If you are looking to travel overseas, your backpack and documents aren’t the only things you should be worried about. Planning a trip abroad is both hectic and expensive and your mobile tariff plans do not make it any easy for you.
Thankfully, the telecom operators have come up with various international roaming packs to assist you in your journey. These plans are available for both the prepaid and postpaid users. Since the data usages abroad are higher, postpaid users are more benefited as compared to the prepaid users.
In India, several telecom operators like Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone provide various roaming plans. Vodafone took the market by storm when it launched its international roaming plan, i-RoamFree which was the first-ever truly unlimited international roaming plan.
Understanding the Concept of Roaming
Roaming is the term used when your device continues to receive services from a different network than the one to which it belongs.
So why is it so expensive?
Well, technically, you are using services from a different network provider. This network provider charges your parent network provider for the services you are using. Hence, your parent network provider charges you a little more to make a cut for themselves as well.
Bill Shock- How to Avoid It?
Have you ever been frustrated after looking at your expensive phone bill?
Well, that’s what bill shock exactly is!
In order to avoid bill shock while traveling globally, keep the following points in mind:
- Disable your data roaming and location services.
- Consult your telecom operator before traveling abroad.
- Buy a data pack before you travel
Vodafone’s international roaming plans for postpaid users are very cost-effective as they offer a wide array of plans offering features like unlimited incoming calls and standard roaming rates for outgoing calls.
Points to Keep in Mind Before Taking Off
With your luggage all packed, consider yourself completely ready with these few important points you must know before traveling internationally.
- Check the roaming charges – While on international roaming, you are charged for almost every service, from incoming and outgoing voice calls to SMS and data usage. Hence you should be well-informed about the roaming charges.
- Compare the Roaming packs – Before opting for a specific plan, do ensure that you have compared all the plans available. Vodafone offers various packs depending upon your duration of stay and type of usage.
- Subscribe to a Roaming Plan – Both the Vodafone prepaid and postpaid users can subscribe to international roaming by visiting My Vodafone. You can also simply send the message “ACT IR” to 144 and 199 for prepaid and postpaid customers respectively.
Minimize Your Roaming Charges
Since the roaming charges can be extremely expensive, you should consider following points to minimize your expenses:
- Turn off data roaming.
- Subscribe to a data pack.
- Use WiFi whenever possible.
- Keep a check on your data usage.
And bon voyage!
