Suggestions for phone data and wifi use in Belgium/Europe...

I'm going to be in Belgium quite a bit over the next year need help with phone data and computer wifi...

I know I can get a local SIM card for the phone (no problem) but where I'm going will have limited wifi access and wants to see what the options might be?

Ken

 

Ken,
The euros love to use free apps like whatsapp for texts, skype and such and then just look for free wifi. I find that most of The hotels mostly have free wifi but it is not always the fastest.

Back to your question, Who is your carrier?

 

Those apps are no issue and I use them already. It’s really the no WiFi access issue I need to deal with. Was thinking there may be a cross solution available?

T-Mobile now.

 

You can get a prepaid sim with internet and just keep reloading it, but they can run dry pretty quick depending on what you're doing online and it can get spendy fast.
If you have a local address you could just get a regular phone plan sim with unlimited data, which would also give you a local phone number and you could use your phone as a mobile hotspot for a laptop, etc. Phone plans over here aren't linked to a specific phone, just put the sim in your phone and you're good. They're also pretty reasonably priced as internet is considered a basic need and it will work in all countries in Europe.

 

I used this one in Italy last week and it worked great! It is compatible throughout Europe (including Belgium) and currently selling at $21.99.
You do need an unlocked phone for it to work.

PrePaid Europe (UK THREE) sim card 12GB data+3000 minutes+3000 texts for 30 days with FREE ROAMING

 

Sign up for TMo International coverage. I think it is an extra $10/mon. Great coverage, hotspot ability, and your friends/family/beeb members can call you from the US using your normal US number. Beeb folks may not know of the time difference so expect calls at 0300 hrs.

 

In order to use a SIM card here, your phone needs to be unlocked (i.e. not captive to a particular US carrier). Make sure it isn’t locked down before you buy anything.

I would suggest a pre-paid SIM card that you can top up regularly. Contracts typically run 24 months here, and are very difficult to cancel early.

BTW there isn’t really such a thing as „unlimited“ data plans here.

Roaming in the EU is no-extra-charge.

Let me know if you have additional questions.

 

Thank you for all the responses....plan forming.

edit - This is what Tmobile has and it seems fairly inexpensive.

The One Plus International plan includes every perk that T-Mobile offers:

• Unlimited talk, text, and data (throttled after ~50GB)
• Free Netflix for accounts with two lines or more
• Taxes and fees included
• 1080p quality video streams
• Unlimited in-flight texting and data
• Unlimited LTE mobile hotspot data
• Unlimited international calls to landlines and mobile lines
• Unlimited 4G LTE data in Canada and Mexico
• Fastest international data available

Ken

 

Ken, the Tmobile One Plus plan is the way to go for most Americans traveling outside the USA. If you are traveling on a gogo wifi airline (Delta) you get free text and data for the entire flight (domestic and international flights).

 

T-Mobile has th best international by far. Verizon sucks but that’s what I use for work. Other thing you can do is get a hotspot with a SIM card, depends how attached you are to your phone for calls.

 

+1000

I've had it for several years and love it. Coverage in the jungles of SE Asia, or the interior of Russia is better than Southern California! The Plus version is an extra $10 but totally worth it... much faster browsing speeds. Be aware that hotspot tethering to your laptop does not work in all countries. Seems to be related to T-Mobile's agreement with local carriers.

 

^^Ended up with this plan I’ll find out this week, how it goes...

 

Update - The TMobile is much much better, for my phone. Still not great speed wise, but better. Hotspotting is a big no f-ing way. Going to look for a data dongle.....

 

Amazing what we just accustomed to speed wise, etc isn’t it? I get pissed when I’m in China and can’t use google for example and have to use a different search engine. They both work just as good for what I need but it still pissed you off the extra time it takes. Data speed wise there doesn’t seem to be a lot of rhyme or reason all over the world. I’ve been in places where data “should” be very fast and it sucked and just the opposite. I have Verizon through work and we use travel pass which is $10 a day and you are on your local plan. We have some sort of contract with Verizon that’s enterprise wide and not just with my company so it’s a bit hard to figure out but I know I’d be better if they just gave me say, $200 a month and I got my own phone plan. Sure there are others that don’t travel as much so paying a larger international fee per month vs 50 for the one week a year they do makes sense. Don’t know and to be honest don’t care as long as I can get in touch with home when I’m gone the work stuff can wait

 

Updated Update....

I ended going with local SIM card for the hotspot....Super fast and no issues. I'm still glad I have the phone plan updated.

 

are you using a separate hotspot or the phone as a hotspot?

 

Separate.....I was hoping the Tmobile plan could hotspot, but not even close.

 

Did you get the Plus plan for $10 / mo additional?

 

It was $20 per month....Yes.

 

Cool.... hotspot works in only some places in my experience.