The most affordable mobile network for roaming

[Hanno Labuschagne]

The most affordable mobile network for roaming

South Africans who have travelled internationally will have experienced the bill shock stemming from inadvertently using data while roaming on foreign networks.

While all of South Africa’s major mobile operators offer their subscribers the ability to use other mobile networks while travelling overseas, the prices of data, voice calls, and SMSs while roaming can be very high.

Nevertheless, frequent travellers may find it cumbersome to have to buy a new SIM card for a particular country they are in and to communicate a new phone number to friends, family members, and colleagues.

 

[KikzAzz]

France - R123 and Mauritius - R167 per MB on the Cell C network! WTF! Slightly excessive I would say.

 

[G.A.S]

Often a local SIM will work out cheaper, but there might be significant paperwork involved due to local "RICA"-like legislation in certain countries.

But you might need a second handset if you need your primary number. (Or a dual SIM phone)

 

[rramosz]

There are alternatives to paying roaming charges. When I visited Europe I rented a pocket Wifi hotspot that gave me and my family internet in Europe. The speed was great, the only downside is that works on the mobile 4G coverage, so if you're in a building with thick walls (like any European church) then the signal was low. But other than that, it worked nicely. Before renting it, I did some research comparing prices and data allowance and rented a wifitakeaway device. In any case, you can do your own research, the point is, there are more cost effective ways of staying connected when traveling.
I hope this is helpful

 

[nicroets]

I spent 17 months traveling the world. In the process I bought 7 sims:

USA: At Wallmart, I bought a Trackphone SIM which runs on all 3 large networks (Verizon, T Mobile and Sprint). No ID required. Data was $10/GB. It was important to have normal airtime because many Americans don't have WhatsApp.

Netherlands: At Vodafone. No ID required. E10/GB. Roaming throughout the EU. Remember that Switzerland is out side the EU, so the smallest data transfer will deplete your airtime.

Germany: At LIDL. A bit cheaper than Vodafone. I needed to make a video call to a person who verified my passport is genuine. The Wifi at McDonalds was stable enough.

China: The cheaper plans are not available to foreigners. Passport required.

Vietnam: Very cheap. Passport required. Some sims are more expensive than others purely because the phone number will have more lucky digits than a normal sim.

Laos: Cheap but coverage is dodgy.

Cambodia: Smaller towns do not have sim cards.

Some more details are in my journals:

Nic Roets - Member Profile - CycleBlaze

www.cycleblaze.com