If you have to travel abroad, what do you do with your cell phone or smartphone plan? In the past, you were able to set up your phone for International calling as if you were locally in the place abroad; however, cell phone tech companies have stricter rules, preventing the ability to turn on and off international local calling as you please.
If you are staying only a week or less abroad, you can just add to your Blackberry, iPhone, or other smartphone plan so you can add international calling time. This means that you won’t get charged for roaming since you are out of your home country. But, keep in mind that these minutes run out fast and you will get charged a lot for minutes beyond your plan. Data plans for emailing and Internet is typically $20-30 for 20-50MB.
If you are staying abroad for 2 weeks or more, you should consider installing a local SIM card into your phone for use locally.
Here’s how to use a local phone / data plan internationally:
- Buy or get your hands on a spare or used phone.
- Unlock it. This means to set it in a way so that the phone is not alligned to any phone provider. You’ll probably need a local technology support company for help on this.
- Then, get a SIM card from the international company you’re staying at.
What’s the benefit of a local phone plan? Local calls are typically free, but most importantly, Internet and emails come with the plan which is much cheaper than bringing your phone from home. Also, you can set up calls to your home country at a reasonable rate.
The CEO of Telephone Systems International, Ehsan Bayat, has stated one major goal of his telecommunications network is to provide service to all users, regardless of country. Currently they are researching cost-effective ways in providing global SIM cards and accounts for those interested in visiting less developed countries. This would be an ideal option for those looking to visit a country that does not have carriers with competitive pricing.
