Latest news with #mobilecoverage
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Best Prepaid SIM Plans for Travelers (2025): Lyca Mobile Ranked Top Pick for International Coverage and Value by Expert Consumers
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - August 5, 2025) - In its latest report, has named Lyca Mobile as the top choice for travelers seeking a reliable and flexible prepaid SIM plan in 2025. The ranking is based on an evaluation of international calling features, network coverage, ease of use, and cost control, making Lyca Mobile a practical option for those who need dependable mobile service while on the move. As international travel continues to grow, mobile access has become a core requirement. Whether managing remote work, navigating new cities, or staying connected to family abroad, travelers increasingly expect seamless and affordable communication options with plans starting at just $5/mo. Expert Consumers' analysis highlights how Lyca Mobile meets this demand by focusing on contract-free plans, broad global reach, and user-friendly setup. Prepaid SIM Plans for Travelers International Communication Without the Extra Steps [ This image cannot be displayed. Please visit the source: ] One of the most significant features contributing to Lyca Mobile's ranking is its inclusion of unlimited international calling to over 100 countries. This benefit is available across most of the provider's monthly plans, allowing travelers to make direct calls to both landlines and mobile numbers worldwide. Destinations span North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America, helping users avoid reliance on Wi-Fi or third-party calling apps. This kind of built-in global access supports not only tourists and casual travelers, but also international students, digital nomads, and professionals working abroad who need a consistent way to communicate across time zones. Nationwide Network Backed by 5G Lyca Mobile uses T-Mobile's nationwide network to deliver 4G LTE and 5G coverage throughout the United States. This infrastructure ensures that users can expect reliable data and voice service in most urban centers, suburban communities, and many remote areas. For travelers unfamiliar with local connectivity options, having access to a well-established national network is essential for activities like navigation, rideshare coordination, and emergency communication. It also supports hotspot use, which is included in several of Lyca's plans. No Contracts and Simple Plan Options A key reason behind Lyca Mobile's appeal is its prepaid structure. All services are paid in advance, giving users the flexibility to start, pause, or change plans without penalties or long-term commitments. There are no activation fees, credit checks, or hidden charges. This is especially useful for short-term visitors, seasonal workers, or those managing travel across multiple countries. Users can select from a range of plans designed to match different data needs, whether for occasional messaging or for streaming and work. Quick Setup and Management Getting started with Lyca Mobile is designed to be straightforward. Users can order a physical SIM card online or purchase one in-store. For supported devices, eSIM is also available, allowing travelers to activate service without inserting a physical card. After selecting a plan, customers can activate it online in just a few minutes. During this process, they have the option to keep their existing number or request a new one. Once activated, service begins immediately, and users can manage their account or monitor usage via Lyca Mobile's website or mobile app. Flexible Plans with Frequent Promotions Lyca Mobile offers a range of plan types, each suited to different levels of usage. All plans include unlimited talk and text within the United States and international calling to 100 countries. The main differences lie in the amount of mobile data included and whether hotspot usage is supported. To appeal to a broad audience of travelers, Lyca Mobile regularly runs promotional pricing on its most popular plans. These discounts are often available to new customers or those opting into auto-renew, helping stretch mobile budgets without compromising on service quality. Lyca is running some great promotions at the moment - they have a $5/mo plan that includes unlimited talk, text, and 5GB of data in addition to free calling and texting to 100 countries. They also have a $12.25/mo plan with unlimited data, texts, and calls. It also includes a 10GB hotspot in addition to free calls and texts to 100 countries. Reflections on the 2025 Travel Landscape The Expert Consumers report notes a growing demand toward prepaid options in the post-pandemic travel market. Flexibility, transparency, and control are now seen as essential, particularly by travelers who are cost-conscious or managing unpredictable schedules. With its combination of broad international support, a strong U.S. network, contract-free plans, and straightforward activation, Lyca Mobile has adapted well to meet this new standard. The report suggests that providers focusing on real-world travel needs rather than just pricing are more likely to maintain relevance in this space. Read the full report at About Lyca Mobile Lyca Mobile is a global prepaid mobile provider known for its international calling capabilities and contract-free service. Operating on T-Mobile's nationwide network, Lyca Mobile offers fast 4G LTE and 5G coverage across the U.S. All of its plans include unlimited domestic talk and text, and most include international calling to more than 100 countries. With options for both physical SIM and eSIM activation, Lyca Mobile is a convenient choice for travelers seeking flexible, reliable connectivity without long-term commitments. About Expert Consumers delivers news and insights on consumer products and services. As an affiliate, Expert Consumers may earn commissions from sales generated using links provided. Contact: Drew Thomas ( [email protected] ) To view the source version of this press release, please visit
