Friday Poll: Will you switch to T-Mobile for international perks?
T-Mobile bucks carrier tradition and offers unlimited free international texts and data. The move is aimed at enticing new customers.
International voice and data roaming has long been a source of great consternation based on the uncertainty of billing. You either turn off your phone, pick up a local SIM card, or pray you're not accidentally racking up $2,000 in charges.
T-Mobile is saying goodbye to all that by offering free unlimited international texts and data. It also has simplified the matter of making voice calls by charging a fixed rate of 20 cents per minute.
There are a few restrictions for the new perk. It works in more than 100 countries, but the data speeds are a bit pokey, around 128 kilobits per second. Customers will have the option to pay for temporary speed boosts. Still, it could save international travelers a considerable amount of money compared with the cost of the same texts and data on rival networks like AT&T.
T-Mobile has been working steadily to differentiate itself from the competition, positioning itself as a plucky upstart in the carrier game. It is especially hopeful that businesses with globe-hopping employees will switch over for the savings.
Whether you're a hardened world traveler or just someone who likes to head out of the country on vacation from time to time, how appealing are T-Mobile's new international perks? Is it enough to get you to switch? Vote in our poll, and chat it up in the comments.