When planning a trip abroad, it is crucial to check before you set off, whether the country you are visiting is included in your mobile price plan. This will help you avoid any bill shock, or unexpected and unwelcome charges on your return home.

These are our top tips for using your mobile abroad.

1. Check whether the country you are visiting is included in your plan 

Before you leave, check whether the country you are visiting is included in your plan. 

Countries are classified by all mobile providers by price band. Typically there are Europe Zones 1 and 2 and then Worldwide. Details of the price bands can be found here: 

• • • • Europe Zones 1 and 2
      • Worldwide

If your country of destination is not included in your normal mobile plan, please contact us in advance of your departure to arrange a ‘Bolt-on’. This should help minimise any charges should you need to use your mobile whilst abroad. 

2. When you arrive in your destination country  

You are likely to receive a text message similar to this: 

Welcome to COUNTRY X. You’re a customer of one of our Independent Service Providers, so all rates (including roaming charges) are set by them. If you want details on these charges, please contact your usual mobile support team. 

If you have not checked, details of the country price bands can be found here: 

• • • • • Europe Zones 1 and 2
        • Worldwide

Bill Limits

To avoid bill shock both at home and abroad, we can set your account to have an automatic bill limit.  Many clients opt for £30 above the normal price of their mobile plan. If you exceed this amount whilst on a call, you will not be cut off. The limit will only kick in on a subsequent call.  

Be aware that if you are travelling, there can be a delay before the home network communicates with the overseas network.  There has been examples of a 2 to 3 day delay in countries like Tunisia. In the meantime you could be running up an unwelcome bill. 

Flight Mode

Putting your mobile into Flight Mode when you are travelling should safeguard you from inadvertently accessing networks. Enable updates only via Wi-Fi, so that applications cannot update and run in the background, using data services, without you realising it.