Did you know that outside of a certain (sometimes unknown) area your phone begins to rack up charges? Most of the time these fees are unknown to the user until the vacation is over and the balance due is usually double, triple, or sometimes even quadruple what it normally is. Let’s dive in to how these costs work, who really pays, and the steps you can take to prevent them from even happening.
There are two main factors that affect the costs you acquire while communicating and travelling internationally and globally: location and carrier. Location is entirely dependent on the coverage area of your phone carrier. For example, if you are primarily located in the United States, Sprint generally covers the United States. While there may be some holes in their map, they will not charge for any area within the United States. However, if you were to take a quick trip south to a beautiful beach in Mexico for vacation to drink some Coronas and then you decided to while casually send some amazing pictures to your friends, roaming costs would begin to initiate.
If you had a few business calls to attend to while on vacation, roaming costs would begin to initiate. And you guessed it, if you sent one text to your loved one that you are safe, roaming costs begin to initiate. Oh and do not forget! Even if you receive a text, a phone call, or a picture, you can still be charged for roaming! Unfortunately, it is the way business works. If you are outside of the covered operations of a carrier company, they must pay for the data you use in another company’s coverage area. Thus, you pay.
Secondly, the costs of the individual carriers are dependent on the contracts you sign with your specific company. Many people are not aware of how high these costs can get, especially when it comes down to pay-per-minute.
Take a quick look at some of the major carriers’ international roaming rates: Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. It varies case-by-case. Some are migrating to basic international plans, but not have quite reached free data roaming while travelling long distances. If you are a part of a plan not linked, all it takes is a quick Google search with “[insert carrier] international data roaming rates” and there should be accessible information.
Essentially, the answer is you. You are responsible for the data you consume even though you did not read the fine print in your carrier contract. Whether that be internet connection or a simple SMS text, it all counts for money out of your pocket. The craziest instance we saw was somebody was on a vacation in Mexico, probably drinking some coronas on the beach, and watching movies on his data. He was hit with a $17,000 bill. The point is almost no movie is worth those fees, but without the awareness, a detrimental roaming cost could happen to you too.
You pay these charges because you are no longer operating under your domestic carrier, you are renting data and networks from another carrier in the foreign country.
Travelling is costly. When budgeting, phones are the last things people think about. Roaming charges sneak up and hit hard. Move proactively and consider the most efficient way to communicate while in a different country. (Hint: it’s BNESIM).
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