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Top Tips for Texting Abroad
Texting is a quick and convenient way of keeping in touch with family and friends while holidaying abroad. Forget airport payphones and expensive hotel phones - texting from your mobile phone means that you can stay in touch on your terms. Here are our top tips for texting while abroad.
- Check you can text with your mobile phone in the place you're visiting and find out about the text services offered by your network provider or its partners in your destination. You may also have to lift an international call bar on your mobile phone before overseas use. This information should be available from your network provider.
- How do you make your mobile phone work outside the UK? Easy! Your handset will automatically search for compatible networks once you switch it on. You can stick with your mobile phone's first network choice or, if there is a choice of providers, use the network selection menu on your handset to opt for an alternative.
- Worried that your pre-pay phone can't be used to text from abroad? This depends on the network you use while overseas, but in most cases you should be able to use pre-pay phones in the same way as you would in the UK. Again, check with your UK network provider.
- Check the telephone numbers you are likely to use before leaving the country. To text a UK number from abroad leave out the zero at the beginning of the area code and replace it with the symbol '+' and UK country code 44. However, your network may allow you to use special short codes without any need for international codes. This information should be available from your network provider. For calls to local landline numbers in the country you are staying you do not need to prefix it with an international code.
- If you want to use your mobile phone for voice calls, or for any other text or voice services while overseas, check with the network provider to see what you can and can't do - and how much it will cost - before you leave the country.
- What about cost? Most Operators organise charges into world zones, with different flat rate prices according to which country you're in. These range from around 40p to £1.99 per minute for voice calls and from 20p per text (plus home rates). You're also usually charged to receive a call from abroad, from around 20p per minute; however, most operators don't charge you to receive a text from abroad. Some networks also offer cheaper prices for frequent travellers. All costs will vary according to your network operator and price plan/tariff - for further details, visit the links below where you can enter your travel destination and tariff to find out exactly how much you'll be paying.
- Remember to pack your mobile phone charger, travel plug adapter and spare battery before you go off on your travels.
- And remember to always switch your mobile phone off before boarding the aircraft.
More information on texting abroad is available from your network operator by clicking on the following links:
www.o2.co.uk/productsservices/mobileservices/travelling/0,,151,00.html
www.orange.co.uk/international/calling.html
www.t-mobile.co.uk/Dispatcher?menuid=roaming_l_c
www.vodafone.co.uk
Bon voyage - and happy holiday texting!
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