1) PREVIOUS PLAN
If you know you will be traveling in the near future, start planning. Many call providers have special plans for use abroad. If your provider does, you may want to use it. They usually offer an add-on for a small charge per day. If you’re the kind of person who spends a lot of time on your phone, it’s probably worth opting for that add-on to your regular plan. Just remember to stop it when you get back, you don’t want to pay that extra charge forever.
If your provider doesn’t have an international add-on or you don’t want to use it, there are still plenty of other options to call your home city while abroad at a cheaper rate.
Consider buying a local SIM card when you are abroad. This is a great solution if you frequently travel to the same place or are going to stay in the same place for a long time. When you buy a local SIM card in the place you are visiting, you will usually pay for a package of minutes and the price will probably work out much cheaper than using your regular phone plan, plus you won’t need to pay for roaming (in most countries).
If you have a locked phone, you will not be able to use a foreign SIM card without first unlocking your phone.
You can also buy a local calling card which you can then use to call from hotel phones, public phones… Calling cards are not so popular anymore nowadays, but if you need a solution for cheap international calls, then they are a good option. Also here you have the advantage that there are no roaming costs.
2) WHEN YOU ARE ABROAD
When you need to make a call, think about what you want to say beforehand. This will usually make your call shorter and will also prevent you from forgetting to say something and needing to call back later.
Texting is cheaper than calling, so it can sometimes be worth it send a text message instead of calling, if it’s just a short message, you should deliver it. Remember that text messages are free while calls are not. If someone needs to tell you something, ask them to text instead of calling.
Keep in mind, though, that a back-and-forth text conversation will likely cost the same as a phone call.
Even if you don’t call abroad, you have to pay for incoming calls; so you have to pay when people call you and also some services make you pay if someone leaves you a voice message while you are abroad (depending on the country you are in). in).
You can eliminate at least one of these problems by deciding: do you want people to be able to contact you while you’re abroad, or do you want to enjoy your vacation in peace and quiet without anyone bothering you?
If you don’t want to talk to anyone, divert all your calls to voicemail. This way you will not be charged for roaming. However, you may have to pay if someone leaves you a message.
If you want to keep in touch with people and answer calls, then disable voicemail. This will eliminate any voicemail charges (if applicable) and when your phone rings you will be able to see who is calling and decide whether or not to answer. If you answer you will have to pay the roaming charge and if you don’t answer there will be no charge.
Don’t listen to voicemail when you’re abroad unless you really have to. Voicemail calls are charged at the same rate as regular calls, so you can end up paying a lot of money just to listen to your voicemail.
3) DATA AND WIFI
For many people, high phone bills when abroad don’t really come from talking on the phone so much, but rather from high data usage. When you are abroad, your provider will charge you a high rate per megabyte used. If you need to use the internet then use free WiFi where possible, there are plenty of places where you can get free WiFi. Some hotels offer you internet for a small fee, but it will probably still be cheaper than using mobile data. Just to make sure your phone doesn’t switch to data automatically, it’s better turn off your data for the duration of your stay.
If you are using your phone for GPS and need to download maps, please do so before your trip or when you have WiFi. Many navigation programs allow you to download the map beforehand, and once downloaded, the Internet is not needed for the navigation itself.
4) INTERNET CALLS
Many people these days are turning to internet calls when they are abroad as it offers so many benefits. Internet calls are practically free if both end users are on the same network and as long as there is WiFi. If there is no WiFi, you have to count on the cost of data. If both users are not on the same network, then there is a small charge to use VoIP, but it is still much cheaper than using your regular phone plan.
So obviously price is a big factor as to why people use VoIP when abroad. But in addition, VoIP is not connected to a physical place so it can be taken anywhere. Think of business people who want to keep the same number when they travel. With a business phone, this would be impossible, but with VoIP, people can call you anywhere if you have your mobile phone/PC with you and there are no roaming charges.
Also, many VoIP service providers offer features not offered with standard phone plans. These can include video calls, drop off locations, group chats, and more.
There are different types of Internet calls:
• Phone-to-phone calls: If regular phones are used, VoIP adapters are used to connect the phones to the Internet. If both end users are on the same network, the call will be free. If they are on different networks, there will be a small charge.
Calls can also be made by using IP phones instead of VoIP adapters to make the calls.
• PC to PC calls: use an application to make calls between PCs.
If the person you are calling has the same application on their PC, the call will be free. If the person you are calling does not have that app, you will be charged a small fee.
• PC to phone calls: Make calls from the PC to a phone.
If you are calling a phone on the same network, the call will be free. If the phone is not on the same network, there will be a small charge.
• Mobile to mobile calls: through an application to make calls between mobiles.
If the person you are calling has the same application on their PC, the call will be free. If the person you are calling does not have that app, you will be charged a small fee.
Many apps also allow you to call mobile to PC and PC to mobile.
Regardless of the type of calling you use abroad, if you do a little planning before your trip, you will definitely save a lot of money in the end.