[mbd26]

Any advice on a good pre-paid service in the US? I'll be stateside for about a month and want to use my new unlocked 650 as my main email and phone device. I believe that the T-Mo pre-paid deal does not include data access (GPRS).

I'm used to popping into countries in Europe and buying a SIM for cheap ($20-50) and adding more credit to it as needed, GPRS included. Am I right in thinking the US providers (T-Mo & Cing) charge quite a bit more for this service?

[mdavis]

This really interests me. I have no idea what the US policy is, but I have the reverse problem: I always get a FranceOrange card or a Tim Italian card when I'm there, but I've never nown a pre-paid card that has data included. Have I missed something? Since I'm going pretty soon, I'd really like to know. Thanks.

[mdavis]

bump

[mbd26]

Dunno about "policy", or France and Italy, but here's a post I made last week (http://discussion.treocentral.com/sh...3&page=6&pp=20):

Data avaialbility does differ, but is not as rare as you'd expect. Here in Turkey (Turkcell) and in Switzerland (Swisscom mobile) the pre-paid SIMs I quickly bought had GPRS all set up, no worries. In Czech (T-Mobile) I could not get GPRS configured, but there was a dial-up number available for data. So in each place I had access to email and web via my Treo 180.

[Pearl_Diva]

T-Mobile did say no data on pre-paid. Makes no sense to me if you pay as you go. They have a data plan like that, why can't you get it with pre-pay, it's the same concept? I'm not sure you can order data through pre-paid Cingular either. However, it's about $50 to get started on either on the pre-pay plans.

[smeg36]

If you get a T-Mobile prepaid SIM on ebay, they are about $10, and include minutes. You can get T-Zones activated on a prepaid SIM, but then you have the problem of configuring it correctly. The T-Zones is $4.99 extra per month. it is possible to correctly configure though. I don't know what the settings are as I use the $20/month unlimited plan with my T-Mobile contract.

[NX01]

My Pre-paid T-Mobile SIM has pre-configured services for "T-Mobile Internet", T-Mobile VPN" and "Tzones".

However, I don't know if these work "Out of the Box" or at all. Unfortunately I did not try GPRS access when I bought the SIM and my unlocked 650 when in was in LA/Vegas back in February. I had my T3 and WiFi card which I used at free hotspots.

According to T-Mobile's website, Tzones is offered on Pre-paid. Check out http://www.t-mobile.com/prepaid/overview.asp
I also got a "To Go" brochure when I bought the SIM and it does indicate internet access. I don't know which is true. I will test when I'm back in the US, probably by June. I guess it would be quite odd to have these pre-configured options on my SIM and they don't work.

FYI, I chose T-Mobile over Cingular because the sales rep told me that T-Mobile had the widest coverage and included the cities to which I travel (i.e. Miami, NYC, Pittsburgh, LA, Las Vegas and Houston) but Cingular does not have coverage in all. I have not researched this but after thinking about it, I doubt that statement was true. (Can someone clarify?). However, I also suggest you check for coverage in the cities to which you will be travelling.

[jskier]

check the pre-paid forums at http://www.howardforums.com for more info on US pre-paid providers and the services they offer.

[Pearl_Diva]

Now why did T-Mobile tell me I couldn't get internet with pre-paid?

[ultip]

You can't. Tmobile offers "t zones" for prepaid. You have to call them and activate GPRS. But it only includes access to the espn, abc news and cnn wap sites. No email and no access to any sites other than those above. The tzones workaround using a proxy that works for the $4.99 tzones doesn't work for the prepaid tzones.

This wasn't always the case. Before the tzones crackdown at the beginning of the year, the prepaid tzones offered full and unlimited internet access all for free because they don't deduct charges from your account for using it. It was the best deal in wireless history. It couldn't last of course. They caught on eventually and thats probably what led to the general crackdown on tzones even for the postpaid users.

[technogrammy]

If you get a T-Mobile prepaid SIM on ebay, they are about $10, and include minutes. You can get T-Zones activated on a prepaid SIM, but then you have the problem of configuring it correctly. The T-Zones is $4.99 extra per month. it is possible to correctly configure though. I don't know what the settings are as I use the $20/month unlimited plan with my T-Mobile contract.

If you get T-Zones activated on a pre-paid SIM, do they deduct the $4.99 once a month from your pre-paid balance or do they send you a bill each month? Do you know if you can get the $19.99 unlimited Internet activated on a pre-paid SIM?

[ultip]

That would make sense. For them to deduct $4.99 and allow you to get tzones under prepaid. But they don't. Both that and the internet plan are only available postpaid.

[NX01]

You can't. Tmobile offers "t zones" for prepaid. You have to call them and activate GPRS. But it only includes access to the espn, abc news and cnn wap sites. No email and no access to any sites other than those above. The tzones workaround using a proxy that works for the $4.99 tzones doesn't work for the prepaid tzones.

This wasn't always the case. Before the tzones crackdown at the beginning of the year, the prepaid tzones offered full and unlimited internet access all for free because they don't deduct charges from your account for using it. It was the best deal in wireless history. It couldn't last of course. They caught on eventually and thats probably what led to the general crackdown on tzones even for the postpaid users.

Arrgh!
Thanks for the info. Now I understand and am disappointed...
I guess I will have to keep lugging around my T3 and WiFi card...

[mbd26]

Yeah, serious bummer! Does anyone know about Cingular plans (vis-a-vis data)?
I was thinking T-Mo as I used to be a customer of theirs, and I'll mainly be in big East-Coast cities. But if Cing offers any data on prepaid I'd be interested.

Thanks for the eBay idea! I had not even thought of it. A quick check showed many many prepaid cards (T-Mo & Cing) for cheap. So how can someone offer a $120 SIM for $15 buy-it-now? Don't get it.

[mbd26]

bump