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Mobile calls in the USA
delboypb
18-07-2016
Afternoon all.

I am travelling to California in September for 2 weeks holiday travelling from San Francisco to San Diego, stopping off at places along the way.

Just wondering if anyone had ideas of how best stay connected whilst out on the road. could potentially use my Vodafone World traveller at £5 per day but having been in Las Vegas recently I found it quite unreliable jumping from one carrier to another and the 4g was intermittent at best. That was in a built up city so I am guessing it would be worse on the open road between cities.

I thought a mifi device might work but have no idea which network to jump on over there etc. Im not worried about when in hotels as they will all have wifi, my concern is looking things up etc when on the road which will be a considerable amount of time.

Any help would be great especially from anyone who has done the same trip and came up with a good solution.

Many thanks
steffangl
18-07-2016
Best is to pay VF WorldTraveller and enjoy unrestricted speeds and access to AT&T and T-Mobile.

Second option is 3 like home. You can get a 3 PAYG SIM, top it up, and then buy an add-on and use the UK allowances for no extra charge whilst away. Even if you don't buy an add-on, the per min and per MB rates are cheaper than any other network for roaming.
The main issue is the data is throttled - some websites don't load properly or load very slowly. Streaming videos doesn't work. Depends what you need it to do.

Third option is a T-Mobile USA tourist SIM. https://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/...l-tourist-plan
I've personally found AT&Ts network to be better, but that's subjective and area dependent.

Sprint and Verizon are CDMA networks so you can't roam on them or get a SIM.
d123
18-07-2016
AT&T GoPhone offers prepaid offers as well.

https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/gophone-plans.html
swb1964
18-07-2016
Switch off , log off and enjoy your holiday.
delboypb
19-07-2016
Cheers for the tips guys. The VF world traveller is probs the best as itll cost about £70 for the 2 weeks. Not really worth getting a mifi at that price.
Icaraa
19-07-2016
£70 seems expensive. A couple of years ago I went with a SIM called Straight Talk that I picked up from Walmart. It was pretty cheap and they use AT&T.

Last year in New York I used Three Feel at Home which was slower but still pretty good.
phillip_d
20-07-2016
In the US at the moment with a Three PAYG sim. Great deal - 20 quid for 300/3000/12GB that lasts for 30 days. Calls and texts are fine, but data is so slow. Just about usable, but not a good experience.

Have used Vodafone World Traveller before and got good 4G signal. Slight gotcha is that it runs from midnight to midnight at the capital of the country you are in, so in California, that equates to 9pm-9pm. Might save you a fiver on your way home!
Zebb
20-07-2016
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2153242
heskethbang
25-07-2016
I did a very similar trip and three were by far the best network for data texts and calls. The throttling is only an issue if you plan to stream video throughout your day, which I didn't as I was busy taking in beautiful America.
Gaz82
25-07-2016
Originally Posted by heskethbang:
“I did a very similar trip and three were by far the best network for data texts and calls. The throttling is only an issue if you plan to stream video throughout your day, which I didn't as I was busy taking in beautiful America.”

My experience with Three was totally different when I was in the US last year. Calls and texts were fine but data was awful. I couldn't use maps as data was so slow and ended up having to get a local "Straight Talk" Sim from Walmart!

Since moving to Vodafone though, World Traveller has been excellent. I was only there for a week though on business. Any longer and it would probably work out more cost effective to get a local Sim again.
binary
26-07-2016
Originally Posted by swb1964:
“Switch off , log off and enjoy your holiday.”

Seemingly a concept that's out of fashion amongst many!
Gaz82
27-07-2016
Originally Posted by binary:
“Seemingly a concept that's out of fashion amongst many!”

Just because the OP has a requirement for staying connected when travelling it shouldn't be assumed that they are some sort of email or social media addict that can't let go for a few days! Technology has evolved and there are several benefits to having a connected device while travelling.

Personally I find it handy when driving world wide that my phone works as a Sat Nav and will download local maps where ever I am.

Also I feel more safe knowing that all my holidays snaps are uploaded to a cloud storage backup. Previously if my camera was lost of stolen I would lose all the photo's that I had taken.

Or are you suggesting I should still take my 24 exposure film in to boots to get developed when I get home?? Times change, move on!
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