We had reported back in December that Ting, a pre-paid MVNO, could offer a GSM service in 2015. Ting was previously testing a GSM service on an invite only basis and there was considerable interest in its new endeavor given that its a MVNO that’s increasingly becoming popular for the value for money it offers. Ting has now announced that its GSM service has entered open beta which means anybody who has its SIM card can hop onboard without requiring an invite.
Before this open beta kicked off Ting was only compatible with CDMA devices because it used to run on Sprint’s network. For GSM the MVNO has opted for T-Mobile as its network partner.
Since T-Mobile is powering the GSM service your experience with Ting will depend upon how good or bad T-Mobile’s service is in your area. To get onboard just get the $9 universal GSM SIM X1 card from Ting and pop it inside an unlocked GSM phone.
Since the service is in open beta right now some features are missing, international roaming and international long distance to be precise, the former isn’t really that big an issue because if you’re using an unlocked device you’re likely to go with a local carrier in the destination country because the rates will most certainly be cheaper.
International long distance could be a problem, and until Ting fixes it, users will have to rely upon services like Skype and FaceTime to get in touch with their loved ones abroad.
Filed in .. Source: ting