The sun is shining, the ice cream van is doing the rounds, and you can almost taste the salty air. It’s that wonderful time of year when summer is just around the corner.
For some of us this means planning a holiday, taking time away from the desk, and chilling out in another country. For others, it’s the perfect time to visit international trade shows or do some networking in new territories when spirits are high & the days are long.
Whatever your reason, summer is often the time we get to the airport and fly to a different country, but whether it’s for business or pleasure, you want your trip to be headache free so to help we’re here to walk you through the basics of what to know & consider when taking your phone abroad.
In this blog, we’ll answer:
- What is data roaming?
- What charges can I incur when abroad?
- How can I reduce my chances of ending up with a huge bill?
What is data roaming?
Put simply, data roaming is using any internet service on your mobile when you are abroad. For example, if you check your emails or use maps abroad, that’s when data roaming kicks in.
Just remember – if you’re not at home-ing, then you’re roaming.
Data roaming is separate to the other services which come as part of your contract, and this is important to remember as most phones now allow you to turn off data roaming. Doing this does not turn off your ability to make or receive calls or send SMS messages so your phone is still useable – you just won’t be able to do anything that requires a mobile data connection.
What charges can I incur when abroad?
The answer to this depends on the contract you are on, but the simple answer is that any megabyte of data you use, text message you send, or phone call you make can incur a cost – often at a higher rate to what you pay at home.
However, just as you have an inclusive allowance for these when not travelling, so you have an included amount for roaming. This means our top tip is to check your package before you go to ensure that you’re not surprised after the event and find out that you’ve been charged.
For Aerial Direct customers on an O2 contract, EU roaming is included in your contract as standard (which isn’t true of most business contracts from other major networks). For answers to all your other questions, check out our business travel page.
How can I reduce my chances of ending up with a huge bill?
There is absolutely no need to end up with a large surprise bill after an international trip, so long as you prepare correctly.
Firstly, if your plan has data roaming included as standard – and you’re travelling to a country that’s covered by this – then you have nothing to worry about. It’s worth checking whether your calls and minutes translate across as well, but if your contract allows you to move your allowances across countries as you travel then you are set. And frequent travellers will want to investigate which providers offer this as standard when it’s time to renew your contract (did I mention that all our O2 contracts come with EU roaming included as standard? Call me).
If your allowances don’t travel well; never fear. You can always turn off data roaming in your settings to make sure your phone doesn’t accidentally download the latest podcast when data charges are at their highest – and so long as you don’t send any messages or make any calls then you’re not incurring costs. But in this scenario, you also have a pretty useless phone.
Connecting to your hotel’s Wi-Fi can enable you to use the internet and resume the full functionality, and as a bonus, using Wi-Fi calling also means that any calls you make will be free.
This is a great little hack, but obviously only works when you are within range of Wi-Fi so if you must have data when out & about but it’s not included as part of your package then it’s time to think about a temporary bolt-on. Simply get in touch with your provider and they can walk you through your options.
Conclusion
There’s a wide variety of ways networks manage data roaming and inclusive calls & minutes when abroad, but with a little bit of pre-planning you needn’t worry about a big bill arriving when coming back from your trip.
And remember – if you’re a business who does a lot of EU based travel, then O2 is the only network in the UK to give its business users inclusive EU roaming.