I made the switch from AT&T to T-Mobile back in June, and couldn’t be happier about it. I pay less than half as much as I did before, and I get unlimited international data, can finally tether my phone (I had one of those grandfathered unlimited plans with AT&T that didn’t allow it), and get an hour of free Gogo Wi-Fi on every eligible flight.
On top of these published perks, T-Mobile often has limited time promotions to delight customers. In the decade I was with AT&T, I don’t remember them ever doing a single thing to go above and beyond. For example, over the summer T-Mobile offered unlimited high speed 4G LTE data in Europe for their Simple Choice plan customers, rather than the standard 2G speeds.
Well, T-Mobile has just announced an “Endless Summer” promotion, as T-Mobile Simple Choice plan customers will get free 4G LTE speeds in Europe and South America for the rest of 2016. T-Mobile customers will automatically receive 4G LTE speeds in the following countries:
European Destinations:
Armenia, Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United KingdomSouth American Destinations:
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Easter Island, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela
I’m headed to several of those countries between now and the end of the year, so color me very excited about this announcement, as I’ll be taking advantage of this.
By the way, I just have to mention how much I love John Legere, T-Mobile’s CEO. Following him on Twitter always cracks me up, as do his quotes in press releases. He almost sounds a bit like Donald Trump in terms of what he says (though he hasn’t gone as far as adding “Crooked Verizon” or “Lyin’ AT&T” to his vocabulary), though in fairness I tend to think there’s substance behind what he says. For example, here’s what he said regarding this promotion through the end of the year:
“THIS is what sets the Un-carrier apart. The carriers are always trying to take more from you. The Un-carrier is always trying to give more to you,” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. “I’ve always thought roaming limits were nuts. So when we found a way to expand our free summer data offer, I said ‘Hell yeah!’”
I know some people don’t like T-Mobile because of their usual 2G speeds internationally. Personally I’m still very happy with my plan. Getting free international data is awesome, and 2G speeds are good enough for email, Twitter, Instagram, Google Maps, etc., which are the main things I want to use my phone for when roaming the streets internationally. That being said, I certainly won’t complain about 4G speeds either. 😉
Thanks, T-Mobile!
(Tip of the hat to @relidtm)
The difference between having 2G and nothing is much HUGER than the difference between 4G and 2G. Wonder why France is left out.
Lucky glad you got my tweet :)
And everyone who is complaining its 2g or 3g speeds (except when its bumped up). When you land in an area with tmobile you can get a 1/7/30 day pass for really cheap, I recently got 4g for 7$ for the week. Verizon/ATT when I had them was not even close to this low of a price point. But free is free in my eyes.
Currently in Dublin and noticed faster speeds a couple of days ago. This explains it.
However... Speeds I am seeing are in the 1.4 to 2.3 Mbps range.
I saw similar speeds in Greece in August.
Hardly 4G but better than 2G.
I'd bet that lucky is a Trump supporter so no removals of The Donald.
@shaun and others, you can always download offline maps with google maps on many cities, that way you will use the internet for other things like traffic and directions.
I left AT&T and my grandfathered unlimited plan for T-Mobile's Simple Choice plan (less throttling in the US than their new One plan) after much reluctance and worrying about coverage/quality/etc. My main driver was the included international text and data. I am stationed in California while my fiance is stationed in England and I previously bought local SIM cards every time I visited. I'm glad that I made the switch and had zero issues with...
I left AT&T and my grandfathered unlimited plan for T-Mobile's Simple Choice plan (less throttling in the US than their new One plan) after much reluctance and worrying about coverage/quality/etc. My main driver was the included international text and data. I am stationed in California while my fiance is stationed in England and I previously bought local SIM cards every time I visited. I'm glad that I made the switch and had zero issues with connectivity while recently in England and Ireland (both in big cities and small towns). My only complaint thus far is similar to Donna's, once on the plane before take off and after landing, I did not have service.
I have left ATT years ago....I would rather use carrier pigeon than ATT..... T-Mobile has been truly amazing for me.....
so ironic that it doesn't apply in France, but the tweeted the news with a pic of Paris!
Please remove Trump from your blog.
@DCjoe
Thanks. I have the iPhone 6s and it should work with Band 12. I hope I haven't missed some setting option that changed when I switched. I was told this morning I might need to power down/reboot when coming back from Europe.
@ Donna-
Do you have a phone with LTE Band 12? When I switched to a phone with Band 12 a lot of my signal issues went away, including inside buildings. Most phones that came out pre-early 2015 don't have it, pretty much all new phones do. Helps in rural areas also. You can check here:
http://www.spectrumgateway.com/compatible-phones
T-mobile all the way! I just switched last week after 13 years with AT&T. Also, @Lucky in case you didn't know there is the T-mobile Tuesdays app and pretty much every tuesday they give you a $15 lyft credit among other things!
Ohh and unlimited international texting as well! That is amazing.
I had 3G last week in Italy and it worked fine on maps. I could not tether in Italy. Anyone else have tether issues overseas? Also, my only complaint with T-Mobile is their weak signal strength inside airports and large concrete buildings. AT&T never lost connectivity inside airports or elsewhere. Could not use my phone inside the PHI Airport or Marriott last week.
French Guyana! But not France.
Interesting.
Reliance Jio is already giving free data and calls over their VOLTE in India till end 2016
@Lucky
The headline says South America but your post mentions South Africa. " T-Mobile Simple Choice plan customers will get free 4G LTE speeds in Europe and South Africa for the rest of 2016."
@ Evan -- Fixed, thanks!
Remove Donald Trump please.
@marcmsj
That's why I said the phones "claimed". Regardless, it was nice to stop worrying and just enjoy.
@shaun
We're an iPhone family: our batteries don't last long enough to get hot.
lol
We've been more than satisfied since joining T-Mobile. Not a shill, just a fact.
@Steven you'll connect to 3g but you'll be throttled to 2g speeds.
Good news, leaving Saturday for Columbia and Brazil. Too bad T-Mobile is terrible where I live in Tucson though. Barely any signal in my house (have to use wifi calling) and often will show LTE but be super slow. Been with them for about a month, going to dump them when we return from our trip.
I have the T-Mobile One Plus plan which gives me free and unlimited international 3g speeds (with the occasional promotional 4g that they offer) It's great for any international traveler.
@ Steven Thanks for the response! I've been looking to drop Verizon (for about a decade) and think I am finally going to do it! Just hoping they have non-exploding Samsung phones in stock!
Please don't use Donald Trump in your blog.
Yes, it is fast enough, as a matter of fact. However, we never dropped to 2G, our phones claimed 3G everywhere.
We just returned from Italy and Switzerland; we had connectivity from Lake Lugano to the Cinque Terre (and of course in the cities) that was good enough for Apple Maps, web searches, booking two Alitalia flights, and (for me the most important thing) my photos were geotagged.
Ciao, AT&T.
Is the free 2G international data fast enough to run things like Google maps? I am terrible at directions and Google maps is a godsend for me! I don't stream video or music so I don't care about that stuff. Thanks!