Everyone has heard the horror stories. You have a great trip away but some time after you arrive home, you receive an invoice from your mobile provider that amounts to more than your airfares. Some years ago, I had to take an Australian carrier to the Telecom Ombudsman to get them to review and then reverse $800 of fees for data that simply could not technically have been possible on the phone I had at the time – they simply wouldn’t listen to reason. Roaming charges can be outrageous and you have little way of knowing what you are building up while you are away, so some preparatory precautions are seriously advised.

Firstly you need to decide for yourself how much staying in contact with family, friends, and work is truly vital. We are all now used to being connected 24/7, but a few years ago this wasn’t the norm and people didn’t lose friends or their job! How much connectivity you need will dictate how much it may cost you.

Secondly, your phone may be a limiting factor. If you are on contract, the phone may be ‘locked’ to your phone provider. And if you are from North America, you may have a phone that has no removable SIM card. In these cases, there are workarounds, but they aren’t quite as simple as if you have a phone that is unlocked and will work with most SIMs.

And finally, different countries use different bands to transmit to your phone, so it may not work where you are going, even if you choose to roam with your own carrier. If you have a ‘quad band’ phone, you will probably be ok almost everywhere but if you want to research before you leave, the standard bands country by country are here.

Here are some suggestions, in increasing order of savings, but also of effort and complexity:

[otw_is sidebar=otw-sidebar-2]

Content Protected Using Blog Protector By: PcDrome.