I can fully confirm this (I've too lived in Europe and the US). Europe (Austria): I currently get data traffic at 4 Euros per GB. No monthly costs. Alternative

I can fully confirm this (I've too lived in Europe and the US). Europe (Austria): I currently get data traffic at 4 Euros per GB. No monthly costs. Alternatively I can also get 9 GB for 8.80 per month. Also possible in combination with 4 Eurocents per minute for voice calls - of course also without monthly costs (or alternatively: 8.80 Euros per month for 1000 minutes AND 1000 SMS). Usually you've got cellphone coverage _everywhere_ (this also includes many mountain tops in the Alps). US: I wasn't able to buy just a GSM SIM but had also to buy some cheap phone to get the SIM. Data rates are just crazy - something like $20 for 100 MB IIRC. Coverage is quite poor outside of metro areas: In Austria I would get upset if I don't have 3G coverage, in the US I was happy when I had GSM coverage. And of course, T-Mobile and AT&T use incompatible 3G frequencies - meaning if you buy a phone with one of them you cannot use it with the other one.