Team Partners Telecommunications

Have ’Phone Will Travel

Posted on Jun 21, 2019  | Tags: mobile

You own a mobile phone. You travel. What should you expect your phone to be able to do for you?

It’s not something you’ve ever really thought about is it? We live in a world where anything less than telephony excellence is unacceptable, where we expect a great signal at all times and with it the ability to watch a film whilst in a tent in the middle of no-where. We probably have greater expectations of our mobile phones than any other mechanical or electrical bit of kit that we ever use, so how can travel affect our mobile sanity and rock our connectivity equilibrium?

And the Number One answer to that question is: Cost! Now we all know that data roaming is free across the EU, but then we’ve all heard horror stories of huge unexpected bills too, so if you’re heading somewhere outside of the EU turn off your data roaming before your plane leaves the ground. That way none of your apps can be busy refreshing and racking up download charges unbeknownst to you. You could argue, of course that doing so completely defeats 90% of the purpose of taking your mobile with you and if that’s the case you have some options. Your could, for instance, buy a roaming bundle from your UK network provider, use local WiFi at all times or even buy a local SIM card, but you’ll need to have an unlocked mobile phone for this to be possible. And that’s just to download data.

Keeping connected can also cost. It’s free to receive texts and not wildly expensive to send them, at least not until you find yourself deep in a to-and-fro text conversation with someone, and whilst it’s neat to be able to converse with a chum from a sunny beach the fact is that the cost of doing so can quickly mount up. Far better to find that WiFi hotspot and use Messenger, WhatsApp, Skype or FaceTime.

One more top tip on the topic of saving money, or at least not incurring huge costs when outside the EU, is to remember to disable your voicemail.  The cost of receiving voicemail is capped in the EU, but they’re not elsewhere and can be truly breath taking. Remember to reconnect when you get back!

Of course there’s more to it than this. Here are some other options you could consider:

• Buy a separate unlocked phone just for travel. Make it something cheap so it doesn’t really matter if it gets stolen.
• Download off-line travel apps before you leave. These work without the need to download further data at your destination.
• Think about buying a portable hotspot the whole family can use. Make sure it’s unlocked and buy a local SIM.
• Or maybe a pre-loaded disposable phone, ecologically you should get shot, but it’s a short-term answer.
• If you’re travelling somewhere really different check whether whatever phone you’re taking will actually work there. Not every country uses GSM!

And of course you could always just leave you phone at home and enjoy your holiday...just saying....