T-Mobile is adding 55 countries to its international data plan while slightly raising the cost of international calls.
Yesterday afternoon I received a text message from T-Mobile:
Important msg from T-Mobile: We noticed you make calls while abroad. We’re updating our Simple Global calling rates and including more countries beginning on 8/1/18. Visit t-mo.co/2LdhBB3 to see the rates and countries.
How much does an international call cost when traveling abroad with T-Mobile?
International calls will rise from 20 cents per minute to 25 cents per minute starting on your first new bill cycle following July 31, 2018.
Keep in mind this is just for cellular calls and that calling over T-Mobile Wi-Fi will remain complimentary.
Which countries now include T-Mobile international data?
T-Mobile international data will now be available in the following nations and territories starting July 22, 2018:
- Afghanistan
- Aland Islands
- Albania
- Alderney
- Algeria
- Angola
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Aruba
- Australia
- Azerbaijan
- Azores
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Benin
- Bermuda
- Bolivia
- Bonaire
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brazil
- British Virgin Islands
- Brunei Darussalam
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Canary Islands
- Cape Verde
- Cayman Islands
- Chad
- Chile
- China
- Christmas Island
- Colombia
- Congo
- Congo, Democratic Republic
- Costa Rica
- Cote d’Ivoire
- Croatia
- Curacao
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Easter Island
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Estonia
- Faroe Islands
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- French Guiana
- French Polynesia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Greenland
- Grenada
- Guadeloupe
- Guam
- Guatemala
- Guernsey
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Herm
- Honduras
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Isle of Man
- Israel
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jersey
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Latvia
- Liberia
- Lichtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macau
- Macedonia
- Madagascar
- Madeira
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mali
- Malta
- Marie Galante
- Martinique
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mayotte
- Mexico
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Montserrat
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Nauru
- Netherlands
- Netherlands Antilles
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Northern Ireland
- Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan)
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestinian Territories
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Reunion
- Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Saint Barthelemy
- Saint Eustatius
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Martin
- Saint Saba
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Sark Island
- Saudi Arabia
- Scotland
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Sint Maarten
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Suriname
- Svalbard
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Togo
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vatican City
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Wales
- Western Sahara
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
My Situation
I’m doing something wrong and this update from T-Mobile is a perfect opportunity, it seems to me, to move over T-Mobile ONE Plus. For $25/month extra, this upgrade offers 10GB/month of 4G/LTE hotspot access, unlimited HD streaming, free in-flight wi-fi, and most importantly, 256kb/second data speeds abroad.
I don’t like switching SIM cards when I travel. Although the bulk of my telephone conversations are on FaceTime audio or T-Mobile Wi-Fi when I’m traveling, I still run up an extra $30-50 month in voice charges. That’s better than $10/day considering my trips usually last at least a week, but I’ve been far too tolerant of slow data in Europe and Asia.
Although my plan is supposed to provide complimentary Edge/2G date speeds, I rarely get that. Half the time I cannot load a website, though email, messaging, and navigation usually works.
So it seems to me the time is now to upgrade to ONE Plus. The extra $25/month should be well-worth in productivity alone.
CONCLUSION
I’m excited that T-Mobile is adding 55 new countries to its international data plan. I’ve been to several nations over the last year without any data coverage so this will come in handy. Now I just need to pick up the phone and call T-Mobile to upgrade to ONEPlus.
They didn’t really add 55 countries. They split up existing countries into territories. For example, before the listed just the UK. Now they list Wales, Scotland, etc.
No need to talk to anyone for the misanthropic among us. Just use the app.
NOW they add the French Polynesia: after I visit and have to buy local SIM cards.
Take a look at Project Fi for international travel.
I have, but cannot bear to give up my iPhone.
Aha! Yeah, that’s a deal-breaker for a lot of people. 🙂
I can’t imagine that restriction being lifted anytime soon considering that Google and Apple are direct competitors.
Matthew, I’m grandfathered in with the “PLUS” (i.e. I pay $70/month instead of $75). Trust me, you don’t get 3G — you get 256, which is still barely enough for loading some Web sites and doing Instagram, but is a bit less terrible than the 128.
Thanks for sharing this. Do you recommend I switch?
@Matthew, I mean, 256 is twice as good as 128. I think for a guy like you who is constantly traveling and in Europe, it’s probably worth it.
That said, I wish T-Mobile would just give us “crummy 3G” (i.e. 1 mbps), which would be a huge difference.
I’m pretty sure Australia was previously included. I went in December 2016 and had no extra charges while there.
Definitely get ONE plus. I live in China and the increase in productivity is phenomenal.