Mobile Roaming: Cheapest Calls When You're Abroad

Tarquin_2

redux wrote: »

Sim4travel is Jersey, not a standard UK number.

For Ireland, 3 Like Home or a choice of 2 options on O2 give free incoming calls, while Vodafone Passport is also worth looking at. I'd check 3's coverage and probably use that, perhaps with a calls bundle like 300 minutes for £15

If staff at the phone companies can't tell the differnce, how can you be expected to tell the difference? If someone gave me a +44 7 number to call, I'd presume that would be included in my ANY NETWORK minutes.
I'm confused! If Jersey is different, why does it have the same international dialling code?

legin026

My son works in France for 6 months a year. He is charged each time I phone him on his mobile on top of the cost to me in the uk. What is the cheapest solution to the call costs.

redux

legin026 wrote: »

My son works in France for 6 months a year. He is charged each time I phone him on his mobile on top of the cost to me in the uk. What is the cheapest solution to the call costs.

If he's on O2, he could subscribe to My Europe Extra, £10 a month to get free incoming calls. Vodafone Passport's 75p connect fee isn't too bad on longer calls, but adds up fast on one or two minute ones. The other tariffs are mostly about 18p/min incoming except 3 at 10p

He could get either a French SIM card or one of the global roaming ones with free incoming calls, or subscribe to that O2 option on a Pay & Go SIM. The choice might depend on what outgoing calls he also needs to make.

There are several of these global SIMs, as mentioned above and in Martin's original article, with a range of countries including Isle of Man and Jersey which cheap calls providers count the same as UK rates

Do you call him from a landline or a mobile with inclusive minutes? From a landline you can use cheap calls providers as listed in the MSE Callchecker, whether for the UK number or maybe a French one. From some UK mobile networks, calls to IoM mobiles are inclusive, but others count it as international. Virgin includes Jersey as well, but I'm not aware that anyone else does

marko4ever25

Tarquin wrote: »

Myself and some friends have been using a sim4travel cards to receive free incoming calls on a UK number whilst in the Republic of Ireland. They have been largely good, despite some connection problems.

My warning is regarding UK network operators who try to charge around 94 pence per minute to call this number (even though it is a standard UK +44 7 ... number) We have had problems with people calling us from 02 and Vodafone, although I suspect other networks are the same. Both have agreed to a refund, but ask people calling you on a sim4travel to carefully look at their bills!

UPDATE!!! Vodafone now changed their mind again, claiming that the number is based in Jersey so that they are entitled to charge 94p per minute. A couldnt find anything about 94p per min or call charges to Jersey mobiles on their website.
UPDATE part 2. They're now saying around 30p per minute (can't remember exact figure), not the 94p they had threatened. Is it a deliberate ploy to confuse their own staff so the consumers don't have a chance of understanding!!???

its its a uk number surely ofcom can give clarification?

chris_o

I've been looking at getting a SIM card to use on a trip to the USA. I would rather buy one in advance as I'd like to be able to give out my number before I depart and, also, I'm not sure I'll have the time to faff around buying one once I get there.

First of all I looked at the 0044 website
http://www.0044.co.uk/America.htm
They say that they are the "only UK company that register and provide you with your new USA number before you leave the UK". That's that I thought. But just as an afterthought I had a look at OneRoam
http://www.oneroam.co.uk/sim-cards.aspx?igs=1&m=14&mi=95
And they say "We are the only company that can give you your number before you travel"! They look to provide essentially the same service as 0044 - a Jolt Telecom US SIM card - but cheaper.

Goodness knows how many other "only" companies that can do this there are.

keefrto

So here is the reply from Noodle and if anyone can't spot any problems with the deal on the website I will be getting one, cheers:
Canada-UK Land line using Noodle Mobile roaming=£0.02p/m,

Canada-UK Mobile using Noodle Mobile roaming=Between £0.02p/m and £0.11p/m (depending on the network you are calling in the U.K)

When receiving a call in Canada we will pay you up to £0.02p/m

freebielover_3

Sorry if this should be easy to work out from the other posts, I have read them but i am even more confused now.

I am on orange contract and the charges are £1.40 per min to call, 70p to receive, 40p to send a text.

I wondered if it is best to buy a local sim card but then is it really expensive for people to call me?

or

Do you get a better deal by putting another pay as you go sim from o2 or another UK company?

Thanks

redux

freebielover wrote: »

Sorry if this should be easy to work out from the other posts, I have read them but i am even more confused now.

I am on orange contract and the charges are £1.40 per min to call, 70p to receive, 40p to send a text.

I wondered if it is best to buy a local sim card but then is it really expensive for people to call me?

or

Do you get a better deal by putting another pay as you go sim from o2 or another UK company?

Thanks

When the cheaper roaming deals in the EU were forced through, some networks put up their rates in non-EU European countries

But there is one option worth looking at. O2's My Europe Extra includes some other European countries as well. For a £10 a month fee, incoming calls are free, outgoing are 25 pence a minute to about 30 countries. Without that option, they'll be more expensive, like 99p/min

http://www.o2international.co.uk/callingfromoverseas/myeurope_extra.aspx#payandgo

http://www.o2.co.uk/termsconditions/tariffsandboltons0153

Or, for info on local SIM networks and tariffs, http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/croatia.html

If you have a local SIM card, people can call you more cheaply using providers you'll find in the MSE Callchecker

http://callchecker.moneysavingexpert.com/intcallchecker/

And you can get around local SIM tariffs for international calls to UK by using a callback service, which sets up 2 calls, the first an incoming call to your phone

freebielover_3

Thanks redux, that is really helpful. I have just ordered a free o2 pay as you go sim. Now I just have find out how to get my phone unlocked!

romany

I'm sorry if this has been covered but I am a total mobile phone technophobe(if there is such a thing). I am your typical granny with mobile phone in the glove compartment to use in emergency. I believe it is a nokia 1100 on T-mobile PAYG which I bought for £20 about three years ago! All it does is make phone calls, and I can text on it. £20 lasts me at least 6 months! Anyway my OH and I are off travelling around the EU for a few months. Can anyone advise us as to the cheapest/ best way to phone/text home.It will mainly be text with occasional calls home and received, as we like to get on the internet when possible. Would it be best to buy phonecards from each country we go to. Realise I may need to upgrade phone so any advice in easy to understand language greatly appreciated.