The most common need for international roaming is short-term. An “ordinary” call or message to loved ones about a successful landing or check-in at a hotel is unlikely to ruin you, but on vacation and during the holidays, many are faced with the high cost of calls, messages and mobile Internet. High-profile “roaming” cases immediately come to mind, like the one about the TV series “Interns” downloaded while roaming, for which the operator asked for more than 1 million rubles.

With your samovar

According to a survey by online travel agency Tripsta, more than half of Russians use the services of Russian mobile operators when traveling abroad, and only 12% of respondents prefer not to use a phone at all when abroad. What should those who need communication while traveling do? Of course, there is no point in changing the tariff for a short period. Of course, local Wi-Fi, instant messengers and pre-downloaded city maps save part of the communication costs. And yet, what solutions do our mobile operators offer in international roaming?

Operator/tariff/option	Subscription fee, rub./day	Cost of incoming calls, rub./min.	Cost of outgoing calls, rub./min.	Cost of SMS, rub.
Option "Zero without borders"	95	0 first 10 minutes, then 25	25 from 2nd to 5th minutes, the rest - according to the roaming tariff	19
Free Travel Option	250	0 first 60 minutes, then 10	0 first 60 minutes, then 10	19
Outgoing calls from 11.9 rub./min. via code *137*	0 rub.	according to roaming tariff	11,9-79	19
Service "Planet Zero"	60 (upon receiving incoming messages)	0 first 20 minutes, then 10	20	7
“My Planet” service	0	25	25	9
Tariff "Around the World"	0	13	13	11
"Whole World" option	39	0 for the first 30 minutes, then according to the roaming tariff	according to roaming tariff	according to roaming tariff
“Conversations without Borders” service	5	5	15	6

Rates, options and services apply in many, but not all, countries. Check the list of countries on the operator’s website.

It is worth noting that Tele2, which recently entered the market of the Moscow region, even without additional services is ready to compete with the “big three” operators, offering to pay 15 rubles per minute at basic tariffs for incoming/outgoing calls in roaming (in Europe and the CIS) and 6 rubles for SMS and MMS in the absence of any additional services.

The same basic incoming/outgoing for European countries and some other countries will cost 49 rubles from Megafon, 69 rubles from Beeline, and from 25 to 115 rubles from MTS. respectively. The basic cost of SMS for all three operators is the same - 19 rubles. MTS and Megafon have separate packages to reduce the cost of sending short messages in roaming (195-700 rubles / month), but we dare to assume that the majority of Sravni.ru visitors successfully replace SMS and MMS functions of online messengers (WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, Skype, Facebook, etc.).

The cost of a minute of conversation for an outgoing call is most favorable from MTS with the “Free Travel” option - 4.17 rubles, but taking into account calls for 60 minutes per day. After all, for 60 minutes you will have to pay 250 rubles a day, whether you reprimand them or not. And indeed “Free travel” for limited quantity European countries, plus Australia, Armenia, Israel and the UAE.

SIM card of the world

For frequent travelers roaming Russian operators, even with connected options, the pleasure is not cheap. Therefore, many of them buy international SIM cards that are valid in a large number of countries. Some tourists can be offered such a SIM card by travel agencies (Globalsim group of companies), and those flying through Moscow airports don’t even have to think about purchasing it in advance - Simtravel Mobile SIM cards are sold in Hellobox machines, Euroset and Svyaznoy salons » in Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo, respectively. You can also purchase an international SIM card from the Goodline company at Euroset, Svyaznoy and some travel agencies.

Tariffs for international SIM cards do not differ much from each other, unlike the offers of national operators. Thus, all the tariffs analyzed by Sravni.ru do not involve charging a subscription fee, in almost all cases you will not have to pay for incoming calls, and they charge only 10 cents for SMS. True, messages will have to be sent not in the usual way, but through the SIM menu and in Latin letters. The cheapest outgoing calls to landline numbers in two capitals - Moscow and St. Petersburg - are offered by Goodline and Simtravel mobile. A minute will cost the subscriber 0.05 USD. Calls to Russian mobile numbers according to the tariffs of the same companies, they will cost 29 cents (22.13 rubles at the Central Bank exchange rate as of February 2, 2016). For calls to mobile numbers, WellTell tariffs are more profitable - 20 cents per minute (Contact package) or 16.67-13.89 cents (Whole World packages).

