Noah Anita

Tourista

Pretend you are planning a trip to three foreign countries in the next month. Consult your
wireless carrier to determine if your mobile phone would work properly in those countries.
What would the costs be? What alternatives do you have if it would not work?

Based on research, different countries use different networks and different sim cards. As a
foreigner going to another country, obviously my local network and my sim card won’t even
work.
So, let’s say if I’m staying in United States and decided to travel to three other countries, these
are the alternatives I would consider.
I would use T-Mobile senior plan. As part of the basic service plan, T-senior Mobile's plan
offers unlimited data service in nearly 210 countries. When traveling between local carrier
territories, there is no need to change SIM cards because the phone automatically switches to the
approved local carriers. International calls cost around 25 cents per minute. Also, it was proof
that a foreigner has traveled across Russia in 2018 on the Trans-Siberian rail route, which had
service virtually all the time.
Another option is renting a smart phone. If my smart phone was not able to access internet,
renting another smart phone is the best option. Based on research, many of the firms that rent cell
phones with voice plans will also rent you a smartphone that you may use in your destination
country. Renting a smartphone is more expensive than renting one with a voice plan, so I will
have to pay a lot.
Another option is buying a new sim card as soon as I arrive in that country. I can either
temporarily replace the SIM card in my current phone with the leased one (though it may need to
be unlocked), or I can put the SIM card in an older smartphone that I no longer use. It’s better to
bring two smart phones. For some countries, SIM cards can be bought cheaply and will allow
you to enjoy a smartphone just as much as you do at home for a reasonable price.
Another option is Arranging a data plan through my carrier. Many carriers provide temporary
data plans that give me a set amount of data to use when traveling overseas. These plans are
significantly more limited and expensive than what I would ordinarily subscribe to in my home
country. However, they are still significantly cheaper than $20 per MB.
I can contact or go to my carrier's website to check what services they provide. Once I have
figured out what my carrier has to offer, I will contact and set up an overseas data package,
specifying the dates I will be going. Also, double-check that the plan covers the countries I will
be visiting, as these plans aren't always valid in every country. I will Reset my device's data
counter right before I leave my home country to keep track of how much data I am using. Then,
once I have arrived in the foreign country, I can keep an eye on the data count.
The other option is to use an international sim card. Some companies now offer pre-paid data-
only SIM cards for tablets, smartphones, notebook modems, and other devices that can be used
in multiple countries. One Sim Card, for example, and MTX Connect are two examples.
OneSImCard has coverage in more than 200 countries and costs $29.95 plus 10c per MB ($100
per GB). MTX Connect is available in over 30 European countries, and I can receive it for free.
After that, I can pay 10 cents per MB or 10 euros for a day of unrestricted bandwidth.
Last but not the least, I will consider using MiFi if I have no other option. The term "MiFi" refers
to a relatively recent technology. It's a little device that fits in one's pocket that allows many
devices to connect to the internet at the same time when they're close to the MiFi device, thus
creating a personal hotspot through cellular signal. Some firms (My Private Hotspot) sell MiFi
devices and service plans for domestic and international use; however, they are usually not
unlimited. MiFi devices can be rented for international travel.