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International travelers are best off with the AT&T iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G

by Michael Grothaus Mar 5th 2011 at 11:00AM

With the iPad 2, many people are sure to be excited that Apple is offering both AT&T and Verizon versions of the iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G. After all, many out there bemoan the less than desirable 3G service offered by AT&T, so it's nice that those people can buy an iPad 2 which allows them to opt for Verizon's 3G service. However, if you are a frequent international traveler like me, you'll want to make sure you buy the AT&T version of the iPad 2.

While you can buy any iPad 2 and use it on Wi-Fi networks when you land in a specific country, you won't be able to buy a data plan in most countries if you have the Verizon iPad 2. The reason for this is simple: the AT&T iPad 2 features a GSM chipset, which is the near-universal global standard. The Verizon iPad 2 3G uses a CDMA chipset, which, globally, is nowhere near as universal as GSM.

Of course, I'm assuming that you travel to most places I do, like Europe, Russia, Asia, and South America. If you are going to be traveling to Canada or Mexico a lot, the Verizon iPad 2 will work just fine for you since both those countries have wide CDMA networks. However, for most other parts of the world you're better off going with the AT&T iPad 2. When I leave the US with my AT&T iPad 2 and land in the UK, I can whip out my iPad and buy a 30-day subscription using one of Apple's data partners in the UK. If I had a Verizon iPad 2, on the other hand, I'd be out of luck for 3G data service while in the UK. Just something to think about before you let your frustration at AT&T's service push you into the open arms of the Verizon iPad 2.

Click these links for a full list of GSM and CDMA countries.

UPDATE: We have confirmed that the iPad 2 will NOT be carrier-locked.



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With the iPad 2, many people are sure to be excited that Apple is offering both AT&T and Verizon versions of the iPad 2 Wi-Fi +...
 

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44 Comments

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rita page

Is this wishful and confused, or possible: Use ipad 2 with Verizon MIFI and for ATT 3G? In other words, can you mix- use verizon for wi-fi access via their MIFI, and if want 3G access use ATT? One more way to express this: If I buy the ATT-3G ipad 2, can I still use my Verizon mifi with it??

March 06 2011 at 10:42 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
mcdj

Well things may have changed since last summer, but that's when I went to London for 11 days with my then new iPad, hoping to score a PAYG sim for iPad data. Not a single one of the carriers would sell me a sim card without a credit card that had a matching UK billing address. I was turned away at Vodafone, Orange, and O2. I spent the entire trip on crappy hotel/B&B wifi.

March 06 2011 at 10:39 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Sung

I've been using the iPad 1 for international trips. It is most definitely unlocked and I'd assume it'll be the same for iPad 2. Since mine is jailbroken, I had purchased MyWi, which allows tethering to the iPad. So whichever country I'm in, I purchase a pre-paid MicroSIM, typically about 10€ for 1GB (a lot cheaper than AT&T roaming charges!). So, I just link up my iPhone and laptop while traveling on the go. It's cheap, works beautifully and is the ideal solution.

March 05 2011 at 6:53 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Patrick

The iPad1 wasn't carrier locked, so I doubt the iPad 2 will be.

By the way, I have the opposite case: What option is best for an european coming to the US for 3 Weeks to get a decent connectivity? Data+Voice.

March 05 2011 at 4:45 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
pika2000

This article is misleading. Nobody knows if the iPad 2 is unlocked or not, and the language that Apple is using leads to it being provider-locked. For international traveler, the best course of action are to get the wifi version + an unlocked phone capable of wifi hotspot, or get the now-on-clearance 3G 1st gen iPad, or buy the 3G iPad 2 in countries where it is guaranteed to be unlocked like Singapore.

March 05 2011 at 4:02 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to pika2000's comment
Martian

It's not carrier locked.

March 05 2011 at 7:38 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Gustav

There are separate versions for GSM and CDMA networks; in other words, an iPad for Verizon is CDMA only, and an iPad for AT&T is GSM only. Just like the iPhone.

March 05 2011 at 1:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
j annis

Is it better to buy time here from ATT or in Europe from I guess ATT.

March 05 2011 at 1:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to j annis's comment
Eric

If you buy your data in the United States, AT&T will charge you international rates. If you buy it from a local carrier wherever you're traveling, you'll only pay local rates, the same as someone who lives there.

March 05 2011 at 2:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jay

what about India and China? Aren't they CDMA?

March 05 2011 at 1:18 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Jay's comment
Gustav

Yes, but I believe that GSM is still large in those two countries; I'm 95% about India at least.

March 05 2011 at 1:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mark

If personal hotspot is included in the iphone 4, I would rather get an ipad with only a wifi connection and use tethering. I travelled to Poland and Italy last October and found that the micro-sim cards in those countries were not configured for the ipad, but worked perfectly with the iphone 4.

March 05 2011 at 12:45 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jonathan

To add to the confusion, GSM is not the standard you should be looking for. Why Apple is still using that term is beyond me. GSM is the old 2G network - think first generation iPhone. If you need 3G speeds you should use UMTS. There are plenty of networks that do GSM that don't support UMTS, and vice versa. So, the list provided in in this article is worthless.

March 05 2011 at 12:35 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Jonathan's comment
Daniel

You do realise UTMS is practically GSM 3.5G, and is backwards compatible with GSM.

the iPhone and iPad GSM Version supports UTMS.

March 05 2011 at 1:03 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jonathan

Daniel: Yes, I do realize that many GSM providers upgraded their network to UMTS. What I'm saying is that Apples (recent) use of the term GSM iPhone is misleading. People are mislead, just like the author of this blog post apperently is.

In Sweden, where I'm at, we have GSM providers who do not offer UMTS - and we have UMTS providers who do not offer GSM. This is probably even more so in less developed countres. GSM speed is

The list he posted, because of the confusion in terminology, cover GSM providers (at 900/1800/1900 GHz). That means EDGE data speeds at best - but mostly GPRS.

Someone should really write a guide covering the different technologies, and how they relate to iphones and ipads. Just calling it all GSM is not helping.

GSM/GPRS (2G)
GSM/EDGE (2.5G)
UMTS (3G)
UMTS/HSDPA(+) (3.5G)

March 06 2011 at 12:05 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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