Forum Discussion

ryanlamar's avatar
ryanlamar
Roaming Rookie
Hace 6 meses

List of Tmobile partners in Europe

Does anyone know where I can find a list of T-Mobile partners for reach country?  I ask because I will be on a cruise line that has its own tower, and I plan to do manual connections to the correct T-Mobile partner towers when I am near the ship so I can avoid the usurious prices cruise ships charge when roaming on their towers. 

  • drnewcomb's avatar
    drnewcomb
    Fiber Fanatic
    Hace 6 meses
    swilliams1111 wrote:

    I was stuck in Turkey with little to no service. And even worse, I needed to change a flight but couldn't because I didn't have service and then ended up having to come out of pocket over $800 to purchase a brand new flight to come home. Nightmare.

    People who travel frequently realize that it's nothing short of a technological miracle that international roaming works at all. This is why I always counsel travelers to have a backup plan, even multiple backup plans, in case their phone stops working. It's unreasonable to hold T-Mobile responsible for secondary damages because your phone didn't work. I've known people who had phones from other major carriers who experienced the same problem. I once experienced a roaming failure in Singapore when an undersea cable was cut by an earthquake. I didn't blame T-Mobile; I bought a local prepaid SIM to use as a backup. You always have options.

  • drnewcomb's avatar
    drnewcomb
    Fiber Fanatic
    Hace 6 meses

    T-Mobile does not publish the list of their roaming partners. They are capable of using LAC blocking to regulate which of several partners they use in a given location. The best you can do is to just manually try to connect to various signals (less Cellular at Sea) and see what happens. You should get a text saying "Welcome to Elbonia. Data is free but very slow." Or something to that effect.

    You might want to see if your phone allows excluding the signal of the ship's cell service. For instance, it may be 2G and you can set your phone to only work on 3G or better.

  • formercanuck's avatar
    formercanuck
    Spectrum Specialist
    Hace 6 meses

    If you're using a TMobile sim, you will only be allowed to roam on carriers that TMobile has agreements with for those voice/data/text rates.   Eg.  When i visited Italy, Slovenia,  Greece,  Malta there were typically only 1 or 2 carriers that i could roam onto.  Similarly going into Canada, i can roam on Bell/Telus, but typically not Rogers, while with At&t  i would roam on Rogers, but not Bell or Telus.  You'll get.the Welcome/Roaming message when you connect to a Roaming carrier that is allowed, otherwise its "Emergency sos "

  • ryanlamar's avatar
    ryanlamar
    Roaming Rookie
    Hace 6 meses

    Interesting.  I have read so many horror stories how people get gotcha charges because they connected to their cruise’s tower.  

     

  • formercanuck's avatar
    formercanuck
    Spectrum Specialist
    Hace 6 meses
    ryanlamar wrote:

    Interesting.  I have read so many horror stories how people get gotcha charges because they connected to their cruise’s tower.  

     

    Typically, if I'm not mistaken, you'll get a notification if/when you connect to an international roaming partner (eg.  Welcome to Canada ….) If you know which cruise line you're taking, that would be probably more important. (eg Norweigian) 

    https://www.ncl.com/faq/cellular-and-internet-faqs#cellular

    Q - How do I connect my cellular device to the Cellular at Sea network?
    A - Once you have reached international waters connection is automatic. Depending upon your cellular device, you will know that you are on the network when you see one of the following displayed on your device: "cellularatsea", "wmsatsea", "NOR-18" or "901-18".

    Q - Is Cellular at Sea available in port?
    A - Onboard cellular services are available only in international waters (12 nautical miles or more away from shore). The service will automatically shut down when entering a port or getting close to shore.

    Q - How much will I be charged when I use my cell phone onboard?
    A - Rates vary, depending on your cellular service provider. Most carriers offer special cruise packages you can use while sailing. The charges incurred will appear on your regular cellular bill you receive at home. For more information on exact pricing contact your carrier or visit their webpage.