Roaming further than Europe

[Mathemagic]

It is great we can roam in Europe for no extra cost subject to fair use.

I would like the option for a similar option when visiting other countries too.

For example, in the summer I am going to Turkey for the first time. As an example, I will end up paying, say, £15 for a Lyca Mobile sim for a month to have 15Gb data rather than risk clocking up a big bill for not a lot of data with Smarty.

Wouldn't it be great if we could pay the £15 to Smarty and be able to use our allowance subject to the same limits as in the EU?

[Sy]

Couldn't agree more. I'm off to the States soon and will have to use a Three PAYG SIM with a £10 top us so I can have unlimited calls, texts and 12Gb of international data to use whilst there.

I'd much rather pay that money to SMARTY for the same offer and able to use my own number. 

[MSF]

@Mathemagic @Sy  I understand why you would like this feature.

The problem I see is that the other companies may be less willing to cut Smarty into the deal and they are hardly likely to do it for free.

It is important to remember that these networks all run as profit-making businesses and so are only likely to introduce features that are either without cost or preferably add to the bottom line.

[JJP2RidesAgain]

@Sy I have just returned from the States :

I set up a “Tello” eSIM (Tello is a T-Mobile MVNO) which Tello allow you to activate BEFORE you reach the States. (Tello doesn’t yet offer international roaming, but WiFi calling works well)

”US Mobile” also offer eSIM, but activation must be done in the States.

Also, Amazon ship both Tello and “US Mobile” SIM cards to UK addresses from their warehouse in Edison, New Jersey, which takes about two weeks. 

US Mobile give you a choice of two networks currently - Their “Warp” service runs on Verizon, their GSM service runs on T-Mobile, and will soon be renamed “Halo”, as on 1st June, they will launch their “DeathStar” MVNO network on ATT.

Interestingly, US Mobile are planning to unveil native roaming