By 
A trip abroad can be a wonderful experience, especially if you’ve gone for a holiday. That is, until you come home only to be shocked to receive a massive phone bill.
If you don’t want this horrible episode to happen after your time overseas, you should know how to use international roaming facilities without running into phone use-related stress back home.
Get to know international roaming
International roaming allows you to make and receive calls, access mobile services, send and receive data even when travelling outside the coverage area of your home network.
So if you make a call using your SIM card while roaming, you can get charged more (or a lot more) than what you’re used to at home.
A smart move to avoid expensive roaming charges is to get an international roaming plan from your service provider ahead of time. Before you pack your bags and book your plane ticket, take a look at these tips below for a stress-free trip abroad.
1. Ask if your phone will have service in your destination
Before anything else, you should ask your service provider if your SIM will work in your travel destination.
Various countries make use of diverse phone networks so make sure you can still make calls, send text messages, and use data when you arrive at your host country.
Don’t assume your phone will work without verifying it first with your service provider as you may end up paying more after discovering that it’s the exact opposite.
2. Be informed about roaming rates
After you’re 100% sure that your phone will work abroad, start reviewing the roaming rates in your travel destination.
Also, check what roaming services you can avail of that will save you a substantial amount of money when overseas. This is especially important if you’re traveling on business, and you expect to make calls to clients or staff in other locations while overseas.
Remember that you may also get charged for incoming SMS and calls which means you don’t have full control over roaming costs.
If you don’t understand anything about the roaming rates, don’t hesitate to ask your service provider. An unanswered question may become the reason why you’ll end up racking a major phone bill.
3. Monitor data usage
Keep an eye on the amount of data you use so that you don’t consume your data allowance right away. You can view your data stats by accessing the following:
- Mobile network account page of your service provider.
- Built-in data traffic log in your smartphone.
4. Adjust phone settings
You can disable data roaming while you’re traveling if you won’t be using it. Doing so can help you prevent your phone from automatically connecting which can further exacerbate your phone bill woes.
All you have to do is go to your phone settings feature, and then turn off the data roaming function.
For an added layer of protection, you can also turn off your cellular data application. This will “instruct” your phone to only connect to the Internet over Wi-Fi.
Cancel updates
Make sure to turn off automatic software updates until you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network. Software updates are important but you have to postpone downloading these big patch files as they can gobble up a huge portion of your data.
5. Use less expensive means of communication
Sending an SMS costs much less than making a call or sending an email.
Give a heads-up to people not to call you when abroad if receiving voicemails isn’t good for your budget. You can also make use of free messaging apps online to communicate, but make sure you’re using Wi-Fi to connect to the Internet.
Be a smart traveler as well and take advantage of airport layovers or longer stopovers to make important voice calls, and send urgent emails via free Wi-Fi access provided in airport terminals.
6. Download everything before you leave
Download and save web pages you’ll refer to when travelling abroad.
If you plan to use Google Maps, download the map data ahead of time so that it won’t add up to your phone bill. Even if you can avail of free Wi-Fi in your hotel, you may not be able to access all websites especially if you’re in a country with strict browsing regulations.
Only use apps that don’t require data
Make use of apps that you can use overseas without an Internet connection. By doing so, you don’t need to consume your data for the apps to function, thereby reducing phone bill costs.
7. Buy a local SIM
If you’ll be staying abroad for longer and know that you’ll be sending a lot of text messages, making regular phone calls, and using up data for research or online transactions – investing in a local SIM would be a wise choice. By doing so, you’ll get charged at local rates instead of the applicable (expensive) roaming charges.
To truly enjoy your stay abroad it’s worth considering the tips above so you can stop worrying about unnecessary costs you might incur.
This way, you can focus on enjoying your holiday adventure or setting up your business meetings (or both) rather than stressing over accumulating a huge phone bill.
Comments