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Comments on news posted 2014-02-25 19:36:30: Back in October T-Mobile unveiled the latest part of their "uncarrier" PR strategy: free international data while traveling (it's EDGE speeds, but still welcome). ..


ITALIAN926
join:2003-08-16

ITALIAN926

Member

Progress !

couple of bits going round the world? wow

Edit: I now read it includes some picture messages... (lol)
Expand your moderator at work

blackice
join:2014-01-02
Pittsfield, MA

blackice

Member

Pennies per min.

"Penny per minute" i am reminded of this:

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· LZ3ojnxY


I hope AT&T is better at math.
rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO

rradina

Member

Re: Pennies per min.

That gave me a good chuckle. I wonder if the dude from Office Space wrote the billing system and messed up the decimal point.
en103
join:2011-05-02

en103

Member

Lets see...

15 years ago, I had unlimited roaming, long distance and text in Canada on my AT&T Wireless account for $9.99/month.
Now I can get Text for $5/month ? Wow - how the cost has increased.
ISurfTooMuch
join:2007-04-23
Tuscaloosa, AL

ISurfTooMuch

Member

Re: Lets see...

Yeah, but you know, the data we use now is different than that old data you remember. It's much more high-tech and fragile, so it costs more to transport it. We have to put buffers around it so it doesn't accidentally bump into other data and get broken. Plus, data nowadays has a much shorter life, so we have to get it there faster so it isn't out of date when it arrives. These things cost money, so we have to charge more.

Ark4
join:2002-06-08
Lansing, MI

Ark4

Member

What about free texts while traveling?

Sending texts to other countries is great and all, but what if you travel and want to send texts back? Or better yet, what if you just want to keep paying your monthly bill while not even using it because you want to get a prepaid SIM card? I'm pretty much done with AT&T when they told me you can't unlock a phone to travel until you've had it for 2 years. At that point, I'd get rid of the phone and have a new, different phone that I still can't unlock because I have to wait 2 years for that one!

ilikeme
Premium Member
join:2002-08-27
Stafford, TX

ilikeme

Premium Member

Re: What about free texts while traveling?

You can buy the phone outright from At&t and they will unlock it immediately. You only have to wait if you do the contract option, although I have heard of cases of people getting it done earlier.

Ark4
join:2002-06-08
Lansing, MI

Ark4

Member

Re: What about free texts while traveling?

I generally don't have to wait until I pay off my house or car loan to use those items in any way I see fit. I own the phone completely outright no matter how you look at it. It doesn't matter that I still have 8 months on contract/loan to pay off the phone. I'm really not sure why this is even legal for AT&T to refuse, or even SIM-lock phones to begin with. I'm guessing it just hasn't been challenged enough in court yet.
Now, it would be a different case altogether if I was leasing the phone from AT&T, similar to how I leased a Dish receiver in the past, or a cable modem right now. But in both of those cases, if anything happens to the device, the company leasing it to me is responsible for replacing it. That certainly isn't the case with my phone.

pepe28475
@northwestern.edu

pepe28475 to Ark4

Anon

to Ark4
Good grief, this is still an issue? Sign up for Google Voice, then download the Talkatone App. With this combination (at least until GV pulls the plug this spring/summer) you can send all the free SMS you like back to all US based phone numbers (and probably a few other North American exchanges).

Ark4
join:2002-06-08
Lansing, MI

Ark4

Member

Re: What about free texts while traveling?

The issue is mostly that I want to use a pre-paid data plan. I don't actually give a crap about text or voice. I'm not paying outrageous international data charges to AT&T when I can get a cheap pre-paid data sim.
ptb42
join:2002-09-30
USA

ptb42

Member

Why doesn't AT&T update their website BEFORE the press release?

I went to the AT&T website -- following their link in the press release -- to see the details of the new international calling plan. It still has the OLD calling plan, and no mention of the new "World Connect Value" calling plan.
nlwnola
join:2011-01-19
Metairie, LA

nlwnola

Member

Re: Why doesn't AT&T update their website BEFORE the press release?

Because it launches Friday. 2/28

Why update something you aren't going to sell yet.