Company/tariff/option	SIM card cost	Cost of incoming calls, USD	Cost of outgoing calls	SMS cost, USD
Tariff "Planet-Good"	350 rub.	0 in 146 countries	0.05-0.49 USD/min.	-
Package "Contact"	10 USD	0*	0.20 USD/min.	0.10 (in European countries)
“Whole World” packages	10 USD	0*	25 USD/14 days/150 min. 45 USD/30 days/300 min. 125 USD/90 days/900 min. 175 USD/30 days/unlimited	0.10 (in European countries)
SIM card "GlobalSim"	800 rubles (account amount 10 USD)	0	0.39 USD/min. (for European countries)	0.10 (via sim menu)
Tariffs "Europe", "Whole World" and "Whole World Plus"	350 rub.	0	0.05-0.15 USD/min. to landline numbers of the Russian Federation; 0.29 USD/min. to Russian mobile numbers	0.10 (via sim menu)

* – when attaching a Russian number, incoming calls are counted as outgoing due to the call back function.

All of the above tariffs do not involve a subscription fee and are valid in many countries around the world, but in some the conditions may differ from those indicated. Exclusions and tariff surcharges for different countries can be found on the operator’s website.

Considering the current floating exchange rate of the ruble, the cost of calls and SMS for Russians at the rates of international SIM cards has increased significantly, since they are denominated in US dollars. But even at the current exchange rate, this option is more profitable for travelers than the roaming tariffs of the Big Three. The same applies to mobile Internet - packages from international SIM card operators are usually more profitable, but full-fledged mobile Internet in roaming will definitely cost less when purchasing a local SIM card.

I will move to London

But what should you do if you plan to move to another country for a long time, and the “home” number of a Russian operator is needed to receive calls from work partners, relatives, friends, or colleagues, in whose address books it has been recorded for many years? Or you want to save your number and continue to use it upon returning from a long-term “business trip”. In this case, it is unlikely that the subscriber will use the mobile Internet, make frequent calls or send messages - for this he probably has a local SIM card. But since you leave the number in working condition, it should be possible to receive incoming calls and messages.

Only Megafon offers a special tariff for such subscribers (the “Around the World” tariff with calls from 13 rubles per minute, without mandatory monthly or daily expenses, but only with a prepaid advance payment of 300 rubles). Other operators limit themselves to special services and options more suitable for short-term travel. But the international SIM cards mentioned above have the ability to link a Russian number. That is, the Russian number remains active, calls can continue to be made to it, but calls will go through to an international SIM card. True, in this case they will be regarded as outgoing (not for a Russian, but for an international card), which means they will not be free. To put it simply: both forwarding and the auto-call function work simultaneously.

These are the main options for saving on cellular communications abroad. Considering the possibility of switching with your number to another operator, the functions of linking a Russian SIM card to an international one, everyone can choose convenient offers for their own purposes. The main thing in the pursuit of savings is not to forget about the tariffs of your operator and top up your phone balance in a timely manner. While abroad, you can do this using bank card V personal account telecom operator or via online banking.

Perhaps this review will help you answer the age-old question: “Which mobile operator is more profitable to go on holiday abroad with?”

In today's review I will compare the cost international roaming the "Big Three" - Beeline, MTS and MegaFon. By researching prices for calls abroad, I will try to find out “who has it cheaper”. All comparisons will be presented clearly with links to the source and screenshots.

The following will be used for comparison:
1) Three mobile operators: Beeline, MTS, MegaFon.
2) Two countries popular with Russian tourists - Egypt, Thailand
3) Prices for calls from all three operators, along with options
4) All calculations will be given for the Central Federal District - Vladimir Region

So, Beeline. A minute of all calls (incoming and outgoing in Egypt and Thailand) is 99 rubles

At MTS we see the following: In Egypt, this operator offers calls for 59 rubles

In Thailand, MTS offers the same price - 59 rubles

MegaFon has a slightly different situation: Tariffing is divided into several zones. Egypt is located in the CIS and Middle East zone, where a minute of call costs 33 rubles (incoming and outgoing). Thailand is in the “Rest of the countries” tariff zone and they charge 100 rubles per minute for incoming calls, and 125 for outgoing calls to Russia.

