Don't Get Stung By Your Mobile Phone Abroad!

Overseas mobile phone charges can be a rip-off. Here are a few ways to prevent your bill from going sky-high while abroad.

Summer is (allegedly) here, and many of us will soon be escaping the gloomy British weather to jet off to sunnier pastures.

However, aside from our holiday spending, one expense we can rarely avoid is the cost of using our mobile phones while abroad.

The truth is, mobile phone companies have long profited from inflated overseas call costs, and even after last year's ruling to cap call costs within Europe, charges within the continent and further afield remain high.

As Serena Cowdy highlighted in Avoid These Mobile Phone Rip-Offs!, overseas calls from your mobile can be extortionate, and a quick phone call home can end up costing you more than you bargained for.

So, here are a few tips to help to cut your phone bill while overseas:

How The Costs Mount Up

Firstly, here's what an ordinary one minute call costs if you're on a pay monthly plan with one of the big five providers, together with the cost of sending a text message within Western Europe and America. Click on the links to find out about locations further afield:

And here are the standard charges for pay as you go users:

As you can see, calling from abroad isn't cheap, and unsurprisingly, pay as you go customers tend to be charged more than their billed counterparts. An even bigger rip-off is the charges imposed to receive calls abroad, an unavoidable yet costly expense.

But, if you have to pick a network, 3 is the clear winner, offering the cheapest call rates in Europe, and competitive rates further afield. As a bonus, if you call from any country which supports its `3 Like Home' service (Austria, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, Hong Kong and Ireland), you can enjoy the same call rates as you would do in the UK, and can even use any minutes included with your tariff. Plus, there are no charges for receiving calls within these countries.

Alternatively, for those wishing to branch out further afield, Vodafone's Passport service is free to activate (just dial 5555 from your phone) and will allow you to make calls to a range of selected countries for just a 75p connection charge, plus your standard UK call charge rates. You can also use minutes from your monthly allowance. The same is true when you receive calls, with one flat charge of 75p per call.

The service is available to all pay monthly customers, as well as pay as you go customers on Smartplus, Smartstep, Anytime and Anynet price plans.

And, if you're not currently a Vodafone customer, why not get a free pay as you go Vodafone SIM, which you can pop into your phone (providing it is unlocked) when away to take advantage of the reduced call rates?

Time To Go Global

Another way you could cut the cost of your bill is by getting a global SIM card. These cost around £15 - £35 - quite pricey perhaps, but providing your phone is compatible with other networks, you can pop the SIM into your existing phone, top it up online and are then free to make discounted calls wherever in the world you are, with no contract attached.

Providers include GeoSim, WorldSIM and Bluefire, which is sold on Virgin Atlantic flights. Another provider, Sim4travel currently has a promotional offer where you can purchase a SIM with £10 credit for just £8.49, or £20 credit for £15.99.

The real beauty of these SIMs is that if you're travelling round Europe, unlike all the phone providers mentioned so far, it costs you nothing to receive calls.

This is good for regular travellers who rarely make calls but would like to be contactable. As a parent, you may want to buy one for your child if they're on their gap year. Charges to receive calls further afield vary, so check with each individual provider.

In addition, a quick word of warning to parents or others intending to call one of these SIMs. Although the numbers for these SIMs look like UK mobile phone numbers, during the course of my research, I discovered that several of these SIMs are powered by Isle of Man and Jersey networks.

This means some providers, including T-Mobile, may class calls to global SIMs as overseas calls. So, before dialing, ring BT or your mobile phone provider to find out what exactly you will be charged per call.

Bolt-On A Bargain

Many networks allow you to add extras to your tariff to make the cost of calling cheaper. For example, T-Mobile's WorldClass tariff is available free of charge to all Pay Monthly customers and allows you to make calls to the UK from 18 countries for just 55p a minute (normal cost up to £1.40).

Similarly, if you're an Orange customer and are willing to fork out £2 a month, you can save up to 50% on the cost of calls while you're away with its World Traveller service. Other providers provide similar deals, so if you do need to use your phone abroad, and don't want to bother with phone cards while away, these extras could save you a lot of money.

Skype's The Limit

One other way you can keep in touch for free is by using a program like Skype, which enables you to talk to people on the Skype network from PC to PC for free, or to a landline for a charge. You could even get Skype on your mobile, providing a cheap solution to those wanting to keep in touch while abroad. However, you will only be able to make free Skype calls from your mobile within the `3 Like Home' countries listed above.

As for using the internet on your mobile, three words: don't do it! As my recent article, The Best Broadband Dongle highlights, overseas surfing both with a dongle or mobile can easily sky-rocket, so is best avoided.

Any tips (apart from my personal favourite - switching your phone off) on cutting overseas call costs are appreciated as always. If in any doubt, contact your mobile phone provider before you go away. That way, you'll be in the know about all the options available to you before you go away.

More: Find The Perfect Mobile Phone Tariff / Save £270 On Your Mobile Phone Bill