[jdinsandiego]

I currently use a free visual voice mail service from Youmail.com. They offer a transcription service. I sign up for that before I leave the USA. The voice mail is delivered to me via email and transcribed so I don’t have to roam. I utilize WiFi areas and also purchase a prepaid WiFi card upon arrival. I only purchase unlocked iPhone’s directly from Apple.

[MartynSinclair]

Full details of the cost effective T Mobile USA for USA to England and 3 and 4 G data roaming packages can be found on their website.

I have given up using the same sim, just keep buying a new one on arrival if the old one has expired.

http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans

[IanFromHKG]

HK telcos offer data roaming packages for many of the most popular countries, although the daily cost (about GBP15 on my own operator) means it is usually not worthwhile for me for personal use as I would rather use WiFi on my iPad for browsing, and my BB is company-paid so I don’t care! However, I suspect a little shopping around may enable others to access similar packages.

Using hotel phones to avoid roaming charges may be a false economy – check how much your hotel adds on to the cost of a call before you place it! I remember being horrified in a US hotel to discover they added USD25 to every overseas call (!!!!)

When in the UK, the memsahib switches to a UK SIM with a BB package – the latter is fantastic value, at GBP5 a month, BTW. Of course this only works if all the people you want to hear from know that you have changed your number for the duration! However, that could easily be sorted by changing your voicemail message.

For messages between me and the memsahib, we use BlackBerry Messenger, which is free (she also uses this extensively with her sister who is in the UK).

For BB users who for whatever reason need to use data roaming for e-mail, the top tip is to switch messaging on only when you are actually using the BB, and then switch it off again when you are done. Otherwise, the wretched things keep “pinging” the server and racking up a data charge every time they do so. Depending on how your BB is set up you may also be able to send and receive messages over WiFi (the memsahib can’t do this because she uses Hotmail, and the way it is set up doesn’t allow WiFi access).

Skype on WiFi is great, but only on WiFi or with a data roaming package – otherwise you will be using hefty amounts of data. And to answer (in part) Martyn’s question above, yes you can get Skype for Blackberry, but as I don’t think there is a BB with a forward-facing camera it will presumably be voice only. I use Skype on my iPhone, with full video, and it works very well indeed (actually better than on my WiFi network at home, since the old area of HKG in which we live only has 8MBps landline speeds while my 4G network goes up to a theoretical speed of 100MBps and in tests regularly gets actual speeds of 40MBps!)

[LuganoPirate]

Ian, how lucky you are, we only get max 4mbps here in Knysna and during the day lucky to achieve 2 Mbps! When you’re up country you’ll be lucky to get more than 375 Kbps..

You make a point about hotel phone charges, and the most frustrating thing I find is they will not tell you how much a call from their phone will cost. They usually mumble about it depending on how long and where you call to when all I want to know is the per tick cost.

It also seems Apple sneakily turn on data roaming during an upgrade to their IoS as this has now happened twice to me and once to Mrs. LP so check your settings on a regular basis.

[Stringfellow]

‘LuganoPirate’ I can confirm the Apple practice of turning on Roaming during upgrades (this happened to my assistant). In addition we have seen it auto turn on when landing in the US despite the settings being set to ‘off’. In addition when we return to Europe sometimes the same thing sometimes happens

[canucklad]

Stringfellow….goes back to my earlier point of these companies, not just preying on the stupid, but relying on ludites like me to increase their profit margins.

The networks and manufactures need to be more closely regulated, especially in our growing global market.

Fortunately it wasn’t too costly a lesson, as my mate showed me where to find the elusive data roaming switch, and how to access local free wifi hotspots when i wanted to communicate with my lass back home!!

[MarkCymru]

Like others, I use local SIMs in countries I visit regularly but it’s not worth it in places I visit for 48 hours once a year. It’s also awkward in some places (I’m so glad that I got my South Africa SIM before their new regulations came into force). Much as I hate Vodafone’s tax dodging and dubious lobbying, their World Traveller deal is quite good (25mb a day for a fixed price) but make really, really sure it’s turned on. I’ve just ordered this data card from the Dutch telco KPN. http://www.roamline.com. It seems to charge €0.39 per mb in Europe and North America and €0.89 everywhere else. You still wouldn’t watch video but that should make checking email and doing Facebook affordable. I’ll let you know how it goes

[theworldtraveller]

if you are going to use mobile data abroad, install the free iphone app ‘onavo extend’ – it makes your data go further in the uk and abroad.

once installed, you dont touch it again and it works in the background

[PaulRWoods]

I have one SIM-card + phone for my home country in Europe and one for the country I am based when on the job (Pacific). The one not applicable is completely switched off.
Telephone contact with wife and daughters is maintained by using Skype.

[EddieDeCurtis]

Don’t fear roaming any longer onePHONE will be launching soon. Roam Free!

http://www.onephoneworld.com

[syedislam]

– Mobile data roaming is a complete “No-No”
– Using local SIM is not a bad solution. I carry two mobiles when I travel abroad. I can always see who’s calling/texting on my roaming numbers but I only talk/call through the local number.
– Viber is an amazing solution to have – you need wi-fi only! Like skype, you don’t need to login or your contact doesn’t need to log-on. Both just needs to have wi-fi and then you can call directly for free (obviously your contact needs to have viber app on installed on the phone).

[SimonAlbury]

You can get an Alcatel dual SIM, SIM free phone for £15. It is very simple to switch between the local SIM and the UK SIM. Don’t use Voicemail. Stay at a hotel with good free WiFi. I use a WiFi only iPad and seldom have any difficulty in finding free or very cheap WiFi in restaurants and cafes.

[midorosan]

Apple do not benefit from roaming charges, the resetting of the phone after an upgrade is absolutely standard and simply resets the defaults surely it is not too difficult to run through the checks after an upgrade is it?

BTW I always knock of data roaming and all the other dta munchers long before I land so that there is no danger of me forgetting as I once did.

[stevemac]

I am just waiting for a flight to LHR from MIA after a nice cruise on Seabourn but just before I left I popped into one of the new ee mobile provider shops in Glasgow and was told I could have a new I phone 5 with unlimited calls and texts and some data for £41 PCM and then £5 extra would also include all roaming calls and texts. Will look into when I get back.

[VintageKrug]

£41 sounds reasonable per month.

But stand back a bit.

That’s £492 per year. For a mobile phone.

Pre-data I would pay a much more reasonable £15/month, which I regard as a reasonable amount.

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