Well in a few days the world cup (football – no not Aussie Rules, Gaelic Football or the American thing – we’re talking foot on a circular ball in low scoring games) will be up and running.
But if you’re thinking of taking that wonderful little smartphone you have (be it an iPhone, an Android device or anything that can connect to the Internet), unless your roaming agreement is very good, there’s a VERY high chance you’re going to be dinged a lot of cash – in some cases Data rates will set you back up to £8 PER MEGABYTE depending on your provider.
Even if you’re taking a normal phone and doing voice and SMS, it’s going to cost an arm and a leg in calls, with calls 80p to £1.50 a minute, and texts cost from 25p to 50p.
Now that’s a lot of dough.
So how can you mitigate these costs or reduce these costs?
For Smartphone users
- Turn off Data Roaming
- Don’t use Facebook on your phone (it’s a data killer)
- Don’t upload photos (… do the math)
- Don’t use Google Maps (… data again) and consider offline maps if you need map data
- Don’t even consider Youtube…
- And switch push email off.
Generally…
- Use SMS as opposed to phone calls where possible
- Remember inbound calls can sometimes cost the same as outbound calls – and yes, you get charged for receiving a call
- Consider a local SIM card if you can get one (and they are possible to get) to reduce the costs phoning home – and possibly getting data access.
- An International SIM card may be a better option if you need to just make calls.
- Use WiFi hotspots where possible if you’re going to shift any serious amount of information.
- Skype is an excellent option if you need to do voice calls home. But of course meaning toting a computer with you…
As usual, stay safe, make sure you understand your roaming agreement with your phone company… and enjoy the action and atmosphere of the World Cup!
