Phone plan for international travellers

[JBDenmark]

I'm in the late stages of planning my '22 thru and keep butting my head into the obstacle of phone/phone plan on the trail. Should I wait and purchase a sim when I get to Georgia? Or should I attempt to get my own provider to cover me? I hear Verizon has the best coverage on trail, but also that some phones are not compatible with Verizon.

Any insights at all would be appreciated!

[Majortrauma]

Some iphones are not compatible with Verizon but all Samsug phones are. Based on my experience as a non thru-hiker but one who has hiked all of AT in Virginia (and a lot of miles in West Virginia in Monongahela Natl Forest) Verizon does have the best coverage on the AT.

[Alligator]

In the US, cell providers use different frequencies within the broader range of cell phone bands. It's why a phone bought from one provider may not work on another. So the phone itself has to be able to receive the providers signal in the correct range. Now particular models of phones sold here are worldwide capable and will work overseas but sometimes no because of the frequencies used. European models may just have the wider ranges installed to avoid this but you may want to check further because just switching the sim card may not work. Whether this is currently a big issue for newer phones in the US I am not sure because it was a couple years ago that I was looking at changing carriers and that was when I found the information about the frequencies used by the different carriers.

Here's a link that covers this some.

[peakbagger]

BTW, ATT is catching up on Verizon in rural areas, they won a huge government contract to provide emergency cell service over the entire US and that is paying for a lot of new towers in rural areas. Verizon on the other hand is spending their money on 5G deployment in cities and less in rural areas.

[Durwood]

you can talk to a provider in the States for the best info on compatability. If all fails or is too frustrating, grab a prepaid (several networks represented) at a WalM when you arrive. Contact your people back home to update your new didgital info.

They offer devices that should fit your needs and cards of varying amounts of data. DIY approach...good luck!!