Sim Cards for travelling abroad

In the run up to the coming festivities, amongst the planning of which family member to invite, which one not, who to buy for and what to get them, there is a core of people whose mind is occupied with nothing else but getting away from it all. For some, this will involve going on a retreat, to deepen their understanding of the true meaning of Christmas, but for many it means planning a winter break holiday, going somewhere for Christmas and New Year, to rest and relax, and enjoy the holiday.

Amongst all that planning, one thing that can often be overlooked is the cost involved in using your mobile phone abroad. As this is a mobile phone website, that is going to be our focus now. We’ll leave the booking of holidays, hotels and flights to others.

It should be noted that the cost of using your mobile phone abroad is much cheaper these days than in previous years, however, when compared to the kind of deals we get for domestic usage the cost is relatively high. The mobile networks can offer special rates for holiday makers, which are available in certain countries, but there are other solutions available. One of those solutions is provided by Sim4Travel. It doesn’t take much to work out by the company name what the focus of this deal is and that is simply a SIM card that offers low cost international rate calls from more than 110 countries worldwide.

For some who travel, they like to purchase a local SIM card within the country they are in, but if you go to many countries this can start to get confusing, if you need to ensure people who are trying to reach you have the correct number for the SIM you are currently using. Sim4Travel offers you just one number, which you can use anywhere, so people will know which number to call you on when you are roaming. Sim4Travel offer free incoming calls anywhere within the EU, and calls from the EU are charged at just 25p per minute. Other countries outside the EU also benefit from discounted rates, for example receiving a call in Australia is free, and calling back to the UK is charged at just 49p per minute. If texting is your thing, then a text from Australia to a UK number will cost just 39p. Another popular destination for UK travellers, the USA, also has some competitive rates available, receiving a call is just 89p per minute, making a call is £1.19, and sending a text is still just 39p per text. And that is just a couple examples of the competitive rates available.

Sim4Travel are part of Truphone, and anyone who has owned a smartphone over the last few years is likely to have heard of Truphone. Within the UK, Truphone can offer cheap calling via VOIP, just by installing a small app to your smartphone. The Truphone app is available for iPhone, Nokia Symbian devices, Windows Mobile devices, Android and BlackBerry. What Sim4Travel does is take the Truphone philosophy of cheap calls for all and brings this into play for roaming users.

Sim4Travel works on a callback basis, which can be strange the first time you use it. But it only takes a few goes for it to become easy to do, and then you’re up and running. To use Sim4Travel, simply call the number you wish to dial when abroad, then the phone will disconnect and within seconds your phone starts to ring. Answer the phone, and you will be connected to the person you wished to call. It really couldn’t be simpler. It is advisable when regularly using a service like Sim4Travel to always store all your contacts in your phone address book in the international format, so when you call them from abroad you won’t need to modify the number. To do this simply update the numbers in your address book, and edit them with the international dialling code inserted, which for the UK is 0044, or +44. So, instead of 07000123456 the mobile number will look like 00447000123456 or +447000123456. Notice that when adding the international code you drop the leading 0 from the phone number. Having your numbers stored in this manner means you can instantly call them with the Sim4Travel card inserted without having to modify the details first. If you are in the UK and using your home network SIM, calls are still charged at standard rates, not international just because the number is in the international format. I’ve been asked that question enough times to know it is worth pointing out here. Keeping your contacts saved to phone memory means whether you are using your home network SIM or the Sim4Travel SIM card, all your numbers are accessible.

All very simple, all very straight forward. There are a few things to point out, just for clarity. The number Sim4Travel give you to use with their service is a Jersey number, so when people call you, although you pay nothing for the incoming costs, Jersey numbers are very often charged for outside of a normal UK calling bundle. Also, there is a daily charge for using the Sim4Travel SIM, which is 39p per day. However, this charge is only applied on the days when the SIM is used; if the SIM is not used for a call then there is no charge.

Sim4Travel credit can be added instantly, anywhere you happen to be, and is available in £10 denominations. You can use a variety of credit and debit cards to make the payment, and credit on the phone is kept for 90 days. If there is no usage on the phone for more than 90 days the credit is put ‘on hold’. To hold the credit Sim4Travel apply a charge of £2 every 30 days. This is good in comparison to some other offers where the calling credit, if not used, is simply lost.

There is a lot to like about the Sim4Travel deal. For people going on holiday, you can just buy a SIM, add the calling credit you wish to use, and just stick within your budget. And for the more frequent traveller Sim4Travel will offer ongoing savings on your international usage. A package suitable for most people, it seems.