Global roaming data plan for BlackBerry?

My family and I are planning an 11 month trip around the world principally staying for months at a time in specific regions (i.e. Southern South America, Southeast Asia, Southern Africa and Europe) starting in Sept. I've got a locked (Bell Mobility) Torch 9800 and 2 PlayBooks that I'd like to bring along to ensure we stay in toucj with family & friends (through Skype/video conferencing/email and NOT cell calls).

Is there a company that sells a monthly global data only plan that would cover those areas (Chile, Argentina, Equador, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, South Africa, Nambia, Botswana, Zambia, all of Europe/UK)? Failing that, can I buy regional plans in those areas to cover those countries?

I know CrackBerry members are around the world, so would appreciate local members respondong with the best options for their countries... failing that, I'll have to rely on WiFi hotspots I guess... Thanks in advance.

you will have to 100% rely on hotspots if you want to avoid charges.

If not call bell and add international data to your plan, but expect a huge bill

Originally Posted by Fubaz

you will have to 100% rely on hotspots if you want to avoid charges.

If not call bell and add international data to your plan, but expect a huge bill

I know Bell has sucky global data roaming charges... I was hoping there was another international carrier/carriers that could handle this at least regionally. Thx for the suggestion though. I appreciate the effort.

If you spend enough time in one place you can buy a sim card for a local carrier, most places outside NA its very reasonable to do. Thailand for instance you can get hooked up for less than 5 bucks and some long distance plans are as cheap as a few cents a min. have a good trip.

I would research the operators in the countries you will going to be spending time in and see if they offer prepaid BIS plans.

In most of Africa you can get a sim card and buy pre-paid cards to add credits to your phone. In large cities internet cafes are common too.

Get your Torch unlocked and get sim cards at whatever GSM-supported carriers occupy whatever country you're in at the time.