Part NumberThis is the manufacturer’s part number. UPCThis is a numeric value interpretation of the UICC Card SKU that is used in all front-end ordering systems. UICC Card SKUThis is the number that identifies this type of card in our billing system. CompaniesGlossary of terms.
If you call Customer Care and request a SIM card, I’m pretty sure they’ll charge you 15 because they’ll send one of the SIM card kits. We never sold them and always used the 0 SIM cards. However, that was kinda frowned upon as Sprint sells SIM kits that are 15-20 for customers that bring their own phones. Of course, you will have to pay. We recommend T-Mobile for most travellersYou can also buy a SIM-free iPhone, which means your iPhone does not come with a carrier SIM card, which frees you to use a SIM card from any compatible carrier.
If you’re planning on road-tripping through lightly-populated states like Idaho, Montana, and a few others, you’ll still hit some very large dead spots.AT&T is in the process of shutting down its 3G network. It’s a big country, though. Its prepaid service costs more than the competition, however, and many international phones still won’t work.As a result, it’s hard to recommend Verizon to international visitors unless you know your phone is compatible, and are traveling somewhere that only Verizon offers reliable coverage.Of the other two companies, AT&T has the largest (and often, most congested) network, offering coverage throughout most of the continental United States ( map). If you’re not sure whether your phone is physically capable of getting connected, this site may help.Verizon (which has one of the largest networks) used to only use CDMA technology incompatible with almost any phone not sold by them, but has been rolling out GSM-based LTE and 5G service in recent years.This means some phones sold overseas, including recent iPhones, can now connect to its network. 5G service with a non-US phone is even less likely right now. Note, however, that many older international phone models won’t get LTE service with any carrier, as the providers use different frequencies to most countries outside North America.
Pricing and data allowances have typically been quite similar between AT&T and T-Mobile, and in my experience, the knowledge and service levels of the in-store staff have been much better with T-Mobile.There are several resellers of service on both networks. That’s not as restrictive as AT&T’s policy, but will still cause problems for international visitors (and locals) who have older phones.With most of my trips to the US largely confined to the cities, coverage areas haven’t been a major problem with either provider. There’s no set deadline for this to be completed yet, but the end result will be the same: LTE and 5G will be the only options available.That’s true whether you want voice, text, or data, and any phone that doesn’t support Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) is already prohibited from being activated on the T-Mobile network. On the upside, downloads will often be reasonably fast when you do have service, typically exceeding AT&T’s speeds in major networks.Like AT&T, T-Mobile is also shutting down its older networks so it can reuse its radio spectrum for 5G. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this, and change our recommendations if necessary.T-Mobile has less coverage in rural areas ( map), with particularly large gaps in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Montana, Utah, and eastern California. Anything else won’t be allowed, which is likely to cause major problems for international visitors when it comes into force.
There might be the occasional airport convenience store selling a SIM of some sort, but you can’t rely on it.Fortunately, T-Mobile stores are quite common in large cities, and even smaller places should have at least one. I’ve flown into several in the country, and don’t recall seeing marked kiosks or signage at any of them. Don’t necessarily believe what’s showing at the top of your phone screen! How to Buy a SIM Card in the United StatesOffering prepaid SIM cards at international airports doesn’t seem to have caught on in the US. You’ll need to activate the SIM card yourself, and don’t expect much in the way of customer support, but on the upside there’ll likely be fewer ID requirements to go with it.Note that US providers seem to treat 4G and 5G as marketing terms, often unrelated to actual technical standards.
I didn’t have any problems — mine took less than a minute to activate both times — but I’m always a little nervous when I don’t see the card working in my phone before leaving the store.If you have a recent iPhone (XS or newer), however, there’s an even easier option. You’ll get a receipt with your phone number printed on it.It’s always worth putting the SIM in your phone and confirming it works straight away. Confirm you’ve got an unlocked phone, specify the plan you’d like, and hand over the money. It had cut-outs for both micro and nano sizes.The process was simple. In both cases, I walked out with an activated SIM card in under ten minutes.
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