Sprint IntlData plan

woodstock

Final Approach
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I just found out that Sprint discontinued its intl data plan. This was fabulous - 40 bucks for unlimited usage for the month and it was prorated too.

Now it will be a per kb plan - something like .016 per kb or something.

When you use berry email, how much data does that use? How can you track usage of data while abroad? I could stop using the browser but the emails will come in regardless.
 
I just found out that Sprint discontinued its intl data plan. This was fabulous - 40 bucks for unlimited usage for the month and it was prorated too.

Now it will be a per kb plan - something like .016 per kb or something.

When you use berry email, how much data does that use? How can you track usage of data while abroad? I could stop using the browser but the emails will come in regardless.

If you delete the service books for the phone before you leave the country, you will not get email, and thus not be charged for receiving them.

That's the best secret for the BlackBerry.
 
Seriously time for you to move to AT&T or T-Mobile. I am surprised you were not already using either of those.
I hope you're kidding about AT&T. That's about the most predatory company I know :hairraise:

T-Mobile is pretty good internationally. Also, they treat their customers pretty well. Now if only they had the iPhone....
 
If you delete the service books for the phone before you leave the country, you will not get email, and thus not be charged for receiving them.

That's the best secret for the BlackBerry.

Thanks Nick. What does that mean?

I don't really want to leave Sprint unless I have no other choice. For all that I travel, I don't travel enough to move to another carrier just for international access. I do use data a lot when traveling - rarely do I make a phone call. I don't NEED to get emails on vacation or use data, but it's nice to have. I'd carry the phone just in case I had to make a call.

Does the email push really eat up data? Is it worse than say browsing POA?
 
I hope you're kidding about AT&T. That's about the most predatory company I know :hairraise:
No I am not kidding. I have been very happy with them since switching from T-Mobile.

T-Mobile is pretty good internationally. Also, they treat their customers pretty well. Now if only they had the iPhone....
T-Mobile does have the iPhone. Just not sold in the US. They sell over in Europe the iPhone.
 
Seriously time for you to move to AT&T or T-Mobile. I am surprised you were not already using either of those.

T-Mo still has an unlimited bberry EMAIL plan for international. They've started clamping down on data other than email. T-Mo can turn on/off the international email feature as needed.

AT&T has discontinued the international unlimited data plan (which was a great bargain if you could get on the one they sold to corporate customers: $70 unlimited global data), though I understand that certain customers may be able to get an unlimited international email plan. AT&T discontinued the unlimited data plan when they dropped the caps & changed the domestic data plans.

Beth, email alone doesn't take a lot of data, unless you open attachments. If you're not gone for long (a week or two a year), you may come out OK w/email. However, you need to disable/uniinstall other "push" stuff, like Facebook, mapping application, and some news services. Those will chew up bandwidth, fast.

A plus to the T-Mo BBerry service is that it can use voice UMA over wi-fi from international locations without chewing up minutes or roaming charges. You'd need something like Boingo's mobile service which is $8/month.

One other thing to consider: in many countries in Europe you can find companies that sell prepaid 3G data services that work for a few bucks a day. Need a SIM card (GSM) data device, but if you're staying in the same country for several days & using a lot of data, it's worth the time/expense.
 
T-Mo still has an unlimited bberry EMAIL plan for international. They've started clamping down on data other than email. T-Mo can turn on/off the international email feature as needed.

AT&T has discontinued the international unlimited data plan (which was a great bargain if you could get on the one they sold to corporate customers: $70 unlimited global data), though I understand that certain customers may be able to get an unlimited international email plan. AT&T discontinued the unlimited data plan when they dropped the caps & changed the domestic data plans.

Beth, email alone doesn't take a lot of data, unless you open attachments. If you're not gone for long (a week or two a year), you may come out OK w/email. However, you need to disable/uniinstall other "push" stuff, like Facebook, mapping application, and some news services. Those will chew up bandwidth, fast.

A plus to the T-Mo BBerry service is that it can use voice UMA over wi-fi from international locations without chewing up minutes or roaming charges. You'd need something like Boingo's mobile service which is $8/month.

One other thing to consider: in many countries in Europe you can find companies that sell prepaid 3G data services that work for a few bucks a day. Need a SIM card (GSM) data device, but if you're staying in the same country for several days & using a lot of data, it's worth the time/expense.

Thanks Bill. I've spent roughly 30 days per year in Europe for the past several years. That's spread across a few trips each year though. Good call on the facebook. I might just shut off ALL data and just have the phone for an emergency. Kind of funny that things are going backwards - two years later and I'm back to just having a phone for international usage. 40 bucks extra for data, fine. Couple hundred - or more? No way.
 
Thanks Bill. I've spent roughly 30 days per year in Europe for the past several years. That's spread across a few trips each year though. Good call on the facebook. I might just shut off ALL data and just have the phone for an emergency. Kind of funny that things are going backwards - two years later and I'm back to just having a phone for international usage. 40 bucks extra for data, fine. Couple hundred - or more? No way.

I have a bberry on T-Mo. I turn on the international email when I leave the country and turn it off upon return. I probably pay between $50 and $75 a year to do that for all my international travels. Since they started charging extra for non-email data on the blackberry, I'll probably keep usinng the unlimited BB email, and use the Droid on wifi w/Boingo for anything else. Yeah, it's less convenient, but - like you - I can't see spending $hundreds for data.
 
Thanks Bill. I've spent roughly 30 days per year in Europe for the past several years. That's spread across a few trips each year though. Good call on the facebook. I might just shut off ALL data and just have the phone for an emergency. Kind of funny that things are going backwards - two years later and I'm back to just having a phone for international usage. 40 bucks extra for data, fine. Couple hundred - or more? No way.
The data usage is blowing apart network design assumptions and many people are really trying to figure out timely solution that are cost efficient. While this is happening the sales side of the house sees a chance to up revenues by getting rid of the all you can eat pricing plans. A lot of 3G cell operators were really caught by the change. SMS has supplanted voice as the dominant mode of communications in many regions. To me that was the canary in the coal mine. The additions of smartphone not just marketed to biz people was the clear indicator that data was the way of the near future.

Some operators, like Sprint, anticipated this and started looking at spectrum acquisition and commitments to technology. Their 2.5GHz spectrum that they got from purchases, aquisition of Nextel, etc. was targeted for WiMAX. They eventually turned over that operation of that network to Clearwire but still own the spetrum. This makes Sprint the leader in 4G spectrum and coverage.

Verizon is next up with their 700Mhz and LTE plans, but they have nothing commercial. Thanks to the iPhone really being the game changer in data, AT&T got hammered the most. They have been expanding 3G data coverage faster than anyone else. Which means that most COTS phones can take advantage of their data network. T-Mobile faced a lot of the iPhone effect over in Europe and took steps in the US to mitigate the issue, but their spectrum in the US is unique, so not all phone can take advantage of their solution.

In the next few years this will start to sort itself off, but you're right, For data we took a few operational steps backwards.
 
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