Ausdroid’s round-up of international roaming and travel packs for travelling Australians

It’s school holidays again, and for many Australians that means it’s time to head off on holidays. While a good number will holiday within Australia — we’ve got an awful lot to see at home — many will want to holiday overseas. It’s coming to the end of the northern Summer, but it’s still a beautiful time of year to visit the US, pacific islands, or to travel through Europe or Asia. In fact, travelling anywhere is awesome, and we encourage you to do more of it.

Sadly, though, some things don’t travel as well as people, and mobile phones have always been a questionable proposition when travelling. Do you buy a local SIM card? Do you just rely on free WiFi? Do you use your Australian carrier SIM and just wear the costs? What’s the best option? I’ve stumbled through this myself, and had my folks asking me for advice on this as well.

We thought the best thing to do would be a bit of a round-up of the options, starting with roaming options for our local carriers, and other options as well.

International Roaming

Once a truly scary combination of words that usually resulted in swift removal of all your money in favour of your telco, international roaming has become a lot more affordable these days. There’s still a fair amount of variation between our three major telcos on cost, but by and large, there are some good options to be found. Let’s take a look at their post-paid offerings — prepaid gets a little more complicated.

Hardware

Before we jump into the carrier offerings though, be mindful that there’s ways to control international roaming on your handset, too. Most Android phones (as well as iOS devices) give you options to enable international roaming and data while roaming. If you’re conscious of cost, you can switch off data while roaming altogether, and purely have your phone switched on to receive calls or SMS.

It also pays to consider band support; most 3G handsets these days will support the major 3G bands worldwide, but 4G is far less universal. Some carriers do offer limited 4G roaming in other countries, but this is far from being commonplace. Equally, though it may be offered, your handset may not support the local 4G bands in some countries, meaning your experience will be all the more hit and miss.

If you are travelling a lot, having a handset with dual-SIM support can be very very useful. Your SIM from home can live in the primary slot, and be used for sending/receiving SMS and receiving phone calls from home. A secondary SIM, set up as a data-only connection, can be a wonderful thing and could even save you money, as well as offering you access to faster 4G networks in many places. A point to consider for the frequent traveller.

Networks

There’s also the need to have realistic expectations. In Australia, we’re kind of spoilt. We think of some networks as better than others, but let’s face it, all three carriers have amazing coverage and network speed, and we rarely find blackspots and no coverage areas unless we’re truly off the beaten track.

Overseas, though, mobile networks vary SIGNIFICANTLY. Roaming in the US can be a real pain for example, depending on which network you use. AT&T’s network is fairly good, T-Mobile’s is less good, and Vodafone can roam on both of those. Roaming in New Zealand is pretty reliable, though with such a small population over a large geographic area, you can drive for an hour or two in areas that have no signal, before reaching civilisation again (though, to be fair, this isn’t a limitation of roaming, it’s the local networks).

Depending on your home carrier, you might roam onto an expensive carrier network overseas, or a really cheap one, and the service can vary significantly. Vodafone, for example, roam with the M1 network in Singapore, which is not especially well known for being a high quality network. Don’t get me wrong, it works, and it’s quite usable, but data speeds are not quick, and there can be throughput issues.

These are just a couple of examples based on my personal experiences. Dan and Jason have travelled elsewhere and noted similar experiences; roaming works well in some places, and not others, and it can vary by country, network, and even what phone you’re using. It helps to have realistic expectations — you’re staying in touch and meeting the basic needs. If you want first-class service, you’re probably going to be better off buying a local pre-paid service on a reputable network.

Telstra

International roaming is activated as standard on all Telstra plans established from 12 May 2015, but if you’re heading overseas with an older service, you might want to give Telstra a call to make sure it’s enabled if you want it.

For post-paid customers, Telstra offers two zones of roaming pack. For a one-off charge, Telstra’s International Travel Pass gives you unlimited voice calls and SMS to and from standard numbers. You’ll also receive a data allowance to use in eligible countries for the period of the pass. An International Travel Pass becomes active the moment you take it up, so Telstra recommends you purchase it when you land overseas — to do this, you call Telstra (for free) on +61 439 125 109.