But the given tariffs are general tariffs, and you shouldn’t focus on them too much. Each mobile operator has options with discounts on roaming abroad. Now we will compare them.

Beeline offers the following tariff options:


1) "Planet 0" -all incoming calls, 1st minute - 19 rubles/min, from 2nd to 10th minutes - 0 rubles, from 11th minute - 19 rubles. There is no subscription fee. All outgoing by standard tariff- 99 rubles per minute

2) “Multipass” - not available in Egypt and Thailand, so we skip it

3) I also skip the “Sea of ​​Internet”, now we are only interested in calls

4) "Seductive roaming" - subscription fee- 9.95 rub. per day. All incoming - 3.95 min., Outgoing to Russia - at the standard rate of 99 rubles. minute.

5) "Country to order" - Subscription fee - 15 rubles per day. This option gives a 50% discount for any calls. Therefore, incoming and outgoing calls will cost 99 rubles / 2 = 49.5 rubles / min.

MTS has the following discounts on roaming: option " 0 without borders". The prices are as follows -

And the option: "Go-Go roaming"

MegaFon has only one option with a discount on roaming - " Around the world". In our case, it is valid only in Egypt (CIS tariff zone and the Middle East), and does not work in Thailand.
For Egypt the prices will be as follows. Connection option - 30 rub. one-time and 9 rubles per day subscription. Next, 1 minute of incoming calls is 25 rubles, from 2 to 5 - free and from 6 minutes again 25 rubles. Outgoing 25 rubles.

This is where the tariff options I found on the websites of cellular operators ended. Now let's summarize.
For now, we are omitting tariff discount options and comparing general roaming prices. MegaFon has the cheapest calls when traveling to Egypt - only 33 rubles per minute for outgoing and incoming calls to Russia. And the cheapest calls in Thailand are from MTS - 59 rubles.

EGYPT
1 place- 33 rub/min (incoming/outgoing) - MegaFon
2nd place
3rd place

THAILAND
1 place- 59 rub/min (incoming-outgoing) - MTS
2nd place- 99 rub/min (incoming-outgoing) - Beeline
3rd place- 100 rub/min incoming, 125 rub/min outgoing - MegaFon

Now, let's determine the most advantageous options operators.

OUTGOING CALLS (Egypt and Thailand)
The cheapest option for outgoing calls (Egypt, Thailand) to Russia is Go-Go roaming from MTS - 19.90 per 1 minute of connection without a subscription. fees when using special code *137*
I will share second place between MegaFon and Beeline. Egypt is cheaper with MegaFon's "Around the World" option - 25 rubles per minute and 9 rubles. monthly fee per day. And Beeline’s Thailand has the “Country to order” option - 49.5 min. + 15 ab/fee. Then, like MegaFon - 100 (incoming) and 125 (outgoing)

MTS offers to receive calls from Russia for 11.90 per minute (Go-Go Roaming), and free from 1 to 5 minutes, and 5 rubles from 5 minutes, but from subscription fee- 25 rub. per day in the "Zero without borders" option.

If you do it in 5 minutes, then MegaFon will help you, the “Around the World” option - the first minute of connection is 25 rubles, then from 2 to 5 - free. And a subscription fee is 9 rubles. (For Egypt only). Thailand - 100 and 125 rubles.

Results: In my opinion, the most acceptable, in my opinion, for traveling abroad, after all the manipulations described above, I consider MTS, both for Egypt and Thailand. The most unprofitable operator for traveling to very distant countries is MegaFon. Thus, MegaFon does not offer any discounts for Thailand. But it is beneficial for Turkey and Egypt. As for Beeline, this operator offers quite good discounts on incoming calls in both countries. But outgoing ones are at an average level.

P/S All these comparisons are my personal views and opinions, obtained based on information on the operators’ websites -

According to RBC, for last year Over the year, the Big Three operators have reduced the cost of some of the basic tariffs, and at the same time raised them for options. This is how companies try to maintain profitability when the ruble falls

​The information and analytical agency Content Review studied the tariffs for Roaming services provided by Beeline (VimpelCom operator), MTS and MegaFon.

