You most likely have no idea how much you will be charged for your calls when abroad and on holiday.
Wednesday, September 5th, 2007You most likely have no idea how much you will be charged for your calls when abroad and on holiday.
Most people do not aware they have to pay roaming fees for Cellular calls outside their area. In general roaming fees can range up to $2 per minute depending on your carrier.
Let’s say your friend calls you, using her Cellular, when you are on holiday in Europe.
Who pays for what?
When you get a call from the USA to e.g. to Germany you have to pay for the roaming fee. When you make the call you additional have to pay the standard domestic rate.
Of course, your friend has to pay the standard domestic rate for her call.
But the roaming fee to reach you in Europe will be billed to you.
The roaming fees are always billed in 60 sec. increments. So if you only call for 30 seconds, the billing is rounded up the next full minute.
Whenever using your Cellular, you will be charged for the airtime used . This includes incoming and toll free calls. Calling a toll free number only eliminates the long distance fee that would be charged to you.
Sometimes, when you are roaming into another carrier’s network coverage area, you will be charged an access fee. These fees can apply for each call to fee once a day. These fees can be up to $9.95 for access to the network in which you are roaming.
And you must not forget taxes on your mobile phone bill you have to pay at home.
How to avoid roaming fees?
To avoid expensive %roaming fees% you should buy a SIM card for your Cellular in the country you are. With a SIM if someone calls you, you will not pay a dime!
What kind of Cellulars are supported?
All GSM Cellulars without SIM lock are supported. U.S.A and Canada customers should have a Tri or Quad band phone. CDMA phones will not work.
How to know if my phone is already unlocked or not?
Borrow a SIM a friend who has a different provider provider and see if it works in your Cellular or not. If it works, than the Cellular is already unlocked. If it doesn’t, than the Cellular is locked.
How to purchase additional airtime?
Additional airtime can be bought almost everywhere at gas station, shops, newsstands, ATM, lottery shops.
Can I also use my UMTS Cellular or UMTS laptop card?
You can activate UMTS to surf on the Internet. You also can use additional VOIP software like Skype and call all the world for free.
Where to get a prepaid calling card?
A good solution is to get a prepaid Cellular card at the place you are going to. You also can find a card on Ebay or Squidoo.com.
With a SIM for your Cellular you save much money when calling home while abroad. You also can use the SIM to make Voip calls to contact your friends at home and even save much more.
Jim Price
prepaid SIM cards for you Cellular