Travelling to the US - Best SIM?

[gtway]

Hi All,

I'm travelling to Muh-Reca soon and wanted to ask what others have used to stay connected there. My plan was to use my MiFi (Huawei E5372) with a T-Mobile or AT&T data only SIM (to keep my phone connected when on the go and away from WiFi). Problem is, it doesn't seem like I can get one here, or easily at the airport when I land. It seems like you have to have a contract with the service providers over there, just to get a SIM. Thoughts / personal experiences? Thanks in advance!

 

[LCBXX]

Interesting question. I have had similar thoughts regarding the Cruises that people go on from Durbs/CPT. If I recall the MSC Ships use MoviStar for cellular coverage and I was wondering if you could buy a couple of prepaid SIM cards from them, and sell them locally to people going on the cruise.

 

[sjm]

Hi All,

I'm travelling to Muh-Reca soon and wanted to ask what others have used to stay connected there. My plan was to use my MiFi (Huawei E5372) with a T-Mobile or AT&T data only SIM (to keep my phone connected when on the go and away from WiFi). Problem is, it doesn't seem like I can get one here, or easily at the airport when I land. It seems like you have to have a contract with the service providers over there, just to get a SIM. Thoughts / personal experiences? Thanks in advance!

You can get month to month contracts there, so you just take a 1 month contract. Around $25 - $30 for around 2 - 3 GB of LTE data (AT&T and T-Mobile), with a drop off to low speeds (can go down to 128K) once you've used up the allocated LTE data.

 

[gtway]

You can get month to month contracts there, so you just take a 1 month contract. Around $25 - $30 for around 2 - 3 GB of LTE data (AT&T and T-Mobile), with a drop off to low speeds (can go down to 128K) once you've used up the allocated LTE data.

Thanks, but can anyone just get a contract? I'm not a US resident, nor do I have a US bank account or CC...

 

[theratman]

Go to mobile store at walmart, card cost you $10-20 irrc, for Tmobile. You can buy bundles etc same as here.

 

[gtway]

Go to mobile store at walmart, card cost you $10-20 irrc, for Tmobile. You can buy bundles etc same as here.

Thanks!

 

[theratman]

Thanks!

Google is terrible with this,hard to find any good info. First time I went I struggled to find a sim and ended up ordering online to hotel (even cell shops did know what I was talking about) The subsequent times I marched straight into walmart and found the cellstore. That easy.

 

[skeptic_SA]

You can get month to month contracts there, so you just take a 1 month contract. Around $25 - $30 for around 2 - 3 GB of LTE data (AT&T and T-Mobile), with a drop off to low speeds (can go down to 128K) once you've used up the allocated LTE data.

First world sorcery...!

 

[theratman]

First world sorcery...!

Worst is Germany, you buy data to get high speed access (normal access here) when your data is up they throttle the living jebus out of you, even if you have credit / airtime.

 

[werfie]

Do you know anyone there. I got a t-mobile sim (month to month) on a family members plan, it was $10 per month, Unlimited Calls, SMS and 2gb LTE, thereafter unlimited 3g. Very easy to get, they just walk into a store, get the card and cancel it when you are done with it.

 

[gtway]

Google is terrible with this,hard to find any good info. First time I went I struggled to find a sim and ended up ordering online to hotel (even cell shops did know what I was talking about) The subsequent times I marched straight into walmart and found the cellstore. That easy.

Yeah I was having the same issue with Googling it...

 

[gtway]

Do you know anyone there. I got a t-mobile sim (month to month) on a family members plan, it was $10 per month, Unlimited Calls, SMS and 2gb LTE, thereafter unlimited 3g. Very easy to get, they just walk into a store, get the card and cancel it when you are done with it.

Nice! Might be easier, thanks!

 

[protrex]

American Here..

You can get a T-Mobile or AT&T SIM at any carrier store. You are not required to sign a contract or have a SSN (Social Security Number) if you are only going for month-to-month service and you are not financing a phone.

T-Mobile is great, I use them (since they have unlimited roaming in ZA), but they don't have the best coverage (Think Cell C). If you are planning on visiting national parks or going off the beaten path, go with AT&T. They are a good value with several Prepaid plans that would meet your needs.

AT&T is a bigger, more traditional, telecom company with coverage mostly everywhere, but we hate them since they're big and they don't have to care (Think Vodacom).

Verizon and Sprint are CDMA/LTE carriers, they don't use GSM/HSPA for their 2G/3G so many phones won't work on their network. If you have an unlocked iPhone 6 (or newer) you will be able to activate a device on their network, but it might require jumping through some hoops. This is because Apple phones are dual-mode and can use a CDMA or GSM based network, with LTE on top. Verizon is the biggest carrier in the country, but they can be hard to work with. Sprint is a train-wreck and not worth the time, so don't bother. -- I can discuss this for hours if you want.