Agency experts analyzed the cost of calls, SMS messages and mobile Internet when Russians travel to 20 countries. The study took into account both the basic tariffs of operators and the cost of their services with additional options included in the package.

At the request of RBC, Content Review compared the results with data from a similar study conducted in the spring of 2015 (only three countries have changed: instead of Turkey, Egypt and China, Germany, Spain and Estonia are now analyzed).

The results of the study showed that during this time" Beeline» has become a leader both in reducing prices for basic tariffs and in increasing the cost of additional options.

At the same time, MTS over the year reduced basic and optional tariffs in some countries, but increased them in others, and MegaFon raised prices only by the cost of options, while maintaining basic prices.

Content Review called Beeline " the most profitable operator in roaming. The company carried out the maximum price reduction for subscribers traveling to India: calls and SMS fell in price in this country by 46%. At the same time, at the beginning of April 2016, the operator canceled additional options for roaming - now all subscribers traveling abroad pay for communication at basic rates, and the cost of 20 minutes of conversation (200 rubles) is charged on the first call. The change in tariffs led to the fact that the costs of those who previously used travel options increased by 60-185% for calls and SMS, according to a Content Review study.

VimpelCom representative Anna Aibasheva insists: the package model “has proven itself well in roaming.” She did not say whether the company agreed with the results of the study, saying that it “needs a more detailed analysis.” Aibasheva did not comment on the methodology of the Content Review study.

According to the results of the study, MTS turned out to be the most expensive for subscribers in roaming. Over the course of the year, the cost of options for calls and messages from MTS increased in price in nine countries (increase from 5 to 41%) and fell in price in six (maximum decrease - 19% in India).

At the same time, MTS is the only one of the Big Three operators who has reduced prices for mobile Internet in roaming in a number of countries studied (for example, in Belarus - by 29%, in Armenia - by 64%). In addition, in some countries, MTS “dropped” base tariffs for all types of services more than its competitors: for example, in Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan they decreased by 28–83%, Content Review calculated.

MTS users de facto do not have a basic Internet tariff, says company representative Dmitry Solodovnikov. According to him, all new users since 2014, when traveling abroad, “by default use a special traffic package for travel.”

MegaFon, as follows from the study results, increased the cost of options for calls and SMS in 17 countries, while subscriber costs for basic tariffs remained at the same level. Maximum cost increase special offers operator accounted for 20% - in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

MegaFon's performance in the study was influenced by the new conditions of the roaming tariff option, which provides 40 minutes of incoming calls per day for a subscription fee of 59 rubles. - previously the company offered 30 minutes for 39 rubles. The option makes the operator “attractive for those who want to remain available for calls abroad,” although “fewer and fewer subscribers are interested in voice services in roaming,” notes Sergei Polovnikov, head of Content Review.

MegaFon representative Yulia Dorokhina refutes the words of the author of the study. In non-CIS countries, the volume of incoming calls for the operator’s clients increased by 20% over the year, which is why the company increased the number of minutes included in the option from 30 to 40.

Both Solodovnikov and Dorokhina disagree with the Content Review methodology. According to an MTS representative, it “was chosen in such a way as to show the advantages of one operator to the detriment of others, and the parameters of the “package” that an imaginary user spends are confusingly reminiscent of the parameters of Beeline’s roaming conditions.” The methodology “was taken out of thin air and seemed designed to justify the latest controversial changes in the roaming policy of one of the market participants,” says Dorokhina. Polovnikov himself recalls that the research methodology has not changed since 2015.

Changes in tariffs are due to the desire of operators to maintain the profitability of roaming services when the ruble exchange rate falls, Polovnikov believes. According to him, operators reduce some tariffs and increase others not in order to attract subscribers, but in order not to lose income. The fluctuations in the ruble exchange rate really forced operators to reconsider roaming tariffs, I agree CEO TelecomDaily agency Denis Kuskov. Raising option prices gives operators the opportunity to earn more without increasing base rates, he says. Although, according to Kuskov, the share of roaming in the operator’s revenue is up to 1.5%, so price changes do not significantly affect the companies’ overall revenues.

