Tourist Sim Cards As An Alternative to Roaming

High tariffs for roaming and reluctance of mobile operators to reduce them, has led to the emergence of a fairly promising market of so-called tourist SIM-cards. They allow travelers to fully use mobile services in most countries of the world at more affordable prices than when connecting to a roaming service.

The supplier companies do not produce SIM-cards themselves. All products that are sold with the logos of TravelSIM, GSM-Travel or GoodLine are packages of foreign operators, in which preferential tariffs for roaming are laid, is cheaper than those of domestic operators. Actually, this builds the business of suppliers. That is why on the websites of companies it is noted that these tariffs can change at any time without warning. The reason is that these companies simply do not depend on these companies, they are formed by foreign operators whose numbers you use.

If we compare objectively the roaming tariffs of the domestic GSM operators, the difference will be very tangible. True, the economy is only relevant in case there is a lot of talk planned.

Strong> Always in touch

For Ukrainian subscribers, mobile communication abroad is traditionally associated with the concept of "roaming". If you neglect the financial side of the issue, then this is really the most comfortable way to stay connected in another country. There are several reasons: first, in most cases, to activate roaming, the subscriber does not need to do anything - just turn on the phone on arrival in the country of destination. Most operators today use the so-called automatic Camel-roaming. Using it, the subscriber can dial the usual keyboard shortcuts for checking the balance and dialing to the support service, that is, no new numbers need to be memorized either. In addition, calls are charged in real time.

The second important argument in favor of roaming is the preservation of a permanent number. But roaming has a serious disadvantage - high tariffs. They provoked the emergence of an alternative option - the so-called tourist SIM-cards, which almost every travel agency offers today before they leave for the resort. Such cards can be clearly divided into two types: universal (work in more than 150 countries) and monocards. The latter are packages of prepaid services of local operators. For example, before leaving for Turkey, the agency will offer you a Turkcell SIM-card with instruction in Russian on its operation and tariffs more profitable; Than roaming of domestic operators. Do not be in a hurry to refuse: in the vicinity of the hotel you are going to, exactly the same starting packages can cost much more, and no one will offer a Russian-language instruction. But more often than not, those who travel a lot prefer universal cards. They allow you to call at quite reasonable prices in most countries of the world, and when you arrive at home you do not need to throw out such a card - you can take it with you on the next trip.

Strong> How it works

The roaming tariffs of any operator assume the presence of a fee not only for outgoing calls, but also for incoming calls, whereas when using tourist SIMs in most countries, all incoming calls are free of charge. These SIM cards usually have a foreign number (not necessarily the country you are going to), so calls to such a number from Ukraine will be charged as international. For example, TravelSIM provides customers with Baltic mobile operator numbers that look like + 37 25 XXX XXXX. Some supplier companies provide a separate service "Ukrainian number", but in this case you will have to pay for redirecting incoming to this number (in fact, this is equivalent to paying for incoming). In case you are a customer of "GoodLine", this fee is 35 cents per minute of incoming call.

Buying a tourist map , it is worthwhile to ask, according to which scheme the calls will be made. Ideally, this should be a standard direct dialing, as there are options when voice calls are made on a call-back basis (the call is reset, then the phone rings and the connection is made). This method is not very convenient and less reliable.

To replenish the balance of tourist SIM-cards abroad is not easier than replenish the account of an ordinary mobile operator in roaming. In most cases, this will have to be done with a credit card or through the WebMoney system. Therefore, it will be prudent to enroll the amount you expect to spend on the account before leaving.

Strong> Where to connect

There are three main suppliers in Ukraine. This is the company TravelSIM, "GoodLine" and a branch of the Russian company "GSM-Travel". TravelSIM has the most common own network, its distribution products are available in 17 regions of the country. Of the specific services that the company provides, we note the opportunity to choose any number you like by purchasing a SIM card.

"GoodLine" belongs to the company World Travel Telecom, and SIM-cards of this supplier, in addition to the capital, can be purchased in Kharkov, Odessa, Zaporozhye, Dnepropetrovsk and Donetsk.

Representatives of GSM-Travel are located in Lugansk, Lviv and Kharkov. However, the list of cities does not mean that tourist SIM cards can not be purchased by residents of other regions. Each provider has its sales representatives, partners and dealers practically in all regions of Ukraine. In addition, the main retailer of such SIM-cards is travel agencies. The buyer's task is only to select the most suitable tariff plan correctly. But even this is not difficult. As shown by comparison of tariffs, prices are the same for all three service providers. In any case, if you go to the most popular resort countries among Ukrainians.

Strong> Summary

Despite the obvious advantages, SIM-cards remain a purely niche service, their real audience is very narrow. The reason is that the mobile communication needs during the holiday abroad for most ordinary subscribers are most often limited to SMS-message about successful settling in the hotel and two-three-minute calls. The tariff of 0.5-0.9 dollars per minute), which providers offer, will not convince the mass subscriber to speak much more. In addition, you have to immediately pay a certain amount for the start package, this will stop many. At the same time, tourists who are simply forced to stay in touch are uncomfortable for a simple reason - this category of subscribers is extremely important permanent number. Especially, for communication usually pays the corporation. It remains only the category of high-income tourists, but they are unlikely to take advantage of a profitable proposal, because it's much easier to enroll a decent amount on the account and carelessly call in roaming.

Nevertheless, there is interest in tourist SIM-cards, they are actively used by tourists who travel often and make many calls by mobile phone, as well as some representatives of all the above categories, but we can not talk about the mass nature of the phenomenon. Apparently, this is the reason why mobile operators do not see in the suppliers of tourist maps of serious competitors.