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We will be going through US, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Thailand and Germany. Our existing mobiles are not a good choices (corporate phone or US only).

We like to have phone connectivity (mostly emergency), texting, and some data (mainly maps and internet browsing). What are potential options and how do they compare?

Relaxed
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Hilmar
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2 Answers2

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Plans that include T-Mobile's Simple Global are the best deal for having a single plan and number you're reachable at, if you have US residency or are an American citizen. The cheapest eligible plan is $50/month if you provide your own unlocked phone. T-Mobile's contracts don't have long terms like many others do, you can cancel your plan as soon as you return from your trip if you don't have a use for it. Free text and free 3G data roaming is included and calling is $0.20/minute in 140 countries (all of your destinations except for Fiji).

Alternatively, you could buy a local pre-paid SIM card in each country you visit. SIM cards with basic data are very cheap in many countries $5-15, the amount of data and time it's active varies and is very limited for instance in Australia.

Carl
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  • The data option included in T-Mobile's Simple Global seems only to be available in the US, Mexico and Canada. Even if data roaming should be available in the other countries as well, US$50 for a 1GB monthly package is very expensive compared to local pre-paid cards. – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo Oct 14 '15 at 16:19
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    It's included "Unlimited data and texting when you travel to any of 140+ countries and destinations so you can stay connected when you’re abroad." Oddly the roaming data is unlimited while the home data is limited to 1GB. (I also have a grandfathered in version of this plan, and can affirm it really works and they really don't charge you data roaming.) – Carl Oct 14 '15 at 16:23
  • Perhaps the limitation to the US, Mexico and Canada only apply to 4G roaming and that slower data roaming is available in other countries as well. The product description is rather confusing. Still, as I wrote, it is very expensive. If you bother with local SIM cards, you can save a lot of money. – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo Oct 14 '15 at 16:29
  • Agreed, depending on the time one's spending in each country and the amount of use it can be cheaper to get local SIMs. For instance if they're doing the whole trip in a month or use a ton of data, it'd likely be cheaper to to get this plan. Plus all the effort saved on find the right local SIM in each country. – Carl Oct 14 '15 at 16:32
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In terms of "emergency", I would be surprised if your network provider doesn't have arrangements with the local providers in the countries you mention, even if you have to pay exorbitant rates. Except for mainland China, I don't think I've visited any county with zero connectivity for me.

Infrequent texting in my experience is not expensive, certainly less than a US dollar per text sent, and free to receive.

Data charges are another matter.

The U.K. network "3" has a pretty good system called "Feel at home", where roaming fees are not applied in many countries, including several of those you mention. But I am unsure if it can be easily set up while outside of the UK.

If like me you need to be reachable on your usual number then local SIMs are not an option. But if you don't, then buying one at the airport and disposing of it as you leave is probably the easiest route to go down. Of course some countries impose restrictions on how readily SIMs are made available, so it's worth checking in advance.

Calchas
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