Good News/\Bad News about ekit service life and recharging

[rfranzq]

Originally Posted by gandalf

Amazon too? Can find some decent 2nd hand sims there...

I am talking about new SIMs.
I would think 2nd hand SIM would be to 'iffy' for most users.

[GadgetKen]

Originally Posted by dg7feq

Seems they want to get rid of all the "travel-once-per-year" customers.

Agreed. Got an email that my ekit sim card will expire in one month unless I either make a call or text message or add to my balance. Only have about US$3 balance left on the card, but thinking of just letting it expire.

While I could easily extend the lifetime of the sim card by making a quick USA to USA call, this sim card does not appeal to me as much as it used to. Rates are higher for the international destinations I normally visit than they were with prior incarnations of this sim card, and I prefer to use other options such as Telna Mobile postpaid or InMarSat prepaid.

[snidely]

Ken -
How often do you travel out of the country?

[rfranzq]

Well, I had a nice long talk this morning to a CSR in Boston.
He seemed quite knowledgeable and said they had had a meeting to explain things to them. When the weather was bad they could work from home.

The TOSes will all be changing to three months.

Your Service will remain active indefinitely if you use a charged service (such as making a call, or sending a text message) within any 3 (three) month period.

This will be your warning [some of you have already gotten one] that things change:

We will send you an email and text message notification one week in advance of your Service becoming inactive.

The CSR mildly encouraged me to pay the fifty cent a month fee to hold on to the USA phone number which would also serve the purpose of keeping the account alive for balance purposes.

As long as you make a call or send a text message at least once every 2 months, you will automatically retain your US number for future use free of charge. If you don’t use the US number for more than 2 months, it will be cancelled, and when you go to use the service again, a NEW US number will be sent to you via text message.
If you wish to keep the SAME US number for future use, you can extend it’s life indefinitely by paying a fee of USD$ 0.50 per month. At the end of each month, payment for the next month is automatically deducted from your credit balance. You can cancel the monthly payment at any time by cancelling your number.

[snidely]

rfranzq -
It appears you are based in U.S. Question, why not switch to T-Mobile as your carrier which includes unlimited intl. roaming data and text and 20¢/min. voice calling.? (Free when on wifi). Good in 120+ countries.
If I asked you this before - grant me a pardon for being redundant.

[rfranzq]

Originally Posted by snidely

Question, why not switch to T-Mobile as your carrier? If I asked you this before - grant me a pardon for being redundant.

Well, I am somewhat a poseur with international SIMs at this point.
More of a tester than a user. Although I started out in 2007 with the need for such SIMs, it has been a while since I have been able to get out of the country.
Now, mostly playing around with the SIMs for their ability to use both AT&T and T-Mobile networks in the USA. I don't even use data.

[GadgetKen]

Originally Posted by snidely

Ken -
How often do you travel out of the country?

Usually only once or twice a year for a one to three week period. Typical out of country visit would be to non-US Caribbean or Bermuda (although also occasionally visit Canada or Europe).

A direct T-Mo postpaid plan would not be cost effective for me and T-Mo coverage near home is not good and only 2G. Also some island wi-fi is unfortunately not suited for quality VOIP or SIP phone calls...would rather pay more for a good quality cellular or satellite connection. Might revisit T-Mo in the future if they improved home coverage...would probably sign up through a business reseller like Harbor Mobile rather than directly with T-Mo. Currently use T-Mo only indirectly through Telna or Lyca.

For foreign trips typically now use Telna postpaid for reasonable rates for light voice usage. Most non-US Caribbean island coverage for Telna is using Digicel. Backup if can't reach a roaming carrier or for maritime usage is InMarSat prepaid. Can roll over InMarSat airtime until I have a need for it. Used to use Iridium postpaid but monthly rates crept upwards over the years.

[snidely]

Ken -
TM is making a big push to expand coverage in many areas in U.S. in 2015. Note that with Harbor Mobile you get the intl text and data - but do NOT get the 20¢/min calling. I don't know if you get the wifi (free calling to U.S.) calling.
TM really pays if you have multiple lines on an account. First line is $50, 2nd is $30, 3rd-5th $10. (I think lines 6-10 might be $20)

[squawk1200]

Originally Posted by snidely

Note that with Harbor Mobile you get the intl text and data - but do NOT get the 20¢/min calling. I don't know if you get the wifi (free calling to U.S.) calling.

Harbor Mobile does claim to provide the $.20 per minute calling... It just requires a $25 deposit. They suggest that you use WiFi calling but it is not clear if this is the T-Mobile voice over WiFi product...

Snipet from their site FAQ:

However calls made over CELLULAR while roaming outside the USA, although it will work, IS NOT covered under our plan. If cellular voice is used, you will be charged .20/min as well as a one time access fee of $25 for each month that there is voice roaming usage. In short, DON'T use voice roaming. We will take a $25 deposit in advance (upon your confirmation to activate intl usage) and return the deposit upon 0 usage during your trip. We will charge this to the card you have on file.

If you don't travel much the $25 is not bad. As already stated, being an actual T-Mobile customer gets you around this complication...