Verizon keeps international roaming pressure on rivals T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T with daily option
Verizon Wireless has yet again tweaked its international roaming options, now allowing customers to tap into their current rate plans for a daily fee when traveling abroad.
The new TravelPass option provides customers with access to their calling, text messaging and data allotment for $2 per day when traveling in Mexico and Canada and $10 per day when traveling in 65 other foreign destinations. The price is per line and is charged only for the days a customer accesses those services.
Verizon Wireless continues to offer its monthly international travel plans, which were updated in July. Those plans allow customers traveling to Canada and Mexico to purchase 100 calling minutes, 100 sent text messages and 100 megabytes of data for $15; or 500 calling minutes, 500 sent text messages and 1 gigabyte of data for $25. When traveling to more than 140 other international locations, the carrier charges $40 per month for 100 calling minutes, 100 sent text messages and 100 Mb of data.
Domestic carriers this summer made several adjustments to their international roaming options.
Sprint in August rolled out its Open World service that includes various roaming services in 34 countries, with the biggest hook being free access to 1 gigabyte of 3G data for customers traveling in Mexico, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Paraguay. Those customers also receive unlimited voice calling and text messaging in those countries. After the 1 GB of 3G data is used, customers can purchase additional gigabytes for $30, which is billed in kilobyte increments.
Sprint also continues to offer its previously launched and enhanced international roaming plans – now under the Sprint Global Roaming brand – that includes free text messaging, voice calls billed at 20 cents per minute and unlimited 2G data access across a handful of countries. That free plan also allows customers to add 3G data access billed at $15 for 100 megabytes for one day; $25 for access to 200 MB over a one-week period; and $50 for access to 500 MB over a 14-day period.
T-Mobile US in July unveiled its Mobile without Borders program, which provides customers with free voice calling, text messaging and unlimited LTE-based data services when roaming in Canada and Mexico. T-Mobile US also continues to offer postpaid customers unlimited text messaging, access to low-speed data and calling at 20 cents per minute across more than 120 countries for no additional charge. That plan also allowed customers to tag on higher-speed data access buckets at 3G or LTE speeds beginning at $15.
T-Mobile US’ Mobile without Borders launch came on the heels of AT&T closing on a pair of acquisitions of Mexico carriers that totaled $4.4 billion, and promises of an additional $3 billion in investments. The carrier recently launched LTE services in six Mexican markets, with plans to cover 40 million potential customers by the end of 2015. AT&T said it plans to introduce new rate plans that allow Mexico customers to use their individual plans while traveling in the U.S., and builds on previous statements offering what it’s calling the first-ever North American mobile service area tapping into its own U.S.-based network and newly acquired assets. AT&T said the combined networks would cover more than 400 million potential customers.
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