In the Content Review study Tele2 took second place - after Beeline - in terms of the cost of roaming services. However, a year ago this operator was not taken into account in the study, so experts were not able to compare its tariffs with last year.

How the study was conducted

Content Review experts analyzed the roaming costs of Big Three subscribers in 20 countries in April 2016 and compared them with last year’s data. These are the CIS countries (except Turkmenistan), Bulgaria, Germany, Georgia, India, Spain, Italy, Macedonia, Serbia, France, the Czech Republic and Estonia.

The tariffs of the Moscow region are taken as a basis; estimates are based on expenses for a seven-day trip, in which the subscriber makes seven incoming calls home for two minutes each, three outgoing calls for two minutes each, sends 19 SMS and consumes 39 MB of mobile Internet daily.

This is an average profile of service consumption in roaming, it was compiled on the basis of non-public data from operators a year ago, says Sergei Polovnikov, head of Content Review and author of the study. Since then, the consumption profile has not changed to allow comparison

More details on RBC:
http://www.rbc.ru/technology_and_media/18/04/2016/5714b6b29a794717c7e30710?from=main

Mobile operators are offering new and more convenient offers for calls abroad. But often in all its diversity tariff plans and the services included in them, you can simply get confused - and not understand which is more profitable to connect to.

Still cost international communications depends on the territorial zone. The first zone usually includes the countries of the CIS and Europe, the second - African, Asian and Australia, and the third - the states of both Americas. But it happens that one or another cellular operator uses its own system of dividing the territory, so it is better to consult in advance how much it will cost to call home from a particular state. Here is the usual price list:

International roaming Tele2

Still - cheap and cheerful! All calls within Europe are priced at 9.45 rubles per minute, and messages cost 4.50 rubles. In Africa, Asia and Australia they will cost 35 and 12 rubles. And Tele2 international roaming with America will cost 65 and 12 rubles.

If you have connected to Tele2 in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Croatia or Kazakhstan, you can count on discounts by ordering free “Preferential roaming in Tele2 networks abroad”. To do this, dial the following combination: *143*1#. A minute of conversation and a megabyte of Internet will fall in price to 5 rubles, and SMS - to 3.50.

Connecting MTS roaming

The “World Without Borders” service, unfortunately, has increased in price from 19 to 25 rubles per day. You can talk to her for 10 minutes for free if they call you from Armenia, Belarus, Ukraine and Turkmenistan. Further conversation will be charged at 5 rubles for every 60 seconds. It is worth noting that previously the service was provided at a price of 5.90 per minute. If you want to call home, the first minute will cost 25 rubles, up to the fifth inclusive - 15 rubles each (versus the previous 5.90). The cost of further conversation depends on the tariff.

Connecting MTS roaming in the countries not mentioned above has become cheaper. Firstly, ten free minutes from friends from Russia, the rest of the conversation is priced at 5 rubles for each minute (previously the fee was 8.90). The operator will tell you how much the first minute of a call to Russia costs, but the second to fifth are charged the same at 15 rubles (previously - 8.90). Activation of MTS roaming is carried out by dialing the combination *111*4444#, disabling - *111*33*7#. 200 preferential minutes are also provided monthly, the rest will cost 5 rubles.

The “Go-go roaming” service is activated completely free of charge using the combination *111*882#. A call from Russia is charged at 11.90, and to home - at 19.90. But a conversation with particularly distant states (check with the operator) will cost 79 rubles, and for a conversation you will need to dial a special prefix (for example, *137*79181234567#).

As for access to the World Wide Web, a megabyte, no matter where you are, will cost 750 rubles. The “BIT Abroad” service provides 10 megabytes daily for 150-300 rubles, and only if the traveler is in Europe. But on other continents, try to connect to the local Internet, because here MTS charges as much as 2,000 rubles a day. Not to say that before 700 rubles for 10 MB were raspberries, but the owner is a gentleman.

Even before going abroad, make sure that your loved ones can contact you via roaming. To do this, check with your operator whether “ International access" and "International and national roaming."

