If you've returned from a holiday abroad and been shocked by an enormous mobile phone bill, you’re not alone. Many people still get caught out by surprisingly high mobile phone costs when returning from abroad, despite the slashing of international tariffs in August of 2007.
EU Ruling Limits the Price of Roaming Calls
In August 2007, an EU ruling reduced the costs of international mobile calls to a maximum of 33p per minute. At the same time a maximum of 18p per minute was applied to mobile phones receiving international calls. All networks had transferred their customers to so-called 'Eurotariff' prices by the end of September 2007. While all customers can now achieve a substantial saving over old rates, using your mobile phone abroad is still expensive.
Luckily there are some other ways you can reduce the cost of using your mobile phone when abroad.
Keeping Your Costs Low
There are several ways you can lower your costs of mobile phone usage when abroad. Here are a few tips for reducing your expenses.
- Text instead of calling. Receiving texts won’t cost you anything even when abroad. Sending a text will cost you money, but if you keep your messages short and condensed you'll still spend less than you would on a phone call.
- Use your mobile like a pager. Ask friends and family to text you when they want to talk. Then you can call them back using the cheapest method you have on hand.
- Use VoIP if you have internet access. Services such as Skype make international calls virtually free - all you’ll pay is the cost of connecting to the internet, as long as the recipient of your call has Skype too.
- Turn your voicemail off. You'll pay for each voicemail you receive, at international rates. Alternatively, change you message and ask that people not leave messages (it costs you to receive the message and again to retrieve it - ll at international rates).
- Purchase a SIM in your destination country for use while abroad. You won’t have to pay to receive calls, and texting will be cheaper too.
- Consider buying a global direct-dial SIM card. This option has high up front costs but if you frequently travel abroad it’ll pay for itself in the long run. For example, global SIM cards from Sim4Travel cost around ₤30, and you get a ₤10 credit too. These can be used in more than 100 countries, including all EU countries.
Research Before You Buy
Before going ahead with any of these options, make sure you find out exactly what each will cost you. Tariffs and prices are often changing, and what saves you money today might not save you as much next week. Don't forget, too, that while foreign SIM cards and other saving strategies might save you money, they may mean your friends and family pay more to contact you.
If you're not a frequent traveller it might be more effective to stick with your own mobile and simply reduce the amount of calls you make and receive.
