Breakaway Destination Guides (International)

Mobile phones are a convenient way to keep in touch while you are travelling, but international calls can be expensive. Know what questions to ask about international roaming so you can get the best deal from your service provider and avoid coming home to an unexpectedly large bill.

When you're abroad remember: It's about the signal. It's not when you make a call, but the moment your mobile receives a foreign network's signal, that you're classed as abroad. From then, you pay to receive calls and are charged the overseas rate to make them. Being at home doesn't mean you're home. Until the phone receives your home country network's signal again, you're 'abroad'. If someone leaves a voicemail, it's irrelevant that you're back. You're sometimes charged the overseas rate.

Hopefully UK Overseas call prices will be limited to €0.43/min(37p/min) to make calls, €0.19/min(16p/min) to receive them, though that's still £UK12 for a half-hour call.

Texts will cost no more than €0.11(9p). Outside Europe, calls and texts costs are even higher.

For travellers on a budget, slipping in a new SIM card may be the best way to ensure they won't break the bank while using their cell phones on a trip abroad.

BEFORE YOU GO REMEMBER TO:

1. Contact your mobile network provider to ensure your mobile phone is enabled for international roaming. Do this well in advance of your departure date, as it can take up to 14days, and you cannot do it from abroad.

2. Check that your existing handset will work in the country you are travelling to (this may not be the case, particularly outside Europe.)

3. Check with your UK network provider how much it costs for international roaming services. Charges can be a lot higher than, and very different to, those for calls in your home country. For example, while roaming you will pay to receive calls and listen to voicemail. Sending text messages may be much cheaper, but you can be charged twice per message (once by your operator and once by the overseas operator) to convey messages to and from home. Rates can vary according to your network and the country you are visiting. Information on charges may be available from your network's web site, customer services or literature.

4. Confirm the current charges just before you leave as some charges can change at short notice (although other charges are more stable).

IF YOU INTEND YOUE MOBILE FREQUENTLY WHILE ABROAD

Consider the following options:

1. Some mobile services offer international traveller services giving cheaper calls abroad in return for a monthly fee. Check with your network provider what the costs are and how long you would be committed to paying for the service.

2. It is usually cheaper to use an alternative SIM card in your phone. A SIM card is a small card that lets the phone work on a particular mobile network. It can easily be swapped around in your phone. SIM cards for foreign networks can be bought abroad (eg at international airports and holiday destinations) or (for some European countries) from some UK retailers. Find out if the alternative SIM cards will expire after a fixed time. Also ask your network provider whether it has locked your phone against use with a different SIM card, and what, if anything, it will charge to unlock the phone.

3. You should be able to rent a mobile telephone handset for the duration of your stay from most mobile telephone companies in the country you are visiting. If you are particularly concerned about coverage or call quality you may be able to select a particular network for international roaming. Ask your network provider whether it offers a choice of networks and how you can change between them.

4. If you are using your own network provider's pre-paid mobile international roaming service, make sure you know how to use your credit card to top up your calling credit before you leave, or take extra vouchers, as they may be hard to obtain abroad.

5. Ask your network provider what you have to dial to use international roaming. This may not be as simple as just using the 0044 international prefix for the UK.

6. Pre-programme into your mobile the telephone number of the nearest Embassy, High Commission, or Consulate in the country you are visiting. Do the same with the telephone number of your hotel and tour representative. If you are using an alternative SIM card whilst abroad you may have to programme the information in after you have inserted the alternative SIM card (as some phones record the phone numbers in the SIM card rather than the phone).

7. Familiarise yourself with your mobile's voicemail retrieval system. Voicemail can be difficult to access while abroad, and you should ask your mobile network provider if this is not clear.

8. Take an electrical adaptor for the charger plug, to keep your mobile telephone fully charged while you are abroad.

9. Make a note of your mobile's serial number (also known as the IMEI number), your mobile telephone number and the telephone number of your operator's customer services (including dialling code). Keep them with you in a safe place, separate from your mobile. If your phone is stolen you will be able to contact the network operator and request that they block your phone and/or SIM card. You may need to provide additional information in order to get the phone blocked, such as a password. Contact your operator for details of how they deal with stolen phones before you leave to ensure that you take sufficient information abroad to enable you to block the phone if it is stolen.

WHILE YOU ARE AWAY:

1. Do not rely on your mobile telephone if you have not set up international roaming before you go.

2. You should be able to rent a mobile telephone handset for the duration of your stay from most mobile telephone companies in the country you are visiting.

3. If you cannot get a good signal remember that you may be able to change your phone to work with a different network.

WHAT TO DO:

* TEXT. Get friends to text you, as they're always free to receive. You pay more to text back from abroad, but it's still reasonable, if you keep it shrt wth txt spk.

* ASK FOR CHEAP CALLS. Many networks offer cheap (sometimes free) 'roaming' packages, but only if you ask.

* GET A LOCAL/INTERNATIONAL SIM. If you make lots of calls, either get a pre-pay sim while abroad to substantially cut costs, or get a special international sim.

* USE YOUR PHONE'S WiFi. If your phone is WiFi enabled, find a (free) WiFi connection, then websurf for free, or download Skype or Sipgate to it, and call home on it for pennies. The same's true of your laptop.

WHAT 'NOT' TO DO:

* DON'T USE VOICEMAIL. If someone calls your voicemail when you're abroad, you pay as if you'd received the call (up to £1/min), and then pay to listen back too. So ask your network to temporarily switch it off while you're away or, if you need it, record a short message saying: "Please text me instead"

* DON'T TURN 'EMERGENCY' MOBILES ON. Turn your mobile off in the UK, and take it abroad without turning it on (unless an emergency happens). That way your phone's still 'at home' for cost's sake.

* DON'T SURF THE WEB (unless via WiFi). Use the internet or download e-mails (on a mobile or 3G dongle) when abroad, and the cost is prohibitive. Horror stories of £1,000+ bills for watching YouTube clips abound. If you really want e-mails, set it to 'download headings only', which lets you see each subject line before downloading. This way, you won't pay £100s to download spam photos.

* DON'T CALL ON THE HOTEL PHONE. £5 a minute isn't uncommon. Get people to call you on it, as that's usually free. Tell the person calling to use the CallChecker, so they can call for pennies.

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