Roaming connection Beeline

Beeline subscribers can still use Multipass. This service provides the opportunity to make calls throughout Europe, the CIS and Asia for only 15 rubles. Receiving calls is three times cheaper, and sending SMS costs 3.95. The Internet, unlike that offered by MTS, is fabulously profitable - only 30 rubles per megabyte.

Appeared and new service- “Planet Zero” (compare with “World without borders from MTS”). Free connection and the absence of a subscription fee allow you to lose nothing if you don’t need to get in touch with your home. A short message from anywhere in the world will cost 10 rubles, and receiving a call will cost 19 rubles per minute. A nice bonus: the second to tenth minute of the conversation is absolutely free! Beeline services in roaming are activated by dialing *110*331#. Don't forget the call button!

The “SuperVisa” service has recently been introduced in Georgia and the CIS. Just as profitable as “Planet Zero”, if you don’t need to use roaming at all. Here, every first minute of conversation per day costs as much as 60 rubles, but then up to 20 minutes the conversation is free (that is, call from/to Russia for 20 minutes for 60 rubles!). If the conversation lasts, a minute will cost an average of 3 rubles. If you are interested in the offer, dial *110*81#.

What awaits visitors from other countries? Choose the “Country to Order” service, which gives you the right to pay half the price for all calls and messages. However, there is a fixed subscription fee - 15 rubles per day. So think carefully. The service is activated for each country separately: *139*551*country_code#.

Other Beeline roaming services are “Calling Roaming”, “Comfortable Roaming” and “Seductive Roaming”. The first offer reduces the price of a call by half, provided that they call you, and costs 10 rubles per day. Called by the command *110*0051#. “Comfortable” roaming provides 100 incoming calls to anywhere in the world for a moderate fee of 895 rubles. That is, 8.95 for each received call. To connect, dial *110*995#. And “Seductive” really justifies itself - with a daily subscription fee of 10 rubles, all incoming calls and short messages are ratified for 3.95 rubles! Want to try? *110*0171# and call key.

“Sea of ​​Internet” gives 7 megabytes, wherever you go, for only 250 rubles. It’s cheaper than usual... as much as 20 times! To connect, dial *110*0021#.
Check with your operator which services are provided simultaneously. By the way, international roaming is enabled by default. Billing takes place in real time.

Connecting Megafon roaming

But here you will have to specifically enable “Roaming in all networks”, but communication abroad will not work on its own.

It is beneficial to connect the “Eurotariff” service that users already like. And conversations, messages, and megabytes in European countries will cost much less. You can call for 16 rubles per minute, accept a call and write and SMS for 6, use a megabyte of Internet for 50.

But if you travel outside of Europe, try the “My World” service. With a daily fee of 10 rubles, accepting a call becomes half the price. Connection - *235*6*2#, disconnection - *235*6*3#. The “SMS Without Borders” offer provides the same benefits under the same conditions as for messages. To start - *235*7*2#, to refuse - *235*7*3#.

In South Ossetia, you can use the “Neighboring Countries” offer, thanks to which you can make calls for 3 rubles, and receive calls for nothing. The service costs 1.75, in fact, to connect, send a message with the number “68” to the number 000105. And in the rest of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, “Preferential roaming” will help you. With it you can make calls for 25 rubles, receive calls for 15, send SMS for 7, and use a megabyte of the Internet for 70 rubles. The service costs 100 rubles per week.

In addition, connecting to Megafon roaming involves another profitable service - “Online Vacation”. It provides incredibly cheap Internet access in European countries - only 7 rubles per megabyte. The connection is paid, but it will cost only 10 rubles per month - dial *104# and follow the instructions.

So what are the lowest international roaming rates?

Located on the territory of the Southern Federal District It’s more profitable to connect Beeline “ Home region", the second place is occupied by the mobile network "Everywhere is like home", the third is the connection of Megafon roaming "Away is like home". You need to connect!

Outside the Southern Federal District, but still in Russia, it’s cheapest to use Beeline’s “Roaming Lightly”, second place is again occupied by “Everywhere at Home” from MTS. If Tele2 works in your region, it is even more economical with it. And Megafon subscribers can profitably connect to “Mega Country” if they call you often, and to “Easy Reception”, respectively, if they call you more often.