Zone 1 includes New Zealand, Indonesia (and Bali) and Thailand. With plans ranging from $15 for three days (incl. 150MB of data) through to $150 for 30 days (incl. 1.5 GB of data) there’s enough in the range to cover most trips, with options for 7 and 14 days in the middle. Across the range, it works out to $5 per day, and on top of the included data you have unlimited SMS And voice calls to and from standard numbers. MMS charges will still apply, though, so be careful with those picture messages.

Sadly, though, that Zone 1 pricing isn’t available in too many places. If you want to go further afield, to places like the US, UK, throughout the rest of Asia, and through Europe, you’re into Zone 2, which costs twice as much at $10 per day. The inclusions are the same – 150 MB on the $30/3 day pack through to 1.5GB on the $300/30 day pack – including the unlimited SMS and voice calls.

With capped price packs, there are no per-minute or per-SMS rates, and we’d strongly suggest using one of these rather than relying on default roaming costs, which can quickly escalate as shown below. A 5 day trip would be covered by the 7-day pack, which costs $35 or $70 depending on zone, vs the potential costs demonstrated below.

Conclusion: Telstra offers great coverage and competitive rates locally, but their international roaming (outside NZ, Indonesia and Thailand) is still fairly pricey.

Optus

Optus has its Optus Travel product, which offers a similar travel pack style service to Telstra. Like Telstra, all roaming costs are in addition to any included plan value, and SMS are free to receive. Optus, too, uses a 2-zone roaming system, though the countries included within each zone are a little different, and travel packs (including some capped service) are only available in Zone 1 countries.

Fortunately, Optus’ Zone 1 includes many of the countries frequently visited by Australians heading overseas, including the US, UK, all of Europe and most of Asia except Vietnam. The Middle East, Africa and south America (including Mexico) are within Zone 2, where travel packs are not available.

International roaming is active by default on Optus services since 15 September 2013, but if you’re on an older service, you’ll need to make sure you turn it on. Call 1509 from your Optus mobile (in Australia), or SMS the number 7 to phone number 9999 and follow the instructions. If you’re already overseas, call +61 2 8082 5678 to enable roaming (it’s a free call).

Optus Travel packs cost $10 per day, which include unlimited talk and SMS, as well as 50MB of data to use in Zone 1 countries. If you need more data, just buy more packs; they’re cumulative! So, a five day trip? Just buy five packs, and that’ll give you unlimited voice and SMS, and 250MB of data to use while in any Zone 1 country (or combination of them). Buying the packs is easy – you can do it online via My Account, on your mobile using the My Optus app, or by calling that phone number above if you’re already overseas.

While the zones are different, Optus’ pricing for NZ, Indonesia and Thailand is higher than Telstra’s, but for other countries in Optus’ Zone 1, the pricing and data inclusions are virtually the same — $10 per day with 50MB data to use. Optus gives you a bit more flexibility with per-day pricing, but otherwise there’s little difference in it.

Conclusion: Optus has cheaper default rates in most popular countries than Telstra, and while Optus Travel packs cost a bit more for NZ, Indonesia and Thailand, they’re the same price as Telstra’s for most other countries at $10 per day. Depending on your usage, you might almost consider forgoing a travel pack on Optus for some countries, especially if you’re not using data.

Vodafone

Vodafone has kind of turned international roaming on its head in mid 2013 when it introduced its new Red plans, which include their roaming product known simply as Red Roaming. The premise is simple; for $5 per day, you can use whatever your plan includes in Australia while you’re overseas. If you’re like me, and have 12GB of data included each month, and unlimited calls/SMS/MMS, you can access that in any supported country for $5 a day, which can be significantly cheaper than other options.

Red Roaming is available in a lot of places Australians like to visit (some 50 countries worldwide), but certainly not all of them. NZ, USA, many countries in Asia and most of western Europe is included, but there are plenty of places that aren’t, including Canada, Mexico, most of South America (except Brazil), all of Africa (except South Africa), Russia, and most of the Middle East. In those countries not included, there’s no travel pack-type option available, and you’re left with Vodafone’s default international roaming rates, which really aren’t too bad at $1 per minute to make or receive calls, $1 per MB of data and $0.75 for SMS or MMS sent.

