How to avoid international roaming charges?

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Created on Monday, 06 February 2012 13:05

When you travel to a foreign country, your mobile phone keeps working. You still can make and receive calls. Your calls, and other data services, are operated by a foreign network because your home provider does not operate in this country. For providing this service, the foreign network operator charges your home operator and passes this additional cost on you. Thus, if you use your cell phone in a foreign country (or if you call from the United States to a foreign country), you might end up with a bill in the thousands of dollars.

How to avoid international roaming charges for your international phone calls?

- If you are in a foreign country and want to call to the United States :

The first thing you have to know is that you cannot avoid those charges if you use your SIM card in the country you are in. If you are in a foreign country and want to call to the United States, you have no choice but buying a local SIM card. In most countries, SIM cards are very cheap and should cost no more than a few dollars.

Once you have a local SIM card, you have the choice between several solutions. First, you can buy a prepaid card and use it for your international long distance calls. This way is cheaper than the price you would pay when calling from your own phone. This solution also has a few drawbacks : this is not always easy to buy a prepaid card when you are abroad, as you might have no idea where to get it, especially if you are in a country you don't know very well. It would be more simple for you to buy a prepaid card in the USA before departure.

- If you are in the United States and want to call abroad (and avoid international roaming charges):

If you want to make cheap international calls, the prepaid cards are a good solution for you. But if you want to make it even more simple, you can download the TreePhone application (on Android Market or on Apple Market). First, we have the most competitive prices on the market (only 5 cents for a 1 mn call to Mexico, for instance, with no other costs). Secondly, this is very easy to use. You don't have to go buy a prepaid card. You can download the app and credit your account from your home. Then, type the international phone number you want to call and your call will be routed. By using TreePhone, you will avoid all the international roaming charges (the person you call will avoid them too). International long distance calls cannot be cheaper.