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I continue to be amazed at how much abuse my fellow Americans take from their telcos. I pay 13 EUR/4 wks (yes, German mobile operators are a bit slippery, too)

I continue to be amazed at how much abuse my fellow Americans take from their telcos. I pay 13 EUR/4 wks (yes, German mobile operators are a bit slippery, too) for 3 GB + unlimited domestic talk and text. If I wanted to waste more time on my mobile, 20 GB would run around 30/4 wks. Of course, this is with a paid-for handset. I’ve never had a contract over here. What is the most economical, yet reliable way to receive (and occasionally send) SMSes on a US number while abroad, preferably with a way to transfer an existing US cell number in?

tiltowait 3y ago
It's especially surprising when you consider that cheaper plans exist, probably using the same network you're on, and that changing carriers can be extremely simple. I switched from T-Mobile 3 months ago (when they announced changes to the autopay discount) to Mint. My bill went from $60/mo to $180/yr (breaks down to $15/mo, and I think claiming something is $15/mo when it's actually $180/yr should be illegal, but that's an argument for another day). It's "only" a 5GB plan in comparison to whatever I had before, but my highest month so far has been 1.06GB. Transferring took 15 minutes. It's the same network. Sure, many people don't switch out of ignorance, but I know people for whom the reason is simply laziness (because I told them about the cheaper plans).
- arjvik 3y ago
  I switched to Mint for a year and had serious issues with deprioritization. I would get “E” service in the middle of a busy city, forcing me to repeatedly reboot my phone. Perhaps it was just a Pixel 7 issue?
  - altairprime 3y ago
    Nope, Mint has a lesser priority on its network than the network operator’s own customers. It means that city is oversubscribed for available capacity and either that the carrier network isn’t being granted the necessary permits to build more capacity, and/or that the carrier network isn’t building sufficient capacity for MVNO demand.
  - lostmsu 3y ago
    E service? I don't think prioritization would switch you to Edge network.
- dv_dt 3y ago
  T-mobile bought mint though, so I expect you’ll have a few years before having to move on.
dkjaudyeqooe 3y ago
Google Voice, which is free.
- yieldcrv 3y ago
  my brand relies on being able to use imessage my brand being me
404mm 3y ago
I wish there was some other way. It’s all one huge monopoly and nowhere else to go. So people have no choice other than bending over and getting f’d. Some say to go with MVNO but I haven’t found one that would check all the boxes for me. The main networks tend to keep the “premium” features to 1st party customers and MVNO get either lower speed, less data or something. I wish there was one MVNO that is 1. No BS, 2. Merges 2 or 3 major carriers under one. It could even be the same price..
em-bee 3y ago
in austria you get 40GB for 10€/month and for 20€ you get an unlimited data only sim.
niij 3y ago
> I continue to be amazed at how much abuse my fellow Americans take from their telcos. > I pay 13 EUR/4 wks (yes, German mobile operators are a bit slippery, too) for 3 GB + unlimited domestic talk and text. Many providers are on par with this in the US. Mint Mobile has 5gb and unlimited talk/text for $15/mo yearly. With PPP adjustment that might be slightly cheaper than your plan. Now let's talk about how Germans are being abused with their gas prices.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

tiltowait 3y ago

It's especially surprising when you consider that cheaper plans exist, probably using the same network you're on, and that changing carriers can be extremely simple. I switched from T-Mobile 3 months ago (when they announced changes to the autopay discount) to Mint. My bill went from $60/mo to $180/yr (breaks down to $15/mo, and I think claiming something is $15/mo when it's actually $180/yr should be illegal, but that's an argument for another day). It's "only" a 5GB plan in comparison to whatever I had before, but my highest month so far has been 1.06GB. Transferring took 15 minutes. It's the same network. Sure, many people don't switch out of ignorance, but I know people for whom the reason is simply laziness (because I told them about the cheaper plans).

arjvik 3y ago
I switched to Mint for a year and had serious issues with deprioritization. I would get “E” service in the middle of a busy city, forcing me to repeatedly reboot my phone. Perhaps it was just a Pixel 7 issue?
- altairprime 3y ago
  Nope, Mint has a lesser priority on its network than the network operator’s own customers. It means that city is oversubscribed for available capacity and either that the carrier network isn’t being granted the necessary permits to build more capacity, and/or that the carrier network isn’t building sufficient capacity for MVNO demand.
- lostmsu 3y ago
  E service? I don't think prioritization would switch you to Edge network.
dv_dt 3y ago
T-mobile bought mint though, so I expect you’ll have a few years before having to move on.

dkjaudyeqooe 3y ago

Google Voice, which is free.

yieldcrv 3y ago
my brand relies on being able to use imessage my brand being me

404mm 3y ago

I wish there was some other way. It’s all one huge monopoly and nowhere else to go. So people have no choice other than bending over and getting f’d. Some say to go with MVNO but I haven’t found one that would check all the boxes for me. The main networks tend to keep the “premium” features to 1st party customers and MVNO get either lower speed, less data or something. I wish there was one MVNO that is 1. No BS, 2. Merges 2 or 3 major carriers under one. It could even be the same price..

em-bee 3y ago

in austria you get 40GB for 10€/month and for 20€ you get an unlimited data only sim.

niij 3y ago

> I continue to be amazed at how much abuse my fellow Americans take from their telcos. > I pay 13 EUR/4 wks (yes, German mobile operators are a bit slippery, too) for 3 GB + unlimited domestic talk and text. Many providers are on par with this in the US. Mint Mobile has 5gb and unlimited talk/text for $15/mo yearly. With PPP adjustment that might be slightly cheaper than your plan. Now let's talk about how Germans are being abused with their gas prices.

deleted 3y ago

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