Yes, I have, extensively in (Western) Europe and Latin America (Peru, Venezuela, Brazil). These are my experiences:
- Make sure your phone works in the country you go to. Triband / Quadband (so-called "world phones") are needed anywhere except for North America. - Service and coverage is generally good in Europe. Coverage in Latin America varies from excellent in major cities to very spotty/non-existent in the boonies. - Make sure you know the cost of voice-calls for TMO WorldClass roaming as to avoid surprises on your bill. Most of Western Europe is $0.99/minute, which is a more or less "standard" rate for most US operators. Other places, like LatAm, Eastern Europe, the Middle East (I am not sure about Asia) can become prohibitively expensive. I was a week in Brazil in November, and racked up $800 in roaming charges in a week (at $3.99 per minute for calls back to the US... rip-off!) - If you want to roam abroad, make sure that you activate roaming (call customer service!) several days to a week before traveling. They can't/don't want to do it when you are abroad! - When you are roaming abroad, make sure that you switch off / wisely use your data services. Regardless of your package with TMO, you *will* be charged for data traffic (GPRS/Picture Msgs/Mobile Internet) and for receiving and sending SMS messages. Rates vary depending on the country and operator you roam on. SMS costs vary from $0.15 to $0.55 per message. - If you decide that you need a local SIM, make sure your TMO phone is unlocked. In order to unlock your phone, TMO will help you (through CS) if they can, but you need to have been a customer with them for at least 90 days. - Local SIMs can be cheap or expensive: I bought a SIM at TIM Peru for $15, which included a lot of airtime and TIM-to-TIM calls. Calls to international numbers were quite expensive, so figure out what you want to use it for. Good luck, happy travels, --Ramon On Fri, 25 Mar 2005 15:14:39 -0000, laluz021 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Anyone had experience using their T-Mobile service using the World > Class option? Did you use it in Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico? How > did the service and cost seem to you? Has anyone gone the other > route and switched SIM cards to the local one? How does a person > figure out if it's worth the extra cost for a different SIM? Did you > buy your SIM in the country or off a website here in the US? > > > - - - - > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> What would our lives be like without music, dance, and theater? Donate or volunteer in the arts today at Network for Good! http://us.click.yahoo.com/Tcy2bD/SOnJAA/cosFAA/G6uqlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> - - - - Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/T-Mobile-US/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
