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Communications AT&T The Internet United States

AT&T Offering Day Pass For International Travelers (cnet.com) 101

Posted by msmash from the somewhat-good-news dept.
Starting Friday, AT&T customers who travel abroad can sign up for a new International Day Pass plan. Instead of paying by the minute, message or megabyte, the plan lets you pay a $10-a-day flat free so you can talk and text "all you want" and also access your data plan as though you're in the states. From a report: AT&T said the new plan is available for customers traveling to more than 100 countries listed here. To use the new plan, customers just need to add it once and it will automatically kick in each time they travel to a supported country, until it's removed.
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AT&T Offering Day Pass For International Travelers More

AT&T Offering Day Pass For International Travelers

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  • Overpriced (Score:5, Insightful)

    by EndlessNameless ( 673105 ) on Monday January 23, 2017 @04:43PM (#53723365)

    The only thing more overpriced than this plan is their regular international rates.

    ATT is garbage. Fortunately for them, their largest competitor is also garbage so they stay in business.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward

      > regular international rates

      Which are just ridiculous. I live in Seattle, and when I go to Canada I get charged $19.97 per MByte by AT&T. The last trip I made the mistake of downloading a 10 MB PDF email attachment and was charged about $200 for it.

      • I signed up for the T-Moblie plan which provides this to me every day. It cost a few dollars more per month. When I travel to Canada, I call, text and use internet as if I were in the US and pay nothing extra for it (beyond the monthly costs already being paid). It's amazingly liberating to no longer worry about data caps or how much data I used already while on a trip. I went through that whole mess with AT&T long ago and hated it.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by b0bby ( 201198 )

        That seems crazy, especially since with Cricket (owned by AT&T) on their $50/month plan you can roam to Mexico and Canada for no extra charge.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dbialac ( 320955 )

      Yep. When I travel in Europe, I set up a Skype number and get a local SIM card with data, typically for €10 for 2GB of data.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by r1348 ( 2567295 )

        That's quite overpriced, but I suppose it depends on where in Europe you travel. Here in Italy I pay 10€/mo for 6GB LTE, 600 minutes and 600 SMS's (which I never ever come close to finish).

        • Re: Overpriced (Score:4, Informative)

          by muffen ( 321442 ) on Tuesday January 24, 2017 @02:35AM (#53726659)
          He was getting prepaid cards, where there tends to be an extra fee for the card itself, can't compare that to a subscription.

          In general though, I find connectivity in the US to be expensive. I pay $55 for uncapped 1000/1000mbit fiber to my home, and about the same for my mobile connection, which has a 40GB data limit, and free calls and text,and I can use it in 47 countries right now without any additional charge, the US included.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by r1348 ( 2567295 )

            Mine is a pre-paid plan too, basically you recharge your credit and they take off a monthly fee. If your credit isn't enough, you have 7 days to recharge to reactivate the offer, otherwise you lose it. It is basically like a subscription, but you're not contractually bound with them for 2 years.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by cvdwl ( 642180 )
          Hey, who's your carrier?! I have a legacy TIM plan that's close to that, but yours sounds better.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by r1348 ( 2567295 )

            Fastweb, but such offer isn't sold anymore. I see now they have the Mobile250 with 250min/250sms/6GB for 6€/mo. Or MobileFreedom with unlimited calls and SMS's, 6GB at 15€/mo.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by pla ( 258480 )
      As someone stuck on 4G as my best option for home internet, I would pay $300/month for unlimited (and unthrottled) bandwidth in a frickin' heartbeat, and that even limited to purely domestic use.

      As it is, after overage charges, I usually pay half that for 10+10, and that's living about as close to the "digital bohemian" life I can stand.

      And FWIW, AT&T currently considers 22GB/month "unlimited", beyond which they "prioritize" your data to a trickle.
      • I'm from Australia and I actually came to this article thinking the same thing. Unlimited AT&T plan with 365 days of international roaming under this deal would actually be cheaper than anything I can get locally. Caps these days for 4G max out at around 10GB with $10 per extra GB so as long as I'm using a GB per day, AT&T's option would actually be cheaper than anything local.

        Not really keen to sign up for $300+ a month in mobile charges just so I can view youtube, but the option actually seems v
      • You're missing the big picture. Sure you have awful, slow, expensive Internet, but AT&T paid your political masters $26 million last year [opensecrets.org] and they need that money back.

        Now, the reason they spend all that money was to prevent competition so that they can continue providing a terrible service for a lot of money.

        AT&T have been the victims of antitrust action before and they've learned their lesson. They are never going to let that happen again, and you are going to fund it for them.

        You might not lik

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by swb ( 14022 )

      Super overpriced. I got 30 days of unlimited talk/text and 10 gb of data for less than 20 GBP from ASDA mobile when I was in the UK.

      The only drawback I saw was that I didn't get LTE speeds, "only" 4G. I wasn't sure if that was a radio limitation of my US-bought iPhone 6 plus or a limitation of the plan. It also didn't allow for tethering.

