Telna Caribbean Experience

[squawk1200]

Went to Jamaica, Cayman and Cozumel last week and only encountered two issues with the Telnamobile SIM. The first was my issue as I didn't have the APN set right when we were in Jamaica, so no data (darn .com vs. .net). The second was my phone would not register on ANY network in Cayman. Phone even listed all the networks that it found as "forbidden"... Hmmmm.... Worked like a charm in Cozumel, where Telna made some revenue off of us. First time we had data all week No idea what the speeds were, all I know is that it worked for what I needed...

[jennifermehl]

Hi there, we are doing a cruise to those 3 locations in July via RCI - can you please give me more details on what the SIM/plan costs/coverage etc.

Thanks!!

[snidely]

Originally Posted by jennifermehl

Hi there, we are doing a cruise to those 3 locations in July via RCI - can you please give me more details on what the SIM/plan costs/coverage etc.

Thanks!!

If you are on the regular (not prepay) plan with T-Mobile U.S. -- all 3 countries are covered.
Unlimited data and text and 20¢/min. voice. (calls via wifi to U.S. are free)

[jennifermehl]

We both have iPhone 6 on Verizon Wireless (my plan is paid for by work so I can't have any roaming charges there). These are world phones and are unlocked for use of a SIM card.

We are looking for a simple SIM pre-pay plan that we can use in Mexico, Jamaica and Cayman Islands. (No need to worry about it while we are on the ship).

[squawk1200]

If you are looking for prepaid SIM, look here:

http://www.piranha-mobile.com/

You will find them highly recommended throughout this forum... I do have their SIM and have used it with good experience...

I personally prefer post paid with Telna (http://www.telnamobile.net), as I just use what I pay for and don't have to worry about unused balance...

[snidely]

I used Piranha a few times before TM instituted its "free" intl. roaming for its customers. Worked quite well. Only minor problem was that sometimes it took 15 to 30 minutes to register the first time you logged on to a system.

[DRNewcomb]

Originally Posted by jennifermehl

We both have iPhone 6 on Verizon Wireless (my plan is paid for by work so I can't have any roaming charges there). These are world phones and are unlocked for use of a SIM card.

We are looking for a simple SIM pre-pay plan that we can use in Mexico, Jamaica and Cayman Islands. (No need to worry about it while we are on the ship).

TelnaMobile is not exactly a prepaid SIM. You link it to a credit card; they charge about $20/year to keep the account active then charge usage for calls. They bill your card whenever the balance goes over about $5. I prefer this method over prepaid because I've lost a bit of money on prepaids either when they expired or the company went bust (e.g. Riiing, 09). To me Telna is primarily a backup for calls. Their rates for text and data are not very attractive.

[DRNewcomb]

Originally Posted by squawk1200

..... The first was my issue as I didn't have the APN set right when we were in Jamaica, so no data (darn .com vs. .net). The second was my phone would not register on ANY network in Cayman.......

1) I had occasion to ask Telna why I was charged for data when the APN on my phone was not correct for their SIM. They told me that their service has a way to work regardless of an incorrect APN and the only way to avoid being charged for data was to turn the cellular data off.
2) The best explanation for the phone not connecting on a local network is that their schizophrenic multi-IMSI SIM got confused and adopted the wrong persona. The best fix if this happens is to reboot the phone. Each time the phone boots up, the SIM has to decide who it will be today. Sometimes it guesses wrong.

[Bossman]

Same here. I have it mainly for backup,m but have not really used it in about 3 years. I tried to use it in Jamaica in 2012, I was billed for several calls that never rang to my phone. One thing though, I have not been charged the yearly fee recently (the last 3 years or so).

Originally Posted by DRNewcomb

TelnaMobile is not exactly a prepaid SIM. You link it to a credit card; they charge about $20/year to keep the account active then charge usage for calls. They bill your card whenever the balance goes over about $5. I prefer this method over prepaid because I've lost a bit of money on prepaids either when they expired or the company went bust (e.g. Riiing, 09). To me Telna is primarily a backup for calls. Their rates for text and data are not very attractive.

[DRNewcomb]

Originally Posted by Bossman

Same here. I have it mainly for backup,m but have not really used it in about 3 years. I tried to use it in Jamaica in 2012, I was billed for several calls that never rang to my phone. One thing though, I have not been charged the yearly fee recently (the last 3 years or so).

Does anyone else have a Telna SIM that has a SIM application that will initiate a callback between any two numbers? (e.g. landline-landline) Mine has this but when I asked about it they said I was sent a special SIM by mistake.