T-Mobile is upping its travel perks. On Thursday, the carrier announced new programs including slightly faster free international data, free Wi-Fi on more flights and discounts on gas at Shell stations. 

The self-described "Un-Carrier" has long offered free international data and texting in over 210 countries with a number of its plans, but data speeds were capped at a painful 128 kilobits per second. Starting June 21, the carrier is bumping up that speed to 256Kbps, an improvement that should allow for better handling of tasks like email or basic web browsing, even if it still doesn't allow for video calls or video streaming. 

A speed of 256Kbps is "great for basic navigation and basic web browsing, and a lot of things that people do when they internationally travel," said Mike Katz, chief marketing officer at T-Mobile.

For reference, Zoom recommends connections of at least 600Kbps for one-to-one video calls in non-HD, or "high quality," while Netflix recommends 1Mbps connections to view content in standard definition (or at 3Mbps for 720p HD). 

Those on T-Mobile's priciest Magenta Max unlimited plans will get 5 gigabytes of free high-speed data each month at "up to 5G speeds" in the over 210 countries it already offers free international roaming. Enterprise clients on the Business Unlimited Ultimate tier also get this benefit.

Those with Magenta plans will also get 5 gigabytes of data at up to 5G speeds in 11 European countries where Deutsche Telecom operates. (Deutsche Telecom is a majority shareholder in T-Mobile.) This includes Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. 

After the 5GB are used up, your 5G speed will drop down to 256Kbps, though T-Mobile will continue to offer faster data starting at $5 per day for 512MB of high-speed data and unlimited calling for 24 hours. T-Mobile still doesn't include calls with its international benefits, leaving its 25 cents-per-minute rates intact, though calls over Wi-Fi are free. Travelers are mostly consuming data, Katz said, and when they make calls, they're usually around Wi-Fi.

While still not a massive upgrade, the improvements continue to put T-Mobile ahead of AT&T and Verizon for basic connectivity, each of which charges $10 per day for those on its unlimited plans to be able to use your regular talk, text and high-speed data in over 210 countries.

AT&T's Day Pass program includes the same data speeds as your regular domestic plan, and the carrier says it will only cap charges at 10 days per billing month. Verizon's Travel Pass program only includes high-speed data for the first half-gigabyte you use. After that, it slows down significantly to "2G speeds" unless you buy more high-speed data at half-gigabyte increments ($5 per half-gigabyte in Canada and Mexico, $10 per elsewhere). 

Depending on your plan, AT&T and Verizon also require you to opt into their respective travel pass programs or risk being charged significantly higher pay-as-you-go rates.