Be aware of these places where roaming costs still exists ⋆ Alertify

Be aware of these places where roaming costs still exists

Charges for roaming, ie the use of foreign telephone networks, were abolished within the EU. In practice, there are still lots of traps you should know before you use the mobile phone on your holiday abroad. why is roaming so expensive

Cheap calls and surfing everywhere? why is roaming so expensive

Simple: NO.
What many overlook: the new regulations concern the use of data services and the Internet abroad; Discussions in the EU abroad cost as much as before.

Anyone who wants to negotiate with the car rental agent in Mallorca or the Polish number of the dearest in Warsaw must know the terms of his telephone contract well.
It is a bit strange: Who calls with a German mobile phone contract from Germany in Spain or Poland may pay more than if it is the same telephone call from Spain or Poland or any other EU country leads.

Costs of cruise ship roaming costs

Dialing into the mobile network at sea remains expensive – it is excluded from the EU regulation, even if you are traveling by ship in European waters.
On cruise ships, away from the terminal on land, a mobile radio network is broadcast. Its use costs extra – a conversation of only a few minutes can quite cost a few euros. It is really expensive for data packets, for example, if you load app updates or just like to send (and receive) photos and videos.
► If you do not know about these prices before and use the smartphone, as usual, you will experience an awakening with the next mobile phone bill.

Reason data via satellite expensive?

Connections between telephone and data networks are usually made on ships (and airplanes) by satellite. The shipping companies have concluded contracts with the operators of the satellite networks. Prices and thus costs incurred are therefore hard to be overlooked on the whole. In addition, mobile telephony providers such as Telekom or O2 have signed contracts with satellite operators.

Which phone, SMS, and data rate are now specific to you depends on which satellite operator provides the cruise ship with which you are traveling and with which provider you have concluded a mobile phone contract. Travelers are advised to inquire about the conditions on the booked vessel prior to the cruise with the shipping company.

Is WLAN on board an alternative? why is roaming so expensive

As an alternative to the Internet via the satellite mobile network, most cruise ships offer WLAN. But the prices of the online Stone Age also remind us here. A minute in the WLAN costs from 0,19 to 0,49 euros. Since the bandwidth depends strongly on the quality of the satellite connection, even retrieving the e-mails can take significantly longer than a minute. Here you can go with an hour or day packages better. But an hour can cost ten euros or more so…
The billing according to volume, as is now customary on the mainland, is still an exception on the sea. For example, Aida offers data packets between 250 megabytes and three gigabytes for prices between 25 and 99 euros on some ships. Anything but a bargain.

Caution also with landing

As soon as travelers leave the ship and make an excursion, the new EU roaming rule takes effect. Take care, however, that your mobile phone logs in to a radio cell on land – because in the vicinity of the harbor, the smartphone could also dial into the ship’s network, so that connections run over the expensive satellite. Be sure to use the local mobile network on land.