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Mobile coverage: More of the Tube network gets 5G and 4G
Mobile phone coverage has been expanded along more of the London Underground system, Transport for London (TfL) has announced. Further sections of the Northern line and Victoria line have access to 4G and said more stations and tunnels are to go live in coming months, including King's Cross St Pancras, Green Park and more of the Victoria mayor of London originally promised passengers would have full mobile coverage across the network by 2024, but that was pushed back until at least 2026. TfL said coverage has now been expanded along the Northern line including the tunnelled section between Balham and South Wimbledon, as well as Kennington, Oval, Tooting Broadway and South Wimbledon in south London travelling along the Northern line from South Wimbledon to Stockwell now have continuous coverage. TfL said work is also underway to extend coverage in the tunnels down to Morden and up to Kennington by the end of the summer. The Bank branch of the Northern line between Euston and Bank is also receiving coverage for the first the Victoria line, coverage is being rolled out between Vauxhall and Pimlico. The Jubilee line's coverage is to be extended next, starting at Swiss Cottage and linking with existing coverage at interchange stations such as Green Park and King's Cross St Pancras, as well as further sections of the Victoria line from Green Park to Brixton, will also start to get high-speed mobile coverage for the first time in the next phase of work.
ABC News
03-07-2025
- General
- ABC News
Jurien Bay residents afraid of what could happen next with frequent Telstra outages
Michael Cockburn found himself unable to call emergency services when a neighbour's shed burst into flames in May. He said the blaze had first been extinguished by firefighters earlier in the evening, but after midnight his wife saw it had reignited. "She screamed out to me that the shed was on fire again. As I've gone out the backyard, there was just a red glow," Mr Cockburn said. Mr Cockburn said he tried to call triple-0 four times in vain. "[The call] would go through to the call centre and after about five or six seconds it would just drop out." He said he had the same issues when trying to make a call to a friend who "made the assumption" the structure had reignited. Firefighters arrived about an hour later. Mr Cockburn said he and the elderly property owner used hoses to try to keep the flames from spreading to a nearby shed which held batteries and fuel. "There was a good chance that would have exploded," he said. Firefighters eventually stopped the blaze but the shed was destroyed and there was significant damage to his neighbour's house. Mr Cockburn said the poor mobile coverage caused a dangerous delay and the service was still unacceptable weeks later. He is one of many residents of Jurien Bay, about 200 kilometres north of Perth, who say phone services are so unreliable they could be life threatening. Telstra initially told the ABC there was only one recent fault, in June, but after more questions they said further investigations found an "intermittent fault" which "reduced mobile performance for some customers". "We're sorry for the stress this has caused. It's a complex fault and we're working with our software vendor and technicians to identify the root cause of the issue as a matter of urgency," a spokesperson said. Dandaragan shire president Tony O'Gorman said coverage issues had been happening for about three months. "It's almost impossible to make a phone call in and around Jurien Bay without the phone dropping out," he said. The council had been lobbying Telstra on behalf of residents, he added. "But they're paying as much attention to us [the council] as they do any other citizen, which is just about zero." Mr O'Gorman encouraged locals to lodge a complaint with Telstra and escalate it with the telecommunications ombudsman. Shire of Dandaragan emergency services coordinator Will Miller said every minute in an emergency mattered, and there had been multiple incidents in which telco issues had occurred. "As soon as you've got life and property involved, it's amazing how much we do rely on our telephone networks these days," Mr Miller said. He said response teams and volunteers were encouraged to sign up with multiple telco providers in the hopes at least one would provide a signal in an emergency. Mr Miller said the backup plan added extra costs but was a good placeholder until there was a long-term fix. "We could be waiting for solutions for quite some time," he said. Jurien Bay's Community Resource Centre recorded at least 25 people who had been affected by unreliable mobile coverage. "But we know through social media there's lots more people affected by it," manager Sue Campbell said. The lack of coverage affected daily life, she said, with many government and banking services using two-factor authentication which required a phone call or text to work. Ms Campbell said in one situation a client had applied for an income support payment but could not do the necessary phone interview. "The day of the interview he was sitting waiting for the call and it never arrived," she said. The same issue happened again twice, leaving the client without an income for about six weeks, Ms Campbell said. "It's very distressing for them. It badly affects their mental health," she said. Ms Campbell said the centre's staff were planning on lobbying local MP Shane Love over the issue and also encouraged people to lodge a complaint with the telecommunications ombudsman.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Network Rail and partners to tackle Britain's rail signal blackspots
