Cheap data roaming: Article discussion

Former_MSE_Becca · 16 August 2011 at 6:41PM

This is the place to discuss mobile data offers, as seen in the guide:

This guide includes the best deals for using mobile internet abroad, as well as some alternative options.

If you've got any suggestions or questions about data roaming, please join in the discussion

Many thanks,
MSE Becca

m5rcc · 17 August 2011 at 10:16AM

If you have a BlackBerry on T-Mobile then you can get the "World Email Booster" for £15 for 30days which gives unlimited data worldwide which I have used many times with zero issues. I even tether it to a laptop to use as a modem.

andie_303 · 17 August 2011 at 12:23PM

I am going to USA and have an Iphone 4 - I have ordered an AT&T microsim and as I really need to use the data I am planning to use there $60 unlimited international plan my onlyu question I am hoping someone can help me with is - am I able to purchase this plan with airtime vouchers as If I try to pay online it won't let me as it's a UK based payment card.

Hope this makes sense

Andrea

AFCBdave · 17 August 2011 at 9:51PM

Just back from Hong Kong, via Helsinki, and had Data Roaming on my iPhone switched off the whole time. In fact it has been off for the whole two years that I have owned the phone.

While we were away, we sometimes used the free 20 mins WiFi in the cafes and on two days paid £2.50 per day for unlimited WiFi (lots of it in HK). On return I found 2 charges of under a pound for overseas browsing which I found surprising, but wasn't going to make a fuss over.

However, during the three hours we were in Helsinki Airport using the free WiFi provided I ran up an £18 charge for data usage of 6Mb. O2's response was that this must have been a charge for the free WiFi!

Has anyone else been charged by their UK provider for data that they accessed through free WiFi?

They also charged me £10 for a voicemail message that I didn't access until I returned to the UK saying that the charge was partly for the connection from the UK to my phone in HK and partly for the connection from my phone in HK to the O2's answering service in the UK. Is this normal?

Thanks

grumbler · 17 August 2011 at 10:48PM

AFCBdave wrote: »

... had Data Roaming on my iPhone switched off the whole time....
However, during the three hours we were in Helsinki Airport using the free WiFi provided I ran up an £18 charge for data usage of 6Mb. O2's response was that this must have been a charge for the free WiFi!

Has anyone else been charged by their UK provider for data that they accessed through free WiFi?

Complaints over erroneous iPhone data roaming charges

AFCBdave wrote: »

They also charged me £10 for a voicemail message that I didn't access until I returned to the UK saying that the charge was partly for the connection from the UK to my phone in HK and partly for the connection from my phone in HK to the O2's answering service in the UK. Is this normal?

Mobile Roaming :

Be aware that when outside the EU, you may have to pay to both receive a voicemail and to listen to it. Your best bet is to speak to your provider before you go, and to turn your voicemail off all together.

£10 doesn't look normal to me for just receiving.

mrcamp · 18 August 2011 at 9:47AM

I do not fully understand your question. However, I would suggest that you go to an AT&T store in the US and add the data plan there and you should be able to use your UK based credit card in the store.

andie_303 wrote: »

I am going to USA and have an Iphone 4 - I have ordered an AT&T microsim and as I really need to use the data I am planning to use there $60 unlimited international plan my onlyu question I am hoping someone can help me with is - am I able to purchase this plan with airtime vouchers as If I try to pay online it won't let me as it's a UK based payment card.

Hope this makes sense

Andrea

grumbler · 18 August 2011 at 9:58AM

andie_303 wrote: »

I am going to USA... I have ordered an AT&T microsim and as I really need to use the data I am planning to use there $60 unlimited international plan...

Hope this makes sense

Not much unless I am missing something. Why international plan if it's a USA sim and will be used in USA?

BurningSnowman · 19 August 2011 at 7:26PM

Hi,

I went to Croatia a few weeks ago and checked this article first, coming to the conclusion that there was nothing I could do about T-Mob's charges because the country is outside their definition of 'Europe' and they don't offer boosters for it in my account. It was too late to buy a third-party SIM, although several of us going were in a situation where we needed to make quite regular calls. Taxi calls were a particular pain in an area with minimal transport options, each call being £1.50/min+VAT.

Only after returning, I discovered that T-Mobile have an option called WorldClass (or sometimes World Class) which you can opt into for free but don't get by default. Despite what this page says I couldn't see it as an option in My T-Mobile, but they say you can call 150 to request it. It reduces the cost of calls to 55p/min in 18 of these countries (Ireland is 25p/min inc. VAT).

Any feedback from somebody who has actually opted into this would be helpful, but assuming it still works I think this would be well worth including in the article.

SteveBentley · 20 August 2011 at 1:24PM

Isn't it ironic that the network that promotes itself as being built for data is the only one that doesn't offer a bundle for overseas data? Bait and switch tactics?

Come on Three, sort it out!

m5rcc · 21 August 2011 at 9:40AM

SteveBentley wrote: »

Isn't it ironic that the network that promotes itself as being built for data is the only one that doesn't offer a bundle for overseas data? Bait and switch tactics?

Come on Three, sort it out!

Three are truly pants. If they're rubbish in the UK, what does one expect overseas?

Conkermon · 24 August 2011 at 1:07PM

Right so I've done a fair bit of research on the cheapest way to fund my BlackBerry use during an upcoming two week trip to LA. Here's what I've found out (might help others, unfortunately can't add links) + some questions.

I unlocked my BlackBerry at www[.]freemyblackberry[.]com (free service with the code provided within 24 hours - can't recommend them enough) and have since been looking at sims with data bolt-ons.

AT&T looks like the best bet for carrier, coverage is good and reliable and the costs are acceptable at 49¢/minute for calls to the UK (not aware of costs to receive if they exist). International text messages are $0.25 per message sent. Ideally I'll be mainly texting and calling US numbers so I can use data to contact people back home and keep costs down.

As for the payg plan, smartphones are ineligible for the cheapest option, 'pay per use' while the $50 Monthly Unlimited Plan exceeds my requirements so the $2 Daily Unlimited Talk and Text is looking like the best choice for me. A 10¢/minute plan also exists that may interest some.

So $14 will cover all texts and calls within the US and I'll probably add another $10 for international calls.

Data bundles are available as follows:

$5 for 10 MB
$15 for 100 MB
$25 for 500 MB

I'll probably take 100 MB but am toying with 500 so I don't have to worry. Does it sound like 100 MB would suffice for heavy bbming, occasional fb use (including 2 or 3 medium resolution photo uploads), occasional browsing of the bbc news site + receipt of some emails (html/images disabled)?

Anyway that puts me out about $40 for 2 weeks of US calls and texts, 100mb data and $10 credit.

+

The card itself ranges from £6 to £9 on ebay.

So let's just say it essentially comes to $50 (~£30) for a 2 week phone bill. +$10 if I really think more data is necessary + any additional credit.

I think that's pretty reasonable, however, if anyone spots any ways of cutting costs further I'd be grateful!

Cheap data roaming: Article discussion

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