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Wife and I will be spending our 30th anniversary in a villa on STJ last week of June and wondering if there are any surcharges or roaming charges for use of an AT&T cell phone there.
Yes, AT&T is covered. We always used my boyrfriend's phone (ATT) on St. John, as I have Verizon (they DO charge). We've never been charged. Texting may be a different matter, however.
AT&T is a local provider, so no extra charges. You do have to be careful that you have line of sight to a USVI tower, however. There are some spots where the BVI providers take over and you will get a huge roaming charge. This happens for sure at Leinster Bay in spots, I suspect other areas.
My phone is with Sprint, but this tip may still help you. I called them prior to my trip asking about the roaming charges -- I'd heard sometimes phones connected with the BVI towers. Sprint told me to change my roaming setting to "Sprint Only" instead of automatic. perhaps other providers have this option on their phones. My phone coverage was limited. I was staying in Coral Bay and coverage wasn't good there. I usually checked my messages and made necessary calls when I was in Cruz Bay. I was on vacation and didn't want to be bothered with phone calls, so it was no big deal.
I know that my phone has an option to turn off International Roam only. Some spots out in Coral Bay will hit a BVI tower. Usually if you find an international roaming fee on your bill and call the provider and tell them that you never left the USVI they will remove the charges for you without a fuss. AT&T has better island wide coverage than Sprint (our two main carriers). AT&T does have some really odd dead zones though. I work in Wharfside Village and my office and store are two of those said odd dead zones. I can go outside of the buildings and walk about 5 steps and have coverage. So if you get here and find you don't have a signal, try walking a few feet in another direction and try again.
Will mt AT&T data plan also allow usage without additional charge?
Yes Lavocat, you will be able to use your data plan and as long as you follow the advice of East Ender (stay within sight of a USVI tower) you will not have extra charges. You can use data on the BVI towers but of course that is extra.
-Capt. Josh