If you are looking for the best value, go with Cricket (http://www.cricketwireless.com), they're an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) owned by AT&T, so they use the AT&T network. They offer great value, and have a truly unlimited plan for $60 for a month (unlimited voice, data, and sms). The SIM will work in a phone or a hotspot (even though they say it won't) and is truly unlimited but limited to 8mbit download on LTE, 4mbit on HSPA (3G). You can purchase an activation kit at any "big box" store, Walmart, Target, etc and refill cards at the same place. It is truly unlimited, I've pulled 60+GB in a month over it and nobody has said anything.

We don't require anything like RICA, so you can visit the store, buy the SIM and refill with cash, and then activate online from your hotel (or any free wifi, it's everywhere).

The industry in the US does things very differently than ZA. Some things are better, some things are infuriating.

-Jamie

 

[gtway]

American Here..

You can get a T-Mobile or AT&T SIM at any carrier store. You are not required to sign a contract or have a SSN (Social Security Number) if you are only going for month-to-month service and you are not financing a phone.

T-Mobile is great, I use them (since they have unlimited roaming in ZA), but they don't have the best coverage (Think Cell C). If you are planning on visiting national parks or going off the beaten path, go with AT&T. They are a good value with several Prepaid plans that would meet your needs.

AT&T is a bigger, more traditional, telecom company with coverage mostly everywhere, but we hate them since they're big and they don't have to care (Think Vodacom).

Verizon and Sprint are CDMA/LTE carriers, they don't use GSM/HSPA for their 2G/3G so many phones won't work on their network. If you have an unlocked iPhone 6 (or newer) you will be able to activate a device on their network, but it might require jumping through some hoops. This is because Apple phones are dual-mode and can use a CDMA or GSM based network, with LTE on top. Verizon is the biggest carrier in the country, but they can be hard to work with. Sprint is a train-wreck and not worth the time, so don't bother. -- I can discuss this for hours if you want.

If you are looking for the best value, go with Cricket (http://www.cricketwireless.com), they're an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) owned by AT&T, so they use the AT&T network. They offer great value, and have a truly unlimited plan for $60 for a month (unlimited voice, data, and sms). The SIM will work in a phone or a hotspot (even though they say it won't) and is truly unlimited but limited to 8mbit download on LTE, 4mbit on HSPA (3G). You can purchase an activation kit at any "big box" store, Walmart, Target, etc and refill cards at the same place. It is truly unlimited, I've pulled 60+GB in a month over it and nobody has said anything.

We don't require anything like RICA, so you can visit the store, buy the SIM and refill with cash, and then activate online from your hotel (or any free wifi, it's everywhere).

The industry in the US does things very differently than ZA. Some things are better, some things are infuriating.

-Jamie

YOH! Jamie, thanks so much mate, really, really appreciate it! The mods should post this as a sticky somewhere!

 

[Jola]

Just came back fro the USA, tried AT&T, T-Mobile & Cricket (AT&T afiliate, uses AT&T).

I would recommend a Cricket month-to-month contract, and pay manually. So you can just use it for one month.

Be aware that AT&T uses some unusual LTE frequencies, that not all of the local phones can handle. I had an international S7, so that worked fine.

https://www.cricketwireless.com/

I used the USD60 bundle (10GB data, unlimited local calls and sms's, foreign sms's), but there are cheaper bundles.

Note : I bought the sim at Bestbuy, and they let me use the store phone to activate the sim.

 

[gtway]

Just came back fro the USA, tried AT&T, T-Mobile & Cricket (AT&T afiliate, uses AT&T).

I would recommend a Cricket month-to-month contract, and pay manually. So you can just use it for one month.

Be aware that AT&T uses some unusual LTE frequencies, that not all of the local phones can handle. I had an international S7, so that worked fine.

https://www.cricketwireless.com/

I used the USD60 bundle (10GB data, unlimited local calls and sms's, foreign sms's), but there are cheaper bundles.

Note : I bought the sim at Bestbuy, and they let me use the store phone to activate the sim.

Thanks Jola!

 

[protrex]

I'm going to be in the Centurion area next month, if you're interested in a US SIM for travel, I can bring some along and I will sell them for the face value for cash (at the current exchange rate). Then you can activate them in ZA online before you leave so your phone will work when you get off the plane...

Let me know so I can make arrangements.

 

[gtway]

I'm going to be in the Centurion area next month, if you're interested in a US SIM for travel, I can bring some along and I will sell them for the face value for cash (at the current exchange rate). Then you can activate them in ZA online before you leave so your phone will work when you get off the plane...

Let me know so I can make arrangements.

Thanks for the offer but I'll be back already by then!