Save up to 90% on calls abroad by renting local airtime and keep your existing mobile number.
Since the first GSM networks collaborated to provide roaming services in 1987, international roaming charges have made using a mobile phone abroad an expensive luxury for business and leisure travellers.
International roaming is available on 650 networks in over 200 countries and enables users to “roam” onto a foreign mobile phone network when travelling overseas. Roaming offers the convenience of a single number, a single bill and a single phone worldwide, but beware, you can be charged over £2.00 per minute as both the visited network and your home network will apply heavy charges for outgoing and incoming calls.
With call costs becoming more transparent and competitive, some networks are beginning to provide discounted international rates, however the real savings can depend heavily on which foreign network you are roaming with and the duration of your call.
“Using your mobile phone while on holiday abroad can still lead to very unpleasant surprises” Viviane Reding, the Commissioner for Information Society and Media.
“Consumers often lack clear information on charges for roaming.” Ofcomwatch, June 2005
With Cellhire’s new SIMSmart Plus solutions, travellers can now take their existing mobile number overseas and avoid roaming charges, saving up to 90% on their calls abroad. Calls are charged at simple, low rates with no connection or ‘flag fall’ charges.
SIMSmart Plus is a simple, convenient solution that enables travellers to divert their calls to a local SIM card or handset for whichever country they are travelling to. The service is compatible with all mobile technologies, so even if you are travelling to a non GSM region such as Japan or Korea , you can still take your number and say goodbye to roaming.
Save up to 90% on calls with SIMSmart Plus
Research shows that 70% of roamed calls made overseas last less than two minutes, so keeping your per minute call cost down is vital to reducing your mobile bill.
The table below compares the cost of international roaming with SIMSmart Plus, demonstrating that even some of the most competitive rates such as Vodafone Passport can be expensive.
|
Call Type
|
O2 (ITS)
|
Orange
|
T-Mobile
(Intl Option)
|
VodafoneWorld & ICS
|
Vodafone Passport
|
Cellhire SIMSmart Plus
|
| Incoming call |
0.45
|
0.75
|
0.65
|
0.60
|
0.75*
|
0.39**
|
| Calls in the USA |
0.90
|
1.10
|
1.10
|
0.90
|
0.75*
|
0.49
|
| Calls to the UK |
0.90
|
1.10
|
1.10
|
0.92
|
0.75*
|
0.69
|
*The additional per minute cost of your national Vodafone call tariff in the UK will also apply.
**A call forwarding charge may be applied by your home network. This is usually charged as a national call rate or as part of your inclusive bundle.
The recently launched Vodafone Passport solution charges 75p to connect both incoming and outgoing calls. However, with the average length of a roamed call at less than 2 minutes, these connection fees can soon add up. What’s more, users will still pay their usual UK call costs on top of the connection fee and Vodafone Passport rates are only available if you roam with and stay with a Vodafone partner network.
Cellhire’s SIMSmart Plus solutions enable you to keep your existing mobile number and reduce your mobile bill when visiting the following countries. In Non-GSM regions such as Japan and South Korea , local handsets are provided.
“Cellhire has provided travellers with cost saving local airtime solutions for years, but only since the launch of SIMSmart Plus have customers been able to keep their existing number. With more and more people wanting to use their mobile abroad, SIMSmart Plus has proved a huge success with both business and leisure travellers. Cellhire is delighted to be a pioneer in the provision of such valuable cost saving services for its customers and looks forward to continuing to do so in the future.” Martyn Stevens, Managing Director, Cellhire UK
For further details on SIMSmart Plus click here.
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