by The holidaymakers in Corfu were made with invoices for roaming fees of up to 300 GBP after their phones captured on Albanian mobile phone masts. The Greek island and the Balkans are hardly a mile apart.
The mail reports that the vacation Maria Pratt wrote on Facebook: “We were caught £ 298 when we came home X.
This problem is not limited to the confusion of Corfu/Albania. Most British travelers have a kind of contract for low roaming plants within the European Union and often in the broad Schengen area (including Switzerland, Iceland and Norway). The costs are reduced to a few pounds a day.
In border areas with non-EU nations or on ships connected to maritime satellite networks, travelers can accidentally lock on networks in which the fees are extremely high.
These are the most important questions and answers.
I fly into an EU country. I switch on my phone. What could possibly go wrong?
As long as you cannot prevent much from all borders with non-EU nations and coasts where you can accidentally connect to a maritime network.
Typical roaming arrangements enable you to offer an appropriate offer for the nations of the Schengen region and Ireland, the Isle of Man, Channel Islands, San Marino and Vatican. Since a number of remote islands and territories are part of France, the plan often contains some distant destinations, including Guyane, Guadeloupe, ST-Martin and reunification.
Remarkably, plans usually exclude an important Balkans, Mediterranean and Pyrenean nations:
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Albania
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Andorra
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Bosnia
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Kosovo
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Moldova
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Montenegro
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North Macedonia
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Serbia
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turkey
These areas are rated too high. Seezölle – as on some ferries and cruise ships – are even more expensive.
What are the possible roaming risks?
The main problem is to connect to a network in a different goal without it. Telephones constantly check to recognize the optimal mast, and this can be on the other side of an international border – or even on a ship at seas.
Where are the most likely problems?
The holidaymakers on some Greek islands tend to close themselves to the providers of other countries. In addition to the example of Corfu-Albania, the northern tip of Kos is only three miles from Turkey, while part of Lesbos is six miles from the Turkish mainland. Little Visited Chios is four miles away from Turkey.
In Cyprus, near the “green line”, telephones can select a network from the self -proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
In Croatia, the main problems affect the narrow coastal strip in the south, where Bosnia is never far away.
Some of the most tempting places in the northeast of Romania, including artistically painted monasteries, are near the Moldova border.
In the Suwalki gap, in which Poland and Lithuania meet between Belarus and Russian Exclave -Kaliningrad -you can lock yourself up to a network that you either do not work or you cost a wealth. The same applies in the northeast estate in the spectacular city of Narva with a view of Russia.
Even in Great Britain, your phone can find a network in some places on the coast of Southeast Cent in France.
Travelers to French locations in the Caribbean could also find potential problems. ST-Martin (French) and the Dutch outpost of Sint Maarten share an island; The French part has cheap, the Dutch part.
How can I avoid accidental roaming?
Overall, you could switch off the roaming. Go to Android telephones such as the Samsung Galaxy to “Settings”, “Connections”, “Mobile Networks” and then select “Roaming Off”. Go on an iPhone from “Settings” in “Mobile Service” and “Mobile Data Options”. Choose “Offing”. Then rely on a local free WiFi.
If you want to roam through without unpleasant surprises, start the “strip”. When arriving at the finish line for an Android from “mobile phone networks”, select “Network mode”, then “network operator” and deactivate “automatically”. Go to “Settings” and “Network selection” on an iPhone. Deactivate “automatically”. Choose a local provider; Your phone shouldn’t choose anyone.
Then switch on the roaming.
I go to a country where roaming costs a fortune
Get a local SIM or ESIM with which you can use and receive calls and use data at a low price – which you can fill up if necessary.
Simon Calder, also known as the man who pays his way, has been writing travel for the independent since 1994. In his weekly opinion column, he examines an important travel problem – and what it means for them.
