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AT&T has a similar $10-per-day travel plan for unlimited data, voice calls and text. The data counts against your usual plan's allowance; going over will result in a charge and/or reduced download speeds of a super slow 2G-like connection. If you don't sign up for this plan, traditional roaming fees kick in, charging per text message, megabyte of data and minute of voice calling.
Unlimited data for Canada and Mexico is included in AT&T's main Unlimited plans, while the carrier's Unlimited Premium PL and Unlimited Elite plans also allow unlimited data in 20 Latin American countries.
T-Mobile has its own international plans with unlimited calling, though they're pretty modest with data, starting at $5 per day for half a gigabyte of downloaded data. But keep in mind that the carrier's standard plans also include some international data allowances.
The basic Magenta and Go5G plans offer up to 10GB of high-speed data a month in Canada and Mexico, and once that's used up, get unlimited data at very slow 2G speeds (as previously mentioned, the cheapest Essentials plan only gets data in Canada and Mexico at 2G speeds). Go5G Next, Go5G Plus and Magenta Max plans have a small 5GB monthly travel allowance for high-speed data in over 215 countries, though that's subject to potential extra taxes and conditions. Standard Go5G plans get the same 5GB data allowance in 11 European countries.
Though it's possible to bump up your plan for the month (or more) you're traveling and return to your old plan thereafter, it's likely simpler to just pay for international data.
Before carriers got friendlier with their international agreements to support each other's customers, one of the better traveling strategies was to get service straight from the carrier in the country you were traveling in. Once you landed, you'd just walk into a local carrier's retail store and get a prepaid SIM card to last you the length of your trip.
That's still possible today, though it's a bit more complicated. If you have one of the many phones that lack a physical SIM slot, including the latest iPhone 15 series and Samsung Galaxy S24 series, you'll have to register for service through one of the eSIM accounts on your device. It's pretty easy to do, and is in fact one of the benefits of having multiple digital eSIM slots -- so you can have one for domestic use and one for traveling -- but it requires you to register through the carrier in question. You can even load the eSIM before you travel, through apps like Airalo and Ubigi.
Unfortunately, there's something else to consider: whether your phone is unlocked, that is, not tied to a carrier and restricted in using eSIMs from other carriers (even international ones). If you bought your device unlocked, you're in the clear.
If you're paying off your phone in installments from your carrier, it's complicated. Verizon users have it best, as their installment plans unlock phones after 60 days. AT&T and T-Mobile, however, require you to finish your installments and fully pay off your phone to unlock it. Since AT&T's plans have a minimum of 36 monthly installments, customers may be out of luck getting a local carrier eSIM unless they're nearing the end of their contract -- in which case it may make sense to pay the balance for more travel freedom.
Another method to avoid roaming is a bit more roundabout and requires you to sign up for service with a local carrier anyway, but you won't have to fiddle with eSIMs. When you land in your country of travel, you can rent a mobile hotspot (or register service on one you already own), which is a handheld device that turns cell signals into Wi-Fi.
Note that you'll still need to pay for service either from the hotspot maker or from a local carrier, and there's no guarantee that their networks will play nicely with a given hotspot device. Check that it'll work in the area you're traveling to.
Once you've got one set up, you just connect to the hotspot's Wi-Fi using your phone as normal. While it's a bit more cumbersome, this also lets you get internet for your other devices, like tablets and laptops, pretty much anywhere you get a phone signal from a local carrier.
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Another caveat is that you'll need to keep the hotspot itself charged, which is another device battery you'll have to worry about. It might be worth carrying an external battery to make sure your hotspot can last a full day while you're out and about.
Ultimately, whatever option you choose should fit your travel habits and destinations. Some carrier partnership options will be more appealing but offer slower speeds than getting service straight from the local carrier. But don't worry about getting locked into a choice: You can always try out one way when you arrive and switch to another if a better choice presents itself.
Source: cnet.com