The most pleasant international roaming rates after all, I must admit, Tele2. But individual offers from other operators are also good. This is, for example, Megafon’s automatic “Eurotariff”, which is convenient for traveling around Europe. Next in terms of profitability are Beeline services - “Multi-pass” for lovers of European countries, “Planet Zero” for those who prefer not to call anywhere themselves, but receive calls for half an hour, and “Tempting roaming” for those traveling around the world. MTS with its “World without Borders” should also be included in this category, which helps to save money by calling Russian subscribers and receiving their calls. And for extremely long walks, MTS budget “go-go roaming” is suitable for you.

In addition to low international roaming tariffs from Russian operators, international SIM cards, for example, Simtravel and Goodline, will also provide significant assistance to tourists. But the latter are worth purchasing only for traveling “very far” - in zones 2 and 3. After all, a call will cost no less than 9 rubles per minute. Well, there is an option for convenient forwarding, when they call your regular Russian phone and end up with 8-800. This is exactly half the price - 4.5 rubles per minute.

Cellular operators Everyone is complicating the conditions for providing their services and introducing more variety into them. Therefore, there is no clear leader in the communications market, but in general Lately their offers have become more profitable for any customers. So, having thoroughly studied the tariffs before your planned trip, you can decide on “family matters” during your entire vacation abroad.

Cancel roaming mobile operators in Europe took place in a very strange way. At first, everyone started talking about her, even outside traveler circles. The main messages were that now everyone will be able to communicate with family for pennies, and the need to buy a SIM card in each country will disappear by itself.

Then came the summer of 2017 and roaming was cancelled. And everyone suddenly forgot about it. And the reason for this is that even citizens of EU countries have not been able to figure out all the nuances: how does that same roaming-free zone work. After all, it has not become accessible to everyone, and in addition, it has a number of restrictions.

Navigation

A little history

Each country has a number of mobile operators. Sometimes there are a lot of them, and sometimes everything belongs to a state monopolist. However, there is no escape from cellular communications; even in North Korea it has long been present mobile coverage and even 3G.

Using a telephone in his country, a person pays according to the tariffs for certain services: incoming and outgoing calls, SMS and mms messages, incoming outgoing Internet traffic, and the like. When traveling to another country, these tariffs changed dramatically.

The fact is that in order to have a phone serviced by an operator abroad, they have to “share” among themselves, pay a number of additional payments and incur high costs. Therefore, prices increased significantly. So, for example, until recently I paid 5 dollars for 120 minutes of calls to anywhere in the world and 2 gigabytes of 3G in my Ukraine. If I traveled to neighboring Poland or Slovakia, for 5 dollars I could either talk on the phone for 4 minutes or download mail once.

Not a single million tourists have lost a lot of money due to ignorance or carelessness. This is why I always recommend turning off data on your phone before crossing the border to all tourists!

Moreover, in some countries, such as Russia, roaming exists even within the country, between federal subjects.

Tourists did not like this order of things. Some agreed to slightly more profitable " package rates» from the operator. Some went for tourist SIM cards (like TravelSim), which already provided more or less acceptable rates.

Lovers of modern technology have begun to massively use VoIP telephony and instant messengers (Telegram, Viber, WhatsApp).

Well, the most advanced and avid travelers immediately went to buy a local SIM card, since this was the most economical option. In principle, he remains one.

The European Union has decided to take one step closer to creating a single space in all spheres of life. That is why, starting from June 1, 2017, in There are no roaming fees in EU countries. Thus, the tariffs remain exactly the same as at home.

The “free EU roaming” or “EU no roaming” rule applies only to telephone operators member countries of the European Union.

Many, like me, thought that a tourist from a non-EU country would only have to come to any of these countries where SIM cards are freely sold and buy himself cheap tariff, with whom we will travel to all other European countries. But everything turned out to be not so simple.

Where in Europe is there no roaming?

Europe is a fairly large territory containing a huge number of countries and dependent territories. The new principle does not work everywhere.

