ATT (U.S.) has unlimited intl. data plan for $64.99
 

ATT has an unlimited domestic/international data plan that they don't publicize at all. The following is the code that appears on a customer's iphone bill. I gather that this plan is also available for the other smart phones.
Most CS people don't have access to this. You have to ask for "International Desk".
I don't have ATT myself, so this info is from other people.

IPH_DOM_INTL_DATA_RZ $64.99


This covers virtually all countries except a few arab and other high priced countries.

You have to commit for a year or pay a ETF (penalty). Obviously you also need an ATT plan.
You have to register on the U.S. ATT system at least once a month - so you can't use it only overseas.

I think those are the main terms. Sounds like a great deal. I wonder if knowledgeable people can figure out how to use this data for voice communication.

...mike

I think there is some small print attached. Like using only some specific APN with very low speed or services available or something similar.
EU put a cap of max 1EUR/MB (wholesale price, not consumer price) for a reason, many operators were charging much more! So probably EU is about 1EUR/MB and the rest of the world is higher, potentially many times higher.
Making a very conservative estimation: 10 MB/day (that's nothing nowadays) x 30 days x 1 EUR/MB = 300 EUR = $420+. And it can be 20x that or more.
For $64.99. Really?

I heard something like that. But like you said, it's not publicized. Only the international data add-ons for smart phones are. Still not bad. The $24.99/20MB will do for me. It can be added and removed at will and will be prorated also.

AT&T International - Wireless from AT&T

Would be nice if you didn't have to register on to an AT&T tower at least once a month. So it's not an ideal option for people who are travelling around much longer.

Let me clarify this plan....

It is discontinued for individual accounts

Only available for biz customers

Must commit to a 2 year contract...

They bet that you will not use that much in those 2 years...

I don't have att (don't want to pay their rates, which in general, are much higher than T-Mobile.) That said, a friend w. an individual line just got that plan this past month with the billing code as shown in a post above. He, and others on the Howardforums.com site have said that you have to commit to ONE year and get the plan by asking 611 to tsfr. you to the "International Desk". Is it possible my friend is considered a business customer? I don't know the billing name on his acct. It could be in the name of his home based business.
My friend has an iphone. I am not clear whether this plan is available on other smart phones like the BB. So far, everyone who has commented on this plan has an iphone.

Question: Assuming this plan can be had, couldn't someone w. more knowledge than I simply place "free" voice calls using the unlimited data connection? Using Skype? Google Voice?

Example of att "negative" practice. The latest version (Nov. 2009) of the Blackberry desktop Manager (ver. 5.0.1) has an icon on the main screen that lets you tether your BB yo your computer simply by clicking on the icon. ATT has tried to criple this function by making the icon disappear when you plug in your att Blackberry. It works perfectly for users on other systems in the U.S.

...mike

FYI.....Here's another reason to buy a data plan of some sorts. This girl who got a huge bill from T-Mobile for Data charges overseas.

"Roaming charges for Internet use bring $16,379 bill"

Roaming charges for Internet use bring $16,379 bill - SignOnSanDiego.com

I agree. Considering the insane rates thay charge for data roaming on pay-per-use, it's either you turn off data while roaming or get one of the packages. Especially now that these packages are an option.

For example with the $24/99 for 20 MB plan with AT&T. Without the package 20MMB would have cost $400 at the $0.195/KB pay-per-use rate. Insane!

In November, ATT said that it would permit VOIP over 3g on the iPhone. Yesterday, the Apps started rolling out that were 3g enabled without a jailbreak. If you couple these together, could be a powerful combination.

I have an ATT contract Blackberry with unlimited international data. Shape Services will be roling out a version a Skype client that will work on the Blackberry, but only in simplex mode. You have to squawk like an old walkie talkie. Still.

On the iPhone plan, people have reported talking the international desk into it. I've debated seeing whether they would give it to me since I am on Blackberry International, but there is a part of me that may stay put. ATT has never screwed with my data consumption, never screwed with me being outside the U.S. for a long period of time, and I've got inbound/outbound calls via prepaid roaming SIMs in most places of the world exceptionally cheap or free. The Blackberry is a great callback trigger and my experience with VOIP over 3g has been mixed. What I need to do is buy Vlad an expensive dinner and get a "tune up."

Stu - I don't understand the above statement. Please enlighten this dense person.
I am not overseas that much - maybe 4-6 weeks a year. I keep my T-Mobile service because (1) their UMA "free" roaming capability (2) The unlimited BBerry email for 67 cents/day while out of country. I make sure I don't dl data.
However, there have been posts on HowardForums where BB users get data by deleting the default APN so that everything is routed thru RIM's servers. They claim they haven't been charged for data by doing that. (I think I have explained this accurately.) I will make a test when in Columbia the middle of Feb. Much of the time I will have wifi access, I believe.

...mike

In the last 10 years, long distance in the U.S. really has ceased to exist. Virtually all calls within the U.S. are "local". In the last few years calls between most first world countries are almost free. I assume, in the future, calls anywhere will be "free". I believe many (most?) calls are now carried as data packets. We can send volumes of data around the world for "free" - why not voice?
The only "problem" I see is that we in the U.S. and Canada are spoiled by cheap land and cell costs. Unlimited incoming and outgoing voice for $50-$70. Unlimited data for $20-$30 more. Overseas, people have to spend mega dollars/Euros etc. to account for the cost of incoming calls. It seems strange that it costs a caller in London, Madrid, and everywhere else 5 to 10 times more to call a cell phone 1 km away that it does to call my cell in the U.S.
That's why, in the U.S., the number of landlines has drastically fallen the past several years. Individual households are going cellular only.