The number of people travelling to new countries has gone up. This has increased the number of people in need of communicating with their family members and friends across different countries. Recent research reveals the international SIM card usage has increased by 35% from the past decade.
Are you planning to travel to an overseas country, maybe to Europe? Definitely you will need to keep in touch with your family and friends back at home. I am quite sure you have heard how expensive the roaming charges can be if you travel with your normal SIM card. The most sensible thing to do is purchase an international SIM card. However, you need to check if these International SIM cards are the same or if there are things you need to avoid when buying one. Here are five things you need to know when buying an international SIM.
Check if the Incoming Calls are Free
For example, in some countries, the SMS and incoming calls are usually chargeable. However, this is not the case in all the European countries. If you choose to buy Europe prepaid SIM then it has free incoming calls. However, you need to be aware, not all the countries are free. Ensure you check the charges for your destinations.
Your Phone might be locked or incompatible
Your mobile phone will not be able to work in all the countries you visit. For your mobile phone to work in Europe, it will at least have to support GSM and at least be a tri band. In case it is CDMA designed meant only for the US frequencies, it will not work. You will also have to unlock your mobile phone before you can insert the SIM from a new network.
Is It Possible To Check Your Usage For Runaway Spending?
The SIM cards can either be post paid or pre paid. The post paid services will provide you with more freedom though you will have to be aware of how you are spending your calls. The pre paid is much easier to control spend since you are not able to spend more than the amount of credit you put on.
Check If the SIM Card You Buy Makes It Expensive To Call
Every SIM card has a number which will be registered to a particular country. Even the international SIM cards will have to be registered to a particular country. It does not matter where you are, when people call you, it will be like they are calling that country. In case you might be having someone who will be calling you on a frequent basis, it would be advisable if you consider buying then an international card too.
Check for inflated Call Rates
There are international SIM cards that offer you competitive headline rates though they can only be for certain countries and call types. Ensure you check the types of calls for the countries you will be visiting. The international SIM cards usually come from a single network.
Check if there is Hidden Data in Smartphone Use
For example, if you go for a SIM that allows internet and email data and place the SIM into the Smartphone, you need to be aware that the Smartphone’s will be using data all the time in the background. Even though you might not be browsing, the phone will be downloading twitter feeds, software updates and latest email. In case your international SIM card is charging for data on the MB basis, it is much easier to run up a large bill. You need to either choose a SIM that will not allow data and instead use a separate Wi-Fi product or go for a SIM with a decent data bundle size.
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