TMO MVNO Roaming

**phil94028** · 01-31-2013, 09:36 AM

I am waiting on a Nexus 4 and trying to understand the differences between the various MVNOs and Carriers.
My concern is over nationwide coverage.

Presumably ATT is going to best for coverage.
Does ATT have fallback GSM service on < 1GHz bands for better service in buildings?

For TMobile, it looks like they don't actually have a nationwide footprint and rely on ATT for roaming where they do not have a footprint. Just GSM/GPRS. I think TMOs own prepaid offerings do not support this roaming so may not be so good for a business phone used for travel.
From what I read all TMO coverage is on the > 1GHz bands so may not be great for inside buildings as well?

I do see Solavei talk about roaming on their web page so presumably they will work truly nationally.
Does anyone know if Walmart/Simple Talk will roam?

Any experts on this ... or is there a better forum to look on.
I have Verizon now and they make it easy ... just send them $110 a month!

**minnemike** · 01-31-2013, 10:01 AM

Depends on what kind of service exactly you are referring to.... data? data high speed? or just phone calls?

**phil94028** · 01-31-2013, 10:02 AM

just low speed GPRS data and Voice in remote areas would be fine.

**minnemike** · 01-31-2013, 10:07 AM

ah ok, I can only answer the question in relation to getting the best H+ carrier which would be Tmo in most locations. I can confirm though that there is a data roaming cap with standard Tmo accounts.

Tmo is by far the best match for this phone in general, but of course it's all about location to location. I would survey a Tmo map and get a glimpse of what you can expect, if you know where you will be roaming.

**runtmms** · 01-31-2013, 06:38 PM

Originally Posted by phil94028

I do see Solavei talk about roaming on their web page so presumably they will work truly nationally.

When Solavei talks about roaming, they are talking about a limited amount with "service partners". If you zoom in on their map this is represented by striped areas. I believe this is the same coverage map as the T-Mobile prepaid. (service partners are "domestic roaming" which is different than regular roaming - which I don't think either will do.)

It's like the other poster said - you need to study coverage maps to see if your needs are met. Solavei works great for me.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2