      The practical drawbacks of that were nil for me, speeds were just fine for maps, email, web and every other smartphone thing I wanted to do and the hotel had free and qu

    • This is actually more overpriced than their one month AT&T Passport service which cost only $40/month. $10/day is robbery plain and simple.

      • Even Passport is ridiculously overpriced for what it offers. I spent a month in northern Europe earlier this year and the AT&T Passport service was a PITA - overpriced, slow, and prone to exceptions which allow them to overcharge even more.

        But given the current deregulatory environment, prices will only go up....

  • competition (Score:5, Informative)

    by magarity ( 164372 ) on Monday January 23, 2017 @04:43PM (#53723371)

    Ain't competition great - T-Mobile has been including this in for no extra per day cost for a while now.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by darkain ( 749283 )

      YUP! As someone who frequents Canada, it is freaggin amazing to have awesome cell service up there without any fees whatsoever. My Canadian buddies are usually pissed off because I have better/faster access from my USA T-Mobile phone than they do with their local phone providers.

    • Re:competition (Score:4, Informative)

      by whoever57 ( 658626 ) on Monday January 23, 2017 @05:13PM (#53723615) Journal
      To be accurate, T-Mobile doesn't include calls in their plan, but there are options: 1. Connect to a WiFi hotspot and use T-Mobile's VOIP capability ("WiFi calling"), 2. Use any other VOIP app (WhatApp, Skype, Vonage Extensions, etc.) to call using only data.

      • I've used T-mobile's $10/mo international plan across the EU, and it works like a charm. Yes, the per-minute rate is 20c, which is fairly reasonable where connections are too erratic to support VoIP. Tether your laptop, and away you go!

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by Gabe Ghearing ( 3618909 )
        Nope it's actually free in Canada with T-Mobile ONE (the normal package)
        • - Canada/Mexico roaming is treated the same as US, so Calls/Data/Text are unlimited.
        • - Data/Texting is free world-wide.

        https://www.t-mobile.com/optio... [t-mobile.com]

        I've used it in Italy, France, Ireland, and China. Works pretty well, but official tethering is a crapshoot depending on what network you are roaming on (China/Italy worked, in Ireland/France couldn't get official tethering to work).

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sconeu ( 64226 )

      VZW has it too, $2/day for Mexico and Canada. Not sure what the pricing is for other countries.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Desler ( 1608317 )

        $10/day for everywhere else.

        https://www.verizonwireless.co... [verizonwireless.com]

        • Not everywhere. One civilized country omitted from the list is Japan.

          $10/day would be great compared to how much it would cost otherwise - it costs at least that much to rent a phone with service on top of that.

          Why?

          Because of their "screw you gaijin" laws that prevent non-residents from buying prepaid SIM cards for voice and text. You can get data SIMs, but they noticed the VOIP loophole and the days for that are now likely numbered. Why not do it like the EU where a passport is good enough ID?

          I wonder wha

    • There's no voice, only text and data. Reason voice is excluded has to do with archaic regulations as best as I can tell. Things are changing in that regard so it'll probalby change at some point. However right now you get talk to and from the US, Canada, and Mexico. Everywhere else voice is extra charge. Text and data are available in most countries and are included with no extra charge.

      • OK, yes, I forgot about the archaic regular phone call mode not being included. Get a VOIP app and you're all set though.

  • Finally (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Awesome. Now you can pay as much in a week as you usually do for a whole month, PLUS the base fee! All to get a thing that doesn't cost them a single dime more than they'd otherwise be paying!

    Thanks, AT&T.

  • A flat free? But what if I want a flat expensive?

  • What they need to do is have some weekly plan for travels to the USA. They'd make a fortune selling a cheap weekly throw away SIM with data and a few minutes and texts. Travellers want data for using Maps and looking up stuff of interest (and emails), but don't want to have to fork out $70 when they pay â10/month at home for 10G of data. Come up with something cheap for a week and you'll get plenty of tourists picking up a SIM every time they land. (Oh, and drop the charge for the SIM itself - in E

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Many carriers in other countries are doing something similar. For example, Rogers in Canada has "Roam Like Home". This works the same way as AT&T's program, except it's only $5 (CAD) per day to the US, or $10 (CAD) per day to other countries.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by grub ( 11606 )
        We used Roam Like Home when in the US, fairly cheap at $5/day. Used it a couple of times in Costa Rica but we were on wifi most of the time at the house we rented so ended up using cheap VoIP as needed, way cheaper than $10/day.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Do what my wife does.
      Go to a Walmart and buy a $10 flip phone with an hour of prepaid minutes.
      Use free wifi for looking things up on a smarter device.

    • This traveller gets "free" roaming and data in the US as part of his regular UK contract. (Three with "feel at home" - £20-£30 month depending on how many minutes you want). The only snag is that although voice calls to UK numbers come out of the regular contract allowance, calling another US phone still counts as an international call - still, for phoning home, mail & maps its great.