Roaming fees are not charged in the following countries:

Coverage area of ​​“Europe without roaming”

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Gibraltar
• Croatia
• Republic of Cyprus
• Czech
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France (together with overseas territories in the Caribbean, Southern Africa and Indian Ocean)
• Germany
• Greece
• Vatican
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Italy
• Lithuania
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal (including Madeira and Azores)
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain (including Canary Islands)
• Sweden
• Great Britain

Countries that do not have a roaming cancellation policy:

• Russia
• Ukraine
• Belarus
• Georgia
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Türkiye
• Moldova
• Montenegro
• Serbia
• Albania
• Macedonia
• Kosovo
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Andorra
• Monaco
• San Marino
• Turkish Cyprus (Northern)
• Switzerland
• Isle Of Man
• Channel Islands

On this moment Negotiations are underway to include Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Armenia in the roaming-free zone, but this phase is not scheduled until 2020.

New tariffs

Thanks to the entry into force of all these laws, mobile operators in the above countries are obliged to follow the following rules:

Thus, all incoming SMS messages and calls should be free in roaming, and outgoing ones should be at the price set in the “home” tariff.

In addition, these standards provide for a gradual reduction in prices for Mobile Internet. For this purpose, maximum tariffs were established (excluding VAT), beyond which operators cannot set prices for their services.

It turns out that the task of any traveler in Europe is to find the optimal tariff that will allow you to use the Internet without problems, rather than looking for WiFi. But with calls everything is very difficult. Read about this below.

Disadvantages and Limitations

Naturally, there are a number of significant disadvantages and limitations that are important to be aware of:

• Free roaming rules only apply to SIM cards issued in the EU and EEA (European Economic Area).
• The absence of tariffs does not apply to any calls and messages from outside the EU and EEA. Simply put, you will not be able to write free SMS to Russia and receive calls from Ukraine.
• It’s just that in the Center of Europe there are territories where roaming cancellation rules do not apply. Coupled with the lack of borders, this can lead to the fact that you simply forget to turn off your data while driving along the highway through San Marino and then receive a huge mobile phone bill.
• The rule does not apply to cruise ships and aircraft that move within the territory of the agreement.
• Operators limit unlimited traffic packages when working in EU roaming. So the plan that gives me 10GB every month may be limited when I'm in another country.
• During roaming, internal discounts do not apply between users of, say, the same operator. If in the country where the card is issued, subscribers can call within Orange for free, then when you go to a neighboring country, you will receive an invoice for calls, as if you were calling to another operator.
• The free roaming service is intended only for short-term trips, and not for permanent residence in another country. This means that you cannot buy a Lithuanian number and live with it in London. The operator has the right to charge an additional fee if roaming within a particular country exceeds 4 months.

All these restrictions did not arise out of nowhere. After all, this system was supposed to connect more than 30 national mobile communications markets with diametrically opposed price positions. So, for example, in Lithuania they spent an average of 4 euros per month on mobile communications, and in Ireland - almost 30.

The prices are also not the same. Thus, in Germany, 1 GB of Internet costs about 10 euros, and in neighboring Poland – 0.4 euros.

Countries with cheap domestic tariffs do not necessarily provide favorable rates with available free roaming.

And all this had to be reduced to a single whole. This is what led to restrictions so as not to create problems for operators when Portuguese citizens go to buy SIM cards in Poland, leaving their operators without money, but with an overloaded network.

conclusions

Roam like at Home has been operating for less than a year. Mobile communication companies have not yet had time to adapt to new realities, not to mention their customers.

For now, it remains profitable to buy a SIM card in the destination country (you can read more about this in the article ““). And use “Roaming like at home” only for short trips to neighboring countries.

As for the Internet, then Operators are required to clearly state conditions and restrictions in the tariff. Therefore, it is quite possible to find one that suits your price and purchase it so that you always have mobile Internet at your fingertips. In this case, you will have to carefully monitor not to leave the permitted territory with data transfer enabled.

Before using the Internet while roaming, you will need to activate your EU domestic data package to receive affordable rates at up to 5 euros per Gigabyte.

Anyway, you will have to familiarize yourself with the conditions and restrictions of the tariff in detail, if you want to take it as a “main” one on your trip to Europe.

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04.10.2018 /