Question(s) about T-Mobile USA's Unlimited International E-Mail add-on

S

steph j

New member
Can someone give me the low-down on what users are really charged when this option is turned on? Does anyone here that travels a lot know if the roaming partners discriminate between e-mail & other data like other BIS activity or the standard APN (if it's possible)? Can I be 'safe' with sticking to only applications that use the BIS? Does it matter?

I ask because BIS e-mail is not the biggest data chewer on my device; instead BeeJive & Google Maps are, followed by Opera Mini & the native browser. Considering that e-mail is definitely covered by the plan in question & e-mail isn't much of an issue as BlackBerry is efficient with that anyway, do I have any options for my other uses besides just using a local pre-paid SIM & hoping a decent data plan exists for that operator's pre-paid service (this obviously varies by country & operator, though is often cheaper than even US local prices)? 15.36 $/MB is a hell of a lot for even GPRS, let alone EDGE & beyond.

Thanks...
 
~via BB (wap.rabroad.com)~its a blackberry email add on,,,unlimited email and or messenger. If you use any other app you will get hit hard with roaming fees.

Anything that uses the bb server is ok, anything that uses another server for data u will get hit.
 
OK so you're saying stick to only apps that use BIS, right? Considering that Google Maps doesn't seem to work on a BlackBerry without BIS on the account, I should be OK with that as well?
 
Adam,

If you use any applications, even your browser, while traveling you are using data and will incur extra chargers. The $19.99 add on only provides for unlimited email while international. Still a bargain IMO!
 
I know that the add-on is only for e-mail abroad but do the roaming partners discriminate between the different types of data?

Looks like I will need to get a local SIM in whatever countries I will be in or stick to WiFi whenever I need data. My daily non-email usage is too high to justify 1.5 cents per kilobyte...
 
Here is one little tip you may or may not be aware of. You can still make UMA calls from your 8320 overseas without incurring roaming charges. I took one of my TMO routers to China and hooked it up in my hotel room and happily chatted away to the USA at no cost!
 
I'm well aware of UMA & is a reason I went with an 8320 vs the 8310 & why I'm holding out on the Bold even if it's unlocked. I'll probably end up springing for the 8900 assuming Seidio or another company releases a compatible big battery for it like they recently did with the Bold.
 
I travel everywhere, use tons and tons of data, both Blackberry and WAP APNs, and, have never been charged a penny extra for data in the 3 years and 100 destinations I've gone since I got my first Blackberry ...

Same goes for UMA .....
 
Interesting news Jeff...who is your carrier? And what international plan do you have? I have generally just totally avoided using any data beyond email while traveling for fear of massive charges....
 
My wife and I had the same exact problem when we used the BB International email a few weeks ago. It was active from Dec 26 to Jan 7.

I changed both of our "services" on the TMO site to add the Intl BB when we left, and to remove when we got back. Billing was fine, no data charges at all in Spain and Portugal although we were careful to use just the BES and other BB services.

The problem was both of us were disconnected from our BES when we changed the services. Both BB's, at the start and finish, had to be reactivated. The BES showed us as "not connected" and the BES admininstrator had no idea why TMO would have done that. TMO had no idea either.

I have done the switch on the phone and online before and never had a problem. Now I had it 4 out 4 times.

Anyone have any ideas?
 
I'm travelling in Europe, and the $19.99 international add-on works just fine.

For making phone calls I did get my BB unlocked but I never got around to obtaining a local SIM; as it turned out, using pre-paid phones was sufficient.

I do use SMS's quite a bit, so the need for phone calls is limited.
 
~via smartphone~you can only use apps that use the bb server. No google products, no I'm except messenger. Nothing else.you will get hit real hard with data roaming
 
Gary is this with hotspots or is that just using your wifi? Im going to Mexico in a month and would like to stay connected ie..phone and hopefully email....Is the best way to use UMA or should i have TMO unlock my 8900 and buy a prepaid sim in Mexico? Secondly where would i go to pick up a prepaid sim?
thanks for your help in advance.!
 
I picked-up a sim card to be used with an unlocked phone at www.telna.com
The cost for the sim card is $19.00 per year and it allows you to receive and place calls while traveling internationally at a fraction of the cost.
 
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