, were Sony phones. But I agree Nokia and Ericsson were also good phones.

hungryhorace

Ah, fair enough.

Sony purchased Ericsson's mobile phone business remember. I had one of their T-610's; very nice little phones. It's ironic that Ericsson and Nokia (Networks) are now the single largest suppliers of backend cellular equipment to wireless providers. T-Mobile has rapidly built out their LTE network in the US with (primarily) Ericsson, for example.

markonline1

Oh yeah, although I wince every time I see my bill, I realize if you want decent phone coverage in a county this size, you gotta pay for it.

mrken30

I just have to pay roaming charges if I am out of coverage, that applies to less than 1% of the time, so no big deal. The money I spend on roaming charges is insignificant compared to the savings I make.