International tech travel is an important talking point as you prepare for your international trip. Many of us would like to untangle our work and personal lives when we go on vacation, but the reality is that a lot of us can’t or won’t.

 

Local Phone Plans with International Included

T-Mobile

I understand certain providers are better than others in certain areas.  I live in Mission Beach, San Diego and T-Mobile reigns supreme here locally and worldwide.  Verizon is terrible here.   Check out this very special T-Mobile plan:

Phone:  Unlimited Talk, Text, and Data is $75 plus tax is known as the T-Mobile One plan and also includes the North American Plan and Simple Global
Tablet: Free data 200 megabytes.  I can’t justify to the extra cost for more data. WiFi  is available pretty much anywhere including your phone.

Mobile without Borders (Canada and Mexico)

• unlimited text
• Calls are 25 cents a minute.
  • ProTip!  Enable Wi-Fi calling and turn off roaming
• Internet
  •  First 5 gigs data is potentially 5g and high speed
  • After 5 gigs speeds are reduced
  • Note:  “Data Pass” speed upgrade does not work in Mexico and Canada

Simple Global (anything not North America)  *** included in T-mobile One Plan ***

• Unlimited text and data
• Calls are 25 cents a minute.
  • ProTip!  Enable Wi-Fi calling and turn off roaming
• Internet
  • 3G speed.
  • Note:  Upgrade data speeds to “Data Pass” for 15 gig $50 per month

 

 

Verizon

Travel Pass is good for a few days outside of Mexico and Canada.  It’s advisable to pay a flat $40 in addition to your regular phone for anything longer.  I will grab more details on this subject as they come in.

How About International Phone Plans?

My bad.   The two items in bold come bundled with my T-Mobile One Plan

North  America Plan:

North America plan includes Canada, Mexico, and US.   It contains unlimited Talk, Text, and Data.

Simple Global:

The Simple Global plan is 140 Countries.   There is no agreement with Cuba.  As France as the example…

It has unlimited texting and data; and call will be 20 cents a minute.   2G towers, 2G service but going to France.  I could binge on Netflix if I wanted to without being charged.

 

Laptop Vs Tablet Vs Phone

Laptop:

It can be beast in bulkiness and a pain to take everywhere.  Do you need it?  It depends what are willing to tolerate in longer waits in the airport and the weight of lugging around.  Shopping around for a Dell XPS 13 and 15 may be worth it.  They are definitely smaller and lighter.  The bonus for most worker bees is you’re going to need your laptop to still be productive.

Tablet – IPad:

Some road warriors will be able to take advantage of Tablets lighter portability.  It has reduced functionality compared to a laptop.  There are ways around that if you can remote into another service.

Pro Tip:  Place on Airplane mode to make the device battery last for days.  Also, get an integrated cell data with a special rate through purchasing from your cell phone service provider.

Why then do you recommend a Tablet or Ipad?

I imagine purchasing a 2 in 1 keyboard and mouse accessory is a great solution if you need to shoot off some emails or basic remote in support.   I will let you know when my next Amazon order arrives.  This seems to be an ideal solution that has come out of late…

 

 Phone:

The phone use is all the general public needs.  You have a mini computer in your pocket.   It’s not worth the bulk and the laptop lifestyle is overrated.

 

So what do I with my phone in Cuba?

You need to unlock the device.    Request T-Mobile unlock the device on their device and add SIM Card to enable.  Purchase SIM card while in Cuba.  It is probably best to get your old phone or borrow your friend iPhone 5s that has the ability to pop in a SIM card to be safe rather than lose your nice newer phone.  I’m not going to drill down further on this topic because the information will be out dated as soon as I publish it.

 

Any info on WiFi and general internet connectivity?

Use www.speedtest.net to see where the speeds are at in the country you are visiting.  There’s a Speedtest app you can download or ask people in the country before you leave.  The road warriors needs this information to perform work reliably.

Cuba’s Internet

I hear it’s pretty poor and the hotels may have safer and more reliable internet.  Someone also told me about the schools being a place for quality internet.  I’m not sure.   Here’s an updated list of WiFi locations.  You will need reliable 2 megabits up and down for remoting into a much faster computer in the states using LogMeIn.

What’s LogMeIn?

Logmein requires 1.5 megabits both up and down.  Maybe a little less if you turn on black and white mode.   It’s a service a lot of people use to remote into certain computers to get their work done.  It is also way an awesome way to avoid a slow international connection.  As far as I know, China is the only place that restricts LogMeIn connectivity.

Power

This compact travel adapter kit should help you out of most jams.

International Tech travel tips for Talk, Text, and Data Summary

Hopefully, you have most of the necessary technology items and you just need to make subtle refinements as you prepare for your trip or perhaps you need technology overhaul.  Whatever the case, we will keep updating this post with the latest and greatest technological improvements for your road warrior lifestyle.