Quote:
Originally Posted by Zulu Time
What are folks doing to maintain contact with family back home in the US while traveling all over the world. I am aware of things like Skype, WiFi calling in the hotel, etc.
I am trying to figure out what would work best when "out and about" away from wifi coverage to keep in touch with the wife and kids. I currently have AT&T but their prices seem a little high.
What is everyone doing? Has anyone had good luck with the Tmobile plan?
Do yourself a favor and give T-Mobile a test run for a month or so
before you port your number. Everyone has a different idea of what "good service" means, so don't rely on what others say or those coverage maps. Try it out for yourself. This is especially true if you have family and are happy with your current service at home. It will be a bit of a hassle and additional expense, but it may prove worthwhile in the long run. Obviously you'll need an unlocked phone as it's just a matter of swapping out sim cards.
My story... I was pretty happy with AT&T but I thought I would give TMO a try last year, mainly for the international stuff. I started to regret switching within an hour of walking out the door. We immediately started to notice weak or no service in many areas of town that was solid before. After a few weeks, I could no longer convince myself their service was good, in spite of all of the hype, when in the back of my mind I knew it wasn't. You know those old sayings... you get what you pay for, happy wife happy life, etc. The benefits abroad wasn't worth the aggravation at home, so we ended up going back to AT&T after about a month.
I will note that TMO's customer service was willing to work with me to try to improve my experience. They did offer a signal booster for my home, which I declined, because that does no good when I'm out and about. Simply put, you can't change the laws of physics with respect to signal strength, building penetration, etc without adding more capacity where I live, which obviously was insufficient to meet my needs.
Free wifi is just about everywhere these days, so now I get by just fine with that and wifi calling when abroad. On those rare occasions where I absolutely want or need more, I'll use AT&T's day pass for $10/day.
Bottom line - you want good service where you spend the majority of your time. If TMO works well at home, make the switch. If not, stick with who you have.