Network Rail, Neos Networks, and Freshwave have announced a partnership called Project Reach, aimed at eliminating mobile signal blackspots across Britain's major rail routes. The commercial model of Project Reach combines public and private sector investment, with anticipated savings for taxpayers of around £300m ($411.7m). The project will initially involve Neos Networks laying 1,000km of ultrafast fibre optic cable along key rail lines, with plans to expand to more than 5,000km. The rail lines will include the East Coast, Chiltern, West Coast, and Great Western Main Lines. Freshwave will work with mobile network operators to improve mobile coverage in 57 tunnels and their adjacent cuttings. This includes tunnels such as Chipping Sodbury near Bristol and those surrounding King's Cross station. The company will target investment to address coverage gaps in rail tunnels and upgrade wireless infrastructure at major railway stations. The deal includes a commitment from mobile network operators to invest in new 4G/5G infrastructure at 12 of Network Rail's largest stations, including Birmingham New St and Manchester Piccadilly. The upgraded infrastructure will enable Network Rail to better monitor railway assets and support the adoption of new technologies. Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander said: 'This is a game changer for passengers up and down the country and will revolutionise journeys from Paddington to Penzance and Edinburgh to Euston. 'By boosting connectivity and tackling signal blackspots, we are also ensuring a more reliable and efficient service.' Neos Networks will commercialise spare fibre capacity as part of the project, enhancing Network Rail's critical telecoms infrastructure. This will not only provide the necessary future capacity for digitally driven railway benefits but also create a digital connectivity backbone for businesses, connecting data centres and high-performance edge facilities. Network Rail chief financial officer Jeremy Westlake said: 'I'm delighted that we have now signed this innovative deal with our partners Neos Networks and Freshwave. This investment model will deliver the necessary upgrades to our telecoms infrastructure faster whilst offering significant value-for-money for the taxpayer and stimulating wider economic benefits across the country.' The multi-year Project Reach is set to commence mobile infrastructure installations in 2026, with full rollout expected by 2028. Recently, Network Rail entered a contract worth £500m with British Steel for the provision of over 337,000 tonnes of railway track for the coming five years, starting from July 1st. "Network Rail and partners to tackle Britain's rail signal blackspots" was originally created and published by Railway Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
BBC News
26-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Dorset's best phone coverage found by bin lorries
An area's best mobile phone coverage providers have been found in a street-by-street survey by bin Council is the latest authority to use devices on waste vehicles to check signal results have been published in an online checker, where users can enter their postcode to find data for the four main council said a previous tool promoted by communications regulator Ofcom was not accurate, while mobile phone company websites could not always be relied on. Thirty-two food waste collection trucks surveyed 2,400 miles of roads, the council vehicles carried equipment from technology firm Streetwave to check coverage by EE, O2, Three and Vodafone, as well as download found less than half of the area had good signal strength, whereas Ofcom put the figure at 90%, the council said. The BBC checked data for its office in rated coverage as "likely" for all four companies, while Streetwave described the signal strength from two providers as "poor".Dorset Council's project leader Gary Littledyke said Ofcom used data from computer simulations, whereas Streetwave took a snapshot of actual signal strength on the day of said: "It's not foolproof, but it gives an indication of likelihood. We will continue to gather data during the pilot."If you go on to the coverage checker of any provider's website, it will largely tell you everything is fine, whereas we know that's not the case in Dorset."Dorset councillor Richard Biggs, in charge of economic growth, said: "We have known for many years that the mobile coverage data provided by Ofcom does not give an accurate picture for Dorset."This checker... will help us lobby the government and suppliers for better coverage in areas we know are currently struggling."Ofcom said: "We're working to overhaul our mobile coverage checker, which we will relaunch very soon with new and improved data to better reflect what people can expect."The Streetwave postcode coverage checker can be accessed via this link, while Ofcom's tool is available here. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
