Sharing is living, the poet of our time would say. And that’s why, when you travel, you’re dying to find a wifi signal just to upload that wonderful photo on Instagram or check in at a popular tourist spot. Believe me, I know very well what that’s like. With the aggravating factor that, in addition to sharing, I work online and need to stay connected to emails even when abroad. I’ve lost count of how many euros I’ve spent buying something in expensive, hipster cafes just to use their internet (hi, Starbucks!). International roaming is out of the question: companies here charge R$40 per day of use and think they are taking advantage.
But in the United States, I didn’t have to go through these troubles. There, it is easy and cheap to get a prepaid SIM card for a cell phone with access to mobile internet, unlike in many other countries. Many people know this and, as soon as they arrive in the States, they rush to one of the local operator stores to secure a SIM card. At AT&T, one of the best known, a prepaid plan valid for 30 days and an internet allowance of 2 gigs, for example, costs 70 dollars (60 dollars + 10 for the chip). If you were thinking about this, I suggest you read the text until the end.
Attention: It is not a good idea to travel to the United States without international health insurance, as hospital costs there are very high. Read here how to find cost-effective insurance.
American.net Mobile
This was the chip I used during the trip. Fully developed to please the thousands of Brazilians who disembark every day in the United States, it has some advantages that are not available on other operators. To begin with, the SIM card comes with two numbers: a North American cell phone and a Brazilian landline. This means that you use the best rates to make and receive calls in Brazil without roaming charges and international fees, while at the same time paying little for the calls you need to make there.
I confess that I’m not a big fan of telephones, so I didn’t use this function much. However, for people like us, America.net Mobile also pays off: even on the cheapest plan, the internet is unlimited. In fact, what changes in the plans is only the minute allowance for cell phones in Brazil. The rest is unlimited.
The internet network used is 3g or 4g, depending on your cell phone model.
This is also a good option for exchange students or people who are going to stay longer, as it is possible to program an automatic top-up in the chosen plan. However, depending on your itinerary, you may want to check coverage on the website, as the service is focused on areas with the highest concentration of Brazilians.
American.net Mobile also has customer service in Portuguese. The chip can be purchased in Brazil or the United States, at various points of sale, or online, and is ready to use. Just put it on your cell phone as soon as you arrive in the US and start using it, no activation required.
During my 18 days in the United States, the service was very good. There was only one day in New York that I had no signal, but after a few hours, I decided to restart my cell phone and everything went back to normal. And I used it a lot: not just to share photos on social media, but for emails and, practically all the time, as a map and guide. On this trip I only had to stop at Starbucks to recharge my iPhone.
The SIM card tested in this article was courtesy of American.net Mobile.
