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Comment by ericHosick | Hacker News Reader

The entire "cell phone thing" in Vietnam (and I am sure other Asian countries) is far superior to the USA (in my opinion). I can go to practically any corner and get a SIM card for 5 USD and put it in a phone. I don't have to give my name or an ID or join some plan. I just give them the phone, they put a sim in and it works.

I can get a cell phone within a few blocks of basically anywhere I am.

The carriers make money selling calls and data: not phones.

And while I'm talking about this kind of thing... I can go anywhere and get "free" wifi: even at Circle K. Ya. They have free wi-fi at the Circle K. I can sit at a coffee shop, get a 3 dollar coffee, and work all day. Restaurants are the same.

Admittedly, the internet speeds to the USA are not that great. However, internal to Vietnam, they are really good.

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That's pretty much how it works in all of the EU zone, too.

I wonder how it works in the good ol' USA. Somebody cares to explain?

It works badly. If you want any kind of post-paid plan you typically are forced to purchase a phone with a carrier lock. Some pre-paid plans will let you purchase SIMs and "bring your own phone" (Wal-Mart's "Straight Talk" being the largest that I'm aware of-- they're an AT&T MVNO).

The average US cell phone user has no idea that phones and service aren't one-in-the-same.

Last weekend I went to an AT&T store and got a 'post-paid plan'. I just asked for a SIM and they gave it to me. No one forced me to purchase a carrier locked phone.

I studied one semester as an exchange student in the US, and it seems like everyone there is attached to a plan, prepaid contracts are not popular, actually they aren't a good deal. I got a prepaid simcard and it was really expensive they even charged me .25 dlls per every received text, I'm not sure if every company is that expensive, but I guess they are.

yes, they are. oh, and sending would cost you .25 as well, unless, of course, you purchase 'unlimited' texts for $20/month, then, you see, they're 'free'. texting is insane and I have to remind people not to text me on a regular basis.

You still have to show some ID in EU, I think (at least that's how it works in CZ and SK).

I didn't need ID to buy two prepaid SIMs when I was in Portugal. Dead simple.

You need to show ID in France, and a lot of stores will not have iPhone 4 sims. And they are a pain in the ass, because or the awful bureaucracy in France, it can take a while to get served.

In Australia you also need to show ID, but it is very quick. Although expensive.

UK was the best, and for £15 all you can eat data.

We have to show ID an Spain and register prepaid SIM cards, but I'm sure that's mainly due to terrorism and security related reasons.

You can go into a store, pay 5€ and walk out with a new line in less than 5 minutes though.

> …but I'm sure that's mainly due to terrorism and security related reasons.

It's mainly due to terrorism and security excuses, not real reasons.

No need for it in Sweden. It probably varies from country to country.

Depends on what you are planning to do with it. You need to have identified if you want to use the mobile to pay for buses etc.

It used to be like that in Greece, they now changed it because of some (EU-wide?) piece of legislation.

You don't need to show ID to buy a prepaid SIM in Ireland.

The USA has these things, don't they? They're just not popular options. BoostMobile, AT&T's "GoPhones", Verizon PrePaid, etc. You can either get a cheap phone, or bring your own phone, without a contract. Is it that different?

Not really cheap SIMs, nor can you usually pay 10 bucks a month pre pay for your voice/data needs.

I live in China, and prepay is great. I still pay full price for my phones, but I come out ahead in the end.

You can prepay, for example on T-Mobile. The sim card is $1, and while you won't get by on $10, if you stay in the city $30 gets you all you need. Definitely still cheaper in China and Europe.

The USA does not have cheap pre-paid sims with data. I visited Singapore. Got a $50 credit pre-paid sim. Got 1gig of data for $7 a week, taken from the pre-paid sim.

As far as I can see there are no pay as you go data plans in the US. Only subscription plans. If there are I'd like to know of them

I use T-Mobile's prepaid with my unlocked Android phone. I get 100 minutes voice per month and unlimited data for only $30. They certainly don't advertise it, but you can buy a prepaid SIM card from their website for only a couple bucks and then sign up for this plan. I go over my minutes frequently and pay $.10 per minute for the rest of the month at that point, but it still comes out far cheaper than any regular plan.

I've done that with my last two phones -- currently i'm using a Samsung Galaxy Mini I bought off Ebay jailbroken for 100.00, with a t-mobile pay-as-you-go sim card in it. I don't miss data at all since I can get wifi plenty of places.