      I'm sure it won't last...

  • How is this a deal? Using a foreign SIM card, you can usually spend $30 for a MONTH of data. Some sample prices I've paid: (1) Vietnam - $6 for a SIM card for 3gb fast speed then unlimited slow speed for a month (2) Colombia - $13 for a SIM card for 3gb for a month or so (3) Australia - $30 for 9gb (5gb+1gb extra per weekends) for a month Even the most expensive of these only average $1/day, nowhere near $10/day.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Desler ( 1608317 )

      It's only a "deal" since they haven't found a way to triple the price yet.

    • I would absolutely rather pay the $2 for Verizon roaming and use my same SIM card, than try to communicate that people in the US that need me need to dial some Cambodian phone number long distance for them, or that if they text me I have a non-US standard phone number they have to enter to send a text, etc.

    • Using a local SIM card is only an option if you don't have a carrier locked phone, which AT&T doesn't exactly distribute.

      Buy a phone with a subsidy, get fucked when traveling internationally.

    • Just got back from Iceland, pre-paid SIM / 3GB, unlimited local calls and texting was $18.14 US from Vodaphone. Similar to Siminn, Icelandic carrier, in cost.

  • Local simcard (Score:5, Interesting)

    by jolyonr ( 560227 ) on Monday January 23, 2017 @05:00PM (#53723511) Homepage

    And this is why people who travel a lot use local simcards and do all their communication on WhatsApp these days.,

    Last time I needed a simcard when in a foreign country it cost me $5, gave me 1GB of data and lasted two weeks.

    • Re: Local simcard (Score:5, Informative)

      by corychristison ( 951993 ) on Monday January 23, 2017 @05:19PM (#53723657)

      I'm Canadian. The last time I was in the US I bought a prepaid SIM from Roam Mobility.

      Cost $5 (CAD) per day while in the US. You preload it by setting which days you expect to be in the US, and prepay for it prior to your trip.

      Each day added 1GB of data to the "pool" of usable Data while traveling + unlimited calling and sms/mms.

      I was in the US for 6 days, so it cost me $30 and gave me 6GB of Data. The area I was in had LTE, so it was actually quite useful.

      It's not the cheapest, but one of the better deals available without too much hassle. My carrier offers the same thing as AT&T, but for Canadians travelling to the US. Cost is also $10/day. Activate it by sending a text message to a special number.

      I suspect they prey on people who don't buy unlocked devices, or know how to unlock their devices, essentially forcing their clients to have to pay those prices.

  • Other carriers, such as Verizon, have been offering this exact plan for a while now.

    Welcome to the present, AT&T.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by slew ( 2918 )

      Other carriers, such as Verizon, have been offering this exact plan for a while now.

      Welcome to the present, AT&T.

      And Verizon's TravelPass is only $2/day for Mexico and Canada... For $2/day that's quite a bit less hassle than dealing with SIM-cards...

  • Comment removed (Score:3)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Monday January 23, 2017 @05:28PM (#53723713)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Pretty much all the countries I'd be interested in are not on the list.... (sad face)

    Wait, Venezuela is on the list but PNG isn't? Heck, most of the middle east isn't on the list but China is?

  • I travel a lot and never use roaming. Most of my stuff comes over the network anyway so I just make sure I have plenty of data. Last time I visited the UK I bought a SIM from 3 for £20 from a machine which came with unlimited calls, text and data. What I didn't realise at the time was it would also work almost anywhere in the world. When I went over to Denmark it connected to 3-DK and worked fine there, Sweden, yep, USA it switched to T-mobile and then I ended up in NZ and it connected to 2degre

  • its a free! (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I'd like to get that $10 flat free. Where do I go to pick it up?

  • What a rip off. I can get a similar offer here in Australia (which is usually way more expensive than the USA) for $5 a day (~$3.80 USD). Vodafone UK offers a daily roaming option for 3 pounds (also ~$3.80 USD) which suggests that AT&T should be charging around $USD4 not $10.
  • Or just switch to Google Fi. You get 3G roaming data in something like 120+ countries at the same exact price as domestic 4G data in the US ($10/GB).
  • That's $300/month. Still cheaper to buy a burner phone and forward my calls. The big three cell companies in Canada have similar plans.. they suck. I'm with Wind Mobile (now Freedom Mobile since they got bought out). They have a plan for roaming in the US for about $10/month.

    That's the kind of pricing that you should be paying. The cost of dealing with roamers for the companies are probably in the pennies per day. Those plans are almost 100% profit. The only reason why they get away with it is that "e

  • International plans are only useful if they let you receive calls from your domestic number for emergencies.

    In almost any case I've seen, grabbing a cheap local SIM is much better. In Asia, you can usually buy one right at the airport (at a special short-term rate only available for tourists, even). It does require an unlocked phone but that's getting simpler these days as well.

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