Traveling Europe this summer? Telestial says its data roaming is 20x cheaper

California-based mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Telestial on Tuesday announced it had dropped its international 2G and 3G roaming rates to the lowest in the industry.

Customers who buy one of Telestial's Passport or Passport Plus SIM cards can now connect to data networks in France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and 21 other European countries for as low as $1 per megabyte. The company's prepaid SIM cards are compatible with mobile networks in 180 countries worldwide and require a SIM-unlocked GSM 850/900/1800/1900 phone for activation.

Compared to international roaming rates of major US network operators AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, Telestial's rates are remarkably low. The company says it charges a dollar per megabyte in locations where AT&T charges $19.97, Verizon charges $20.48, Sprint charges $16.38, and T-Mobile charges $15.