Mobile Phone Communication
In this day and age most of us will own a mobile Smart phone and know how useful this device is for communication.
Some are more basic than others but this section is not to run through all aspects of a mobile phone and it varying features but simply to give you some advise about the bits you may not know that can save you some time or money.
If you are going to travel abroad it is important to check the effects of the following to the bill you are likely to receive
• The cost of phone calls
• The cost of SMS and MMS messaging
• The cost of data charges for web surfing and social media
• The cost to receive calls, SMS and MMS
• Insurance
What are my Options?
• Don’t take my mobile phone
• Call my network provider
• Buy a new SIM when away
• Buy a new phone when away
• Turn off some features
Lets look at these options a little more closely
Don’t take my mobile phone
Now this may not sound possible – you need your phone your phone is your life…
Well life is about to change….
You are heading on the trip of a lifetime, doing new things, seeing new things, meeting new people etc.
Given the whole variety of ways you can stay in touch do you really need a mobile phone?
Call my network provider
A quick call to your network provider can soon clarify the types of cost and charges you can expect to face when you are on your travels.
If you can budget for this and resist all those texts you may just survive….
It is also worth considering some of the bolt on products your network can provide as international calling is surely a bolt on package and for a small monthly charge could save you a fortune…..
Buy a new SIM or phone
If you take your phone with you and your provider operates abroad you may simply be able to buy a pay as you go SIM, pop it in your phone and take advantage of local prices for calls and data
More often than not you will get a decent deal with PAYG but not always, make sure you compare what you need to what is offered.
If you are going to be there a while a contract SIM or SIM and phone may be the cheaper option.
Turn off some features
These days with smart phone technology there is potential to rack up a huge bill over a short period.
A lot of your mobile phone features allow your phone, its apps and services to access your location, to automatically update and send you notifications simply turning off some of the following could save you a fortune in data charges:
• Location services
• Push notifications
• Data roaming
• Auto Sync
• Voice mail
This is what these features do…..
Remember if you use WIFI this is free and can provide you internet access when you need it.
Location services
Location Services allows location-dependent apps and websites (including Maps, Camera, Safari, and other Apple and third-party apps) to use information from cellular, Wi-Fi, and Global Positioning System (GPS) networks to determine your approximate location.
For example, an app might use your location data and location search query to help you find nearby coffee shops or theatres, or your device may set its time zone automatically based on your current location. To use features such as these, you must enable Location Services on your device and give your permission to each app or website before it can use your location data.
Push notifications
The Apple Push Notification Service is a service created by Apple Inc. that was launched together with iOS 3.0 on June 17, 2009. It uses push technology through a constantly open IP connection to forward notifications from the servers of third party applications to the Apple devices; such notifications may include badges, sounds or custom text alerts.
Data roaming
Once overseas you’re no longer using your mobile operator’s data network, so your phone defaults to data roaming mode. This means every megabyte of data you use (sending and receiving) you pay for, as it doesn’t come out of your data plan. With data roaming turned off, your phone can’t connect to any 3G data networks and you can’t run up giant bills.
Turn off auto sync
Auto sync uses a data connection to allow apps to synchronise in the background on your phone and to receive push email notifications, Facebook and Twitter alerts and the like. It’s easy to forget about, but turn it off and you won’t run up data charges – and you can always manually sync and check your emails once you’ve found a WiFi spot.
Turn your voice mail off
If you’re travelling in the EU, your operator is no longer allowed to charge you if someone leaves you a voice mail, but they can and will charge you to listen to it, although the cost is capped at 31p per minute. Outside of the EU however you can be charged to receive a voice mail, and again to listen to it. Instead, turn your voice mail off before you go (you may need to call your provider to do this) and ask people to text you instead, as it’s still free to receive texts overseas.