How to get your calls cheaper abroad
In June 2007 & in August 2007 new regulations came into effect that make it cheaper to make a call from your mobile phone when you are abroad. Before this, it would cost most people between 50p and £1 per minute to make or receive a call on their mobile when abroad. These new regulations mean that all mobile phone companies that offer an international roaming service must provide a standard euro tariff. This means a charge of no more than 38p per minute including VAT to make a call, and no more than 19p per minute to receive a call. This has meant that the cost of making and receiving calls when you are abroad in Europe has been reduced by more than 50% for most users. Another change that was made last year, was the introduction of operators having to send their users an automatic SMS message whenever they cross an international border. This message has to explain how much you will have to pay to make or receive a call in the new location.
A good tip before you go away is to contact your provider and ask them to provide you with a breakdown of the cost to call and receive calls while in the countries you are planning on travelling to, this will mean that you will at least have a better idea of how much you will be paying before the occasion arises rather than getting a shock at the time. As the charges vary not only from supplier to supplier, but also according to where you go, you will need to look the information up that’s relevant to you according to which provider you use. Here are some links to information relating to specific mobile phone providers and how much they charge when you are in different countries.
Orange http://www2.orange.co.uk/servlet/Satellite?pagename=PersonalIR&c=OUKPage&cid=1123171272053
T-Mobile http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/services/going-abroad/using-phones-abroad/
Virgin http://www.virginmobile.com/vm/callCostsSpecial.do?isoCountryCode=it&paymentPlan=PAYG
02 http://www.o2international.co.uk/?cm_re=Navigation-_-Jumpto-_-TravelAbroad
Vodafone http://www.abroad.vodafone.co.uk/index.cfm?do=abroad.home&me=a2ν=1≤=2
Most providers don’t charge you to receive an SMS text message when you are abroad, so keep in mind that communicating this way may be cheaper, although obviously that will depend on how many texts you need to send to get the information across.
It is worth considering purchasing a ‘local’ sim card if you are going to be needing to make a lot of calls when abroad – particularly if you are on pay as you go which will tend to be more expensive than contract for phone calls to and from other countries. You will easily be able to purchase a ‘local’ sim card in most European countries, and sometimes with the aid of the internet, this can be done before you travel out of England. (It’s important to remember to tell people that you will be using a different number before you go if you do this!).
Useful Links
Buy a prepay sim card - first4phonecards.com
Buy a roaming sim for aborad - 0044.co.uk
Buy a country specific sim card - planetphonecards.com
Don’t forget that you may well need an adaptor for your mobile phone charger, as a lot of other countries run on a different voltage to the UK, and you don’t want to find yourself with a dead mobile phone.
Unless you need to have it turned on, it’s a good idea to turn voicemail off when abroad as most networks charge you the same amount for a voicemail as if you’d received a call. Generally you can just phone your supplier and ask them to turn this service off and then when you return call them again to get it turned back on.
