Wireless Service For Visiting The USA

[happyisland]

So I live in the Caribbean, but will be traveling to the USA for work/tourism in May. Does anyone know of a good solution for wireless service? I need some mobile broadband, and a decent supply of voice minutes and text. I'm thinking the best solution would be one with a SIM I could just plug into my phone (a Nexus S with Cyanogenmod on it, which BTW is mind-blowingly awesome) and have it work with a USA #.

Anyone done this before and have any recs for me?

thanks,

HI

[mips]

Might help if you list the states & cities you plan to visit.

[happyisland]

I'm mostly going to be in New York City.

[walt.smith1960]

I presume your phone is GSM? If so, you might take a look at this: http://www.airvoicewireless.com/ They use AT&T's GO prepaid network but their terms are a little bit more favorable IMO. I've used an AT&T Samsung phone and an unlocked Samsung. Quite good coverage in the Eastern U.S. and around more populous parts of the western U.S.

[happyisland]

cool - thanks! I'll check them out.

[aysiu]

Not to complicate things too much, but you may also want to get a Google Voice number. Sometimes you'll be on the go, in which case people calling your GV number can ring your mobile phone. The times when you are on a computer, you can use your GV number to text people (for free) from your computer and also call people (for free) from your Gmail account. It'll save you minutes and money.

[LowSky]

In the USA the Nexus S is sold under the T-mobile carrier. And from what I recall AT&T and T-mobile use different bands in the GSM network. Just something to point out.
If anything check your mobile carrier for international rates. If you are going for work, have them pay the bill.
Also google voice is a great service. I highly recommend it.

[walt.smith1960]

In the USA the Nexus S is sold under the T-mobile carrier. And from what I recall AT&T and T-mobile use different bands in the GSM network. Just something to point out.
If anything check your mobile carrier for international rates. If you are going for work, have them pay the bill.
Also google voice is a great service. I highly recommend it.

I believe you are correct about different bands for different carriers and different countries. If the O.P.s phone is quad band, he should be good anywhere, at least for voice. Not sure about data. Calling prospective providers is the best idea.

[happyisland]

Hey people - thanks for the responses. I'm actually most concerned about having some kind of mobile data package for the phone (which, incidentally, is a t-mobile packaged Nexus S). The idea is to be able to use gps/maps/other useful location type apps to navigate around the city/find restaurants/etc/etc. Being able to email/skype on the go would be very useful too.

Another thing: I just tried to sign up for Google Voice and got negged since I'm outside the States...

[Johnsie]

Most of the HTC smartphones work fine in the US. It's the networks that let most people down though. There are not many good pre-pay deals there and there's alot of places you don't even get a signal. Some of them are very expensive and you even have to pay to receive calls! Until recently most Americans didn't even know what a sim card is because the phone companies were gluing them into the devices. My advice is shop around.

[mips]

I presume your phone is GSM?

Aruba has both GSM & CDMA, wonder what the OP has.

[aysiu]

Hey people - thanks for the responses. I'm actually most concerned about having some kind of mobile data package for the phone (which, incidentally, is a t-mobile packaged Nexus S). The idea is to be able to use gps/maps/other useful location type apps to navigate around the city/find restaurants/etc/etc. Being able to email/skype on the go would be very useful too.

Another thing: I just tried to sign up for Google Voice and got negged since I'm outside the States...
T-Mobile has prepaid plans:
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones/prepaid.aspx

I'd recommend getting one of those.

[happyisland]

Yep - I thought I'd probably end up in T-mobile's clutches, but I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some other more elegant solution for short-term visitors. It's a little hard to figure out their prepaid data packages online, so it looks like I'll have to go into a store in person.

In answer to the question above, my phone is GSM (as are both of the networks here in Aruba).

Anyway, thanks to the thread for the friendly help, and if anyone thinks of anything else please let me know!

[walt.smith1960]

T mobile has some nice plans. I'm not thrilled with the proposed purchase/merger/whatever by AT&T.

[aysiu]

Yep - I thought I'd probably end up in T-mobile's clutches, but I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some other more elegant solution for short-term visitors. It's a little hard to figure out their prepaid data packages online, so it looks like I'll have to go into a store in person. I'm a relatively new T-Mobile customer (only since the middle of 2009), but I've found both their in-person and phone customer service to be very helpful.

I think you can just be up-front with them and say "I'm in the country for only a few months for work, so I want a prepaid plan. I already have a phone--I just need a plan. What are your options for that?"

Get the most minimal plan you can. As I mentioned before, Google Voice can give you free text messages and, when you have access to a computer, free phone calls as well.


T mobile has some nice plans. I'm not thrilled with the proposed purchase/merger/whatever by AT&T. Even if the FCC approves the merger, it won't go through for at least a year.

[sdowney717]

Another thing: I just tried to sign up for Google Voice and got negged since I'm outside the States...

when you get to NY, then sign up here.
I use GV a lot. I wonder if once you have GV if you leave the US, can you still use GV?

[go2dell]

Unless you have the version of the Nexus S with AT&T 3G data bands, you will probably want T-Mobile for data service. Data will still work on AT&T, but you will be limited to EDGE speeds. If you decide to stick to only talk and text, either carrier will work fine.

When looking at AT&T GoPhones, there are two different kinds: plain GoPhone and Pay As You Go. Data service is only available on Pay As You Go. Data plans are available for $5 (10 MB), $15 (100 MB), or $25 (500 MB).

To set up the service with SIM only (no phone purchase) you will need to go to a company-owned retail store, which can be found here: http://www.wireless.att.com/find-a-store/ .

You can compare both kinds of phones at http://att.com/gophone .

Disclaimer: I work for AT&T Mobility, but in postpaid service, so my information about GoPhone is comparatively limited.

[happyisland]

Unless you have the version of the Nexus S with AT&T 3G data bands, you will probably want T-Mobile for data service. Data will still work on AT&T, but you will be limited to EDGE speeds. If you decide to stick to only talk and text, either carrier will work fine.

When looking at AT&T GoPhones, there are two different kinds: plain GoPhone and Pay As You Go. Data service is only available on Pay As You Go. Data plans are available for $5 (10 MB), $15 (100 MB), or $25 (500 MB).

To set up the service with SIM only (no phone purchase) you will need to go to a company-owned retail store, which can be found here: http://www.wireless.att.com/find-a-store/ .

You can compare both kinds of phones at http://att.com/gophone .

Disclaimer: I work for AT&T Mobility, but in postpaid service, so my information about GoPhone is comparatively limited.

Thanks go2dell for the good info. Unfortunately I have the t-mobile version, so I guess I'll have to use them. No EDGE for me, thanks!