AT&T has a new offer in tow for international roaming, introducing an International Day Pass. The deal, however, is not without caveats.
It's no big secret that AT&T customers have not had the best options when it comes to international roaming. AT&T's Passport plans offer little data even for the highest priced tier and some subscribers don't find it nearly enough to stay connected while traveling abroad.
To address this inconvenience, AT&T now touts a new International Day Pass priced at $10 per day.
AT&T International Day Pass For Global Roaming
The International Day Pass allows AT&T subscribers to use their domestic plan, complete with cellular data, in more than 100 countries worldwide for $10 per day. For that price, users can also make unlimited calls to the United States and any of the countries covered by the Day Pass, as well as send unlimited texts anywhere in the world.
The new AT&T International Day Pass will become available later this week, starting on Jan. 27. The pass allows users to pay only for the days they actually need service abroad, and rather than be charged per minute, message or megabyte, they just pay $10 and use the service for 24 hours.
"Traveling has its own challenges. It's great being able to use the domestic plan you're familiar with while abroad," says AT&T CMO David Christopher. "AT&T International Day Pass simplifies travelers' lives so they can enjoy more of their favorite mobile apps when on-the-go overseas. This helps with booking lodging, catching a ride, translating, navigating, video calling, using social media and more."
What's The Catch?
As previously mentioned, the new AT&T International Day Pass does come with its caveats. First of all, AT&T sells these passes on a per-device basis, which means that connecting an entire family could rack up quite a bill. Secondly, the company retains the right to restrict users' Day Pass access if their international data usage exceeds 50 percent of their plan for two months in a row. The International Day Pass is designed more for vacations and short business trips rather than extended stays abroad.
AT&T International Day Pass vs The Competition
In terms of how it compares to what rivals are offering, AT&T's International Day Pass is a mixed bag. T-Mobile offers free international data use, but only provides LTE speeds in Mexico and Canada. The rest of the world gets meager 128Kbps speeds.
Sprint has a similar deal in place, but charges users for full-speed data depending on their location and the amount of data they use. The most attractive deal on Google's Project Fi, meanwhile, charges $10 per gigabyte used and calls are charged separately, by the minute.
The most similar alternative to AT&T's International Day Pass is Verizon's TravelPass, which costs $10 per day in most regions (it's cheaper in Mexico and Canada).
Nevertheless, the new International Day Pass is a notable step forward compared to the existing AT&T Passport plans, and those who need high speeds will likely find it more convenient than Sprint or T-Mobile's offers. On the other hand, those who plan extended trips abroad or those looking for just basic access on the cheap may be better off with other alternatives.
