I love T-Mobile's free international roaming, but sometimes 256kbps just doesn't cut it. So on a recent trip to Japan and Korea I tried out US Mobile's new eSIM roaming plan. It's affordable, and very easy to set up and use, so I recommend it to anyone who has a phone that supports it.
US Mobile is a pretty well-established virtual carrier that sells service on either T-Mobile's or Verizon's networks. (You have to pick one or the other.) I know the company's CEO, Ahmed Khattak, and he's always been friendly, innovative, and responsive. I have confidence in his work.
eSIM should have been a huge help for consumers. Rather than storing your subscriber information on a tiny piece of plastic you have to get at a store or through the mail, it lets you scan a QR code or pick a new carrier from an on-device menu. That makes it much easier to switch carriers, or to add a second line for work, home use, or roaming.
Apple jumped on the eSIM train two years ago, but Samsung and LG have thus far avoided it. I used the eSIM plan in a Google Pixel 4. It's available for iPhone XR/XS/11 series, Pixel 3 or later, the Samsung Galaxy Fold, or the Motorola Razr. Frustratingly, Samsung's Galaxy S and Note lines don't support eSIM in the US, although there was a pre-launch rumor that the Galaxy S20 would.
If you're traveling abroad, you have a lot of roaming options now. You can go with your carrier's roaming plan. On AT&T and Verizon, that's generally $10/day for high-speed data—with some high-priced plans, it's included; on Sprint and T-Mobile it's free for slow data—high-speed data costs extra. If you have an unlocked phone, you can still buy a local SIM card, or use a multi-country travel SIM card like KnowRoaming (that solution tends to be the most expensive.)
US Mobile offers 1GB for $5 or 5GB for $15 (making 15GB $45). On iPhones with eSIM support, you can select from a bunch of individual country or roaming plans, but the multi-country operators tend to be more expensive than US Mobile's solution. I've had a good experience with GigSky, for instance, but it charges $20 for 1GB or $50 for 5GB. Truphone charges $18 for 1GB or $49 for 3GB. A lot of people also look at Google Fi as a roaming solution. It's $70/month for an unlimited US plan that also includes unlimited roaming data, or $20/month plus $10/GB for data, including abroad.
US Mobile's price is also superior to T-Mobile's international data passes. T-Mobile offers 5GB for $35 or 15GB for $50. If you sign up for a $40 unlimited US Mobile plan in the states, you get 5GB or 10GB roaming in most countries for free.
US Mobile's solution is an excellent middle ground. For multi-day trips, it's cheaper than mainstream carriers' high-speed roaming passes, but it also covers multiple countries and lets you set up your phone before you go.
The US Mobile Global Roaming Experience
US Mobile sends you a QR code to scan into your phone.
After signing up for the service, US Mobile emailed me a QR code. Nothing physical changed hands. I went into the Pixel's network settings screen, told it to add a second connection, and took a photo of the QR code with my phone. That was that.
Using US Mobile's eSIM was painless. In my Pixel's Settings menu, I had the option to turn it on or off, and set it to take over my data connection (which I did.) I was still able to make calls and texts on my primary Verizon SIM, at Verizon's standard roaming rates.
It's easy to add or update plans in the US Mobile app.
And the difference between 256kbps roaming and LTE is ... pretty much what you'd expect. In Japan, I heavily used mapping apps, transit apps, and Google's live translation function. Free roaming wasn't nimble enough for live translation, and it demanded some patience when using Google Maps.
With LTE roaming, though, I could have conversations with shopkeepers and do last-minute reroutings as trains pulled into stations. It was a huge help.
Khattak showed me the back-end for his roaming solution, and it isn't just a single white-labeled, turnkey agreement. He can turn different roaming partners on and off; at one point I got a text from KnowRoaming. The company appears to rely on Telna for its eSIM infrastructure.
I did suffer from some data anxiety on my phone, though, as the roaming plan isn't unlimited. If you're running the US Mobile app, it has a data meter, and you can also download a data meter widget for your Android home screen.
I'd recommend US Mobile's international roaming plan if you're going on a multi-day trip abroad and have a phone that supports eSIM. Its US plans are worth looking at, too.
Further Reading
- Race to 5G: Get Ready for a New 5G Galaxy
- Free Data Roaming in the EU for UK Residents After Brexit? Maybe Not
- 5G Home Internet Won't Happen Until Later in 2020, Alas
- AT&T Reveals Low-Band 5G Secrets, Explains Why 4G Can Be Faster Than 5G
- More in Connected Traveler
- More in Service Providers