Using your mobile phone abroad

carmenes82

I am researching an article on the cost of using your mobile phone abroad for a student magazine I write for (whether they'll publish or not I am not sure!). I was just wondering if people could let me know what they think about the call charges they pay when they go abroad...

Do you know what you are paying?
Do you think you are paying too much?
Will you continue to use your mobile regardless of cost?

I appreciate any comments.

Thanks,

Car.

andy88_2

I'm surprised this thread isn't more popular.

If using your UK mobile number then the roaming charges are expensive, but with a foreign SIM it's possible to make calls for a few pence, and receive calls free. And it's possible for friends and family to call you via cheap call providers

carmenes82

Cheers andy88- I'm also surprised that it's not a more popular thread...perhaps it's reflective of peoples' apathy towards the mobile roaming 'problem' ie. people just accept the convenience of using their phone abroad and only do it a couple of times a year so won't bother complaining?

I'm also surprised 2 people said roaming charges weren't too high- I think paying over £1 a minute to receive a call in the US is too high!!

Car.

bbb_uk

Carmenes82, I agree people just accept they are high because of the convenience.

Andy, I didn't realise that using a foreign SIM meant that you could receive calls for free. I knew calls would be cheaper though.

Anyhow, to answer Carmenes82 questions:-

1. Do you know what you are paying?
Yea. A bloody fortune. lol

2. Do you think you are paying too much?
Oh yea.

3. Will you continue to use your mobile regardless of cost?
Probably because how hard/easy is it to get a foreign SIM card?

When I'm abroad, I ask people not to ring me and I'll ring them back. It's cheaper as I pay for receiving the call anyhow so may as well ring them when I'm not busy, or have them ring the hotel.

carmenes82

I use a local SIM card when I go to Spain (bought rather expensively from 0044) and it does save a fair bit of cash. The problem is that a) people who want to get hold of me aren't usually prepared to listen to the voicemail on my UK number then redial my number in Spain (especially when most of them don't know about the discount call services available) and b) calling back to the UK is still pretty expensive and you have to keep topping-up your credit (something I find pretty annoying being used to a contract phone in the UK).

And the frustrating thing is that I can't see roaming rates dropping anytime soon...

Car.

boatman

I would totally agree that it is expensive to talk on a UK mobile abroad. I cancelled my orange contract early on the basis that they increased the price of texting by about 30% when abroad last June(their t&c's say that there will be no increases more than RPI, something to that effect). I don't think its worth buying a PAYG sim abroad unless you need to be contactable all the time(business)/temporary resident. If your on holiday text family to let them know you got there and leave it at that.
I think we have got too used to being able to contact people every minute of every day. Not so long ago people used to manage a week or two on holiday without contact.
Plan ahead, give family the telephone number of the hotel/campsite. As has already been said its not going to get cheaper so make better use of e-mail/messenger if you need to make contact.
If its that urgent accept it going to cost you.
'3' are one of the cheapest to text from when abroad, 25p all contries.

s30jok

I am in the Royal Navy so travel quite extensively, when you are abroad i look at the networks available and when i was with orange i would use the local orange network ie orange Malta etc, however when i returned to the uk or got my bill, using the same network was dearer than using the local more stronger signal network! how does that work?

When abroad and using hotels, i find that if you make a call to the UK then check out of the hotel in the morning they dont have the call details until later in the day, and if you have paid cash for the room they cannot charge you for the cost of the call, have done this a lot in USA and Middle east

benji_3

s30jok wrote:

I am in the Royal Navy so travel quite extensively, ....

When abroad and using hotels, i find that if you make a call to the UK then check out of the hotel in the morning they dont have the call details until later in the day, and if you have paid cash for the room they cannot charge you for the cost of the call, have done this a lot in USA and Middle east

this is a money saving site not the RONNY BIGGS SCHOOL OF CROOKS!!

punamulta

i have taken a local contract in Finland, costing 4 euro a month, . would never pay the silly roaming fees. calls to me from the UK cost 15p per min with 18866.

marjorie_2

or
3p to FINLAND landline on 0844 988 4333
20p to FINLAND mobile on 0911 228 4333

& more importantly the quality is excellent!!

:j

pennymakespounds

son is going to zante for a couple of weeks soon.

his mobile is o2 tariff

i know cheapest option is if we can find out if there is a landline in apartments and then phone him via 1899/18866 ....

BUT if it has to be via a mobile ...
1) how much does it cost for calls and texts (charges for him and us presumably) from his mobile to our landline....
2) what would calls be to his mobile from our landline ....

3) or is the cheapest option to get one of the "foreign sims" ... and what would those costs be ??

any help appreciated .
( remember daughters week in tenerife last year .. her mobile and our landline total £150 cost !! )