Payg sims for USA.Which is best?

neil40

Going to USA early Sept for 2 weeks.

San fran/LA & Las Vegas.
Was looking for internet access most of all and maybe a few minutes to use over there.Does anyone have experience on which would be better to go for.We all have unlocked smart phones.

Thanks. Neil

19lottie82

Not sure what one to go for, but make sure you buy one before you leave the UK. Sims aren't as easy to buy in the USA, as you might think.

Jon_01

We were there about 6 weeks back (LA). Picked 2 T mobile sims up from one of their stores, stuck $20 on each and that lasted the 2 weeks we were there.

NFH

Lycamobile have recently launched their prepaid service in the US. At 2c/min, 4c/text and 6c/MB, it's much cheaper than T-Mobile USA unless you're a heavy user (>50MB per day).

lean&mean

I used a T-Mobile card last time I was over there, though they expire after about 3 months if you don't use them so make sure you don't buy more minutes than you need.

The other issue I found was that I didn't get 3g once, it was gprs all the time. Probably due to my cheap Android phone not using the right frequency for 3g. The iPhone is one of the most adaptable for the US.

I was interested to hear about the Lycamobile offering but I noticed they will only send sims to US residents.
However, I see they are being sold on Ebay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LYCA-MOBILE-USA-US-DUAL-SIM-MICRO-FULL-STD-CARD-UNLIMITED-CALLS-TEXTS-INTERNET-/181168472022?pt=UK_Mobile_Home_Phones_Sim_Cards_CV&hash=item2a2e7b7fd6

Could be a good bet as they run on the T-Mobile network and allow roaming, so you might be able to keep the sim live between visits.

NFH

lean&mean wrote: »

I used a T-Mobile card last time I was over there, though they expire after about 3 months if you don't use them so make sure you don't buy more minutes than you need.

The other issue I found was that I didn't get 3g once, it was gprs all the time. Probably due to my cheap Android phone not using the right frequency for 3g. The iPhone is one of the most adaptable for the US.

That's all changed quite recently (maybe in the last 12 months). T-Mobile have rolled out 3G in many places, particularly in large cities.

lean&mean

I'm pretty sure T-Mobile had 3g last time I went to Chicago, but it runs on 1700/1900/2100MHz, which isn't used in the UK, so your phone may not have it. Check the manufacturer's specs, but unless your phone offers 3g on all three frequencies you may not get it. That's my interpretation but happy to be corrected.

Good source of info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_frequencies

NFH

lean&mean wrote: »

I'm pretty sure T-Mobile had 3g last time I went to Chicago, but it runs on 1700/1900/2100MHz, which isn't used in the UK, so your phone may not have it. Check the manufacturer's specs, but unless your phone offers 3g on all three frequencies you may not get it. That's my interpretation but happy to be corrected.

You were correct previously, but what I was referring to above is that T-Mobile have rolled out standard 3G which is compatible with non-US handsets. Not even the iPhone supported T-Mobile's previous weird implementation of 3G, and they wanted to attract iPhone customers.

lean&mean

Thanks NFH
Last time my phone only had the 900, 1800, and 2100 frequency for 3G and 1900 for 2G (ie GPRS), which is why I thought I didn't get 3G. But it sounds as though you know even more about how T-Mobile set up their 3G. Hopefully a combination of their sorting their network and new phone might give me 3G next time.

Anyway I've got myself a Lycamobile sim card off eBay and next time I travel out to good 'ol US of A I'll update this thread.