I have done the same thing, using a Galaxy Nexus. It's a brilliant combo - I got a brand new cutting edge phone for $350, and I'll spend only $360 this year for unlimited data and text on this T-Mobile plan (with no contract, to boot).

It's such a good deal that even with carrier penalties for breaking contract it is still much cheaper over the course of a year.

FWIW, T-Mobile has recently withdrawn this plan, it is no longer available for new or switching customers. Cheapest "unlimited*" prepaid data plan is now $50 a month.

Must have been quite recent... I signed up for this plan about 12 hours ago.

Oh! Sorry, looks like I'm wrong. I do see it being offered on their website, but it's for new activations only - that would explain why I was under the impression it's no longer offered after not seeing it in the prepaid plan switcher in my account.

I use StraightTalk. Unlimited minutes, texts and data\* about $50 a month for a pre-paid sim.

\* I understand there's a soft cap on the data of about 2GB a month, but I haven't run into it yet.

AT&T sells a plan with 5GB/month for $50/month[1] (pay-ahead, not prepay). It is a monthly subscription with no commitment - cancel it at any time. I walked into a AT&T store and the lady behind the counter gave me a free SIM (list price $5.95). I bought the $15/month for 250MB data plan since I was just experimenting.

I found out that AT&T has annoying restrictions based on the IMEI number - for a IMEI that maps to a computer, they will only offer you the $50/month plan. For a IMEI that maps to a tablet, they will allow you to to buy the $15/month plan. FWIIW, they require you to enter a IMEA number, not the number of the device you are using the SIM in. ;-)

I am currently running my phone on a T-Mobile on a $30/month pre-paid plan[2] with unlimited (for some definition of "unlimited") data and 100 minutes of talk. Unfortunately, they have poor coverage in about half the area I frequent... I end up roaming on AT&T and don't get data coverage there.

Both those options are essentially the same as your Singapore plan.

[1] http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/data-plans.html

[2] http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans

The $50 AT&T data plan requires a 24-month voice plan, which starts at $40 per month.

See footnote 6 on the page you linked to, then click on any of the plans, then click View Details next to any of them.

Jesus, a 2-year commitment to a shitty voice plan just to get a 3G data sim?

I'm visiting New Zealand now. The first thing I did when I got off the plane was purchase a 3G prepaid (2GB) USB dongle for $70, and I can top it up if I need to and move the sim card to a phone if I want to. I didn't have to sign or agree to purchase anything extra.

I can do this in Australia, too. What the hell, USA?

Sorry, wrong link. They make it pretty hard to find the plan that you really want (both AT&T and T-Mobile).

https://buyasession.att.com/sbd/Common/ShopRatePlans.action

Note that the plan you really want is the "Tablets and Gaming Devices". The "Computers, Netbooks, Aircards, Others" plan is a rip-off except for the $50/month 5GB plan, which is the same as the "Tablet" plan. On the "Computers" lower data rate plans, it is $15 per day, $30 per week. Data is data, so they are just ripping you off.

AT&T DataConnect Pass plans

* No Long-Term Contract

* Plans are active for 30 days or until depleted.

* Plans automatically renew every 30 days for domestic data plans, unless you cancel.

* International plans do not automatically renew.

* Plans can be cancelled at any time.

   Domestic DataConnect Pass Plans 	Cost
   DataConnect Month Pass 250MB 	$14.99
   DataConnect Month Pass 3GB 		$30.00
   DataConnect Month Pass 5GB 		$50.00

Much like another poster, I walked into the AT&T store and asked for a prepaid SIM. I handed over $10 in cash and got a SIM card with $10 credit on it. By logging in to their website, I was able to allocate the $10 between voice, texts, and data. When that's used up, you can go and add more money to the card. All in all, it was pretty damn convenient.

Where I live, Verizon and AT&T are the only carriers with service, and both of them are more or less dedicated to the phone/contract ball and chain. To my knowledge it is not even possible to buy a retail, unlocked CDMA phone (for Verizon).

In recent years, sale of prepaid sim cards in Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan have become more restricted and require IDs.

In Indonesia as well.

Across most of Argentina, gas stations have free wi-fi.

Such a great idea.

In India, they give you the sim for free (or a nominal price). And for around 10 USD a month, you can have unlimited text/voice plans. Data speeds suck, though.

Carriers in the US don't make money selling phones either. Flagship smartphones are subsidized by your agreement to lock yourself in for 2 years.

india was headed down that route, and then some idiots in power got obsessed with the fact that terrorists could be using anonymous cellphones to communicate. it's far more of a hassle to get a sim card there now :(

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