Vodafone’s Red Roaming is great when it’s available; you don’t need to pre-buy a pack, and if you happen to leave your phone off for a day while you’re overseas, you don’t pay for that day. It’s $5 per day when used, up to 90 days in total per year, and with that you can access whatever your inclusions are at home. Better yet, the way calls work is kind of neat; if you’re in the US, and you have unlimited national minutes at home, you can make unlimited national calls within the US while you’re there too, without it coming out of any included usage.

Astute viewers of Vodafone’s terms and conditions will note that Red Roaming is advertised as ending on 1 December 2015. We’ve sought clarification from Vodafone on this before, and we’ve spoken to Vodafone’s Chief Strategy Officer & Corporate Affairs Director, Dan Lloyd who tells us:

Vodafone recognises how much our customers value $5 roaming, and there are no plans to end it or wind it back.

In other words, it’s here to stay. Let’s take a look at that hypothetical trip to the US for Vodafone:

Conclusion: In countries covered by Red Roaming, Vodafone’s offering cannot be beaten on cost; there’s no 50MB per day limit, and you can use as much or as little as you like. If your 5 day trip includes a full day away from your phone, leave it off and save the $5 for that day. I’ve used this service in NZ, US and Singapore, and it works flawlessly. However, if you’re outside a Red Roaming country, Vodafone’s costs can quickly add up a bit more quickly than Optus’, though still cheaper than Telstra’s in most places.

The Wrap

When it comes to international roaming rates, there’s certainly a lot of difference.

On travel packs, Vodafone’s Red Roaming is the best value hands down if it’s available in the country you want to visit. $5 per day to access your plan inclusions from home is significantly better than the competition. However, with just 50 countries covered, there’s plenty of places people like to visit where this simply isn’t an option. Vodafone’s default pricing is good, but it isn’t the best; Optus’ Zone 1 pricing is cheaper, and is available in many places, including Canada, throughout Europe and most of Asia.

Telstra’s pricing Zone 2, at $10 per day, is on par with Optus, and available in many of the same places, including Canada, much of Asia, and western Europe.

Once you stray off the beaten track, though — and by this, we mean to places like most of South America, Africa, and countries in the Middle East — the good roaming deals are hard to find. There’s no pack-type options available (for the most part), and you’re left with default roaming rates from the majors. Here’s a couple of examples just to highlight the disparity:

• Roaming in Iraq:
  • $2 per min on Optus / $1 per MB
  • $5 per min on Telstra / $3 per MB
  • $1 per min on Vodafone / $0.75 per MB
• Roaming in Argentina:
  • $2 per min on Optus / $1 per MB
  • $5 per min on Telstra / $3 per MB
  • $1 per min on Vodafone / $0.75 per MB
• Roaming in Vietnam:
  • $2 per min on Optus / $1 per MB
  • $2 per min on Telstra / $3 per MB
  • $1 per min on Vodafone / $0.75 per MB

So, which offering is best?

In countries where Red Roaming is available, and that does include many popular tourist destinations, Vodafone is by far the best option. It’s half the price of the competitors, and offers significantly more included value. It’s worth noting, though, that Optus’ travel packs at $10 per day are available in significantly more countries than Telstra’s $10 per day options, and each have more countries than Vodafone’s Red Roaming.

If you’re not using a travel pack, Optus’ rates can be cheaper than Vodafone in some places (North America is a good example), but elsewhere, Vodafone leads the pack with $1 per minute and $0.75 SMS in virtually every country, and data in 85% of them. Telstra’s rates vary wildly, from $1.50 a minute in some places through to $5.00 per minute in others.

With that, Vodafone offers best value across the board; the cheapest travel packs with the most inclusions, and outside of those, the lowest standard roaming rates. Optus is probably second, given the wide coverage of its $10/day packs which have fairly reasonable inclusions, and their reasonable roaming rates outside of those countries. Telstra brings up the rear, with the most limited coverage of travel packs, and significant variation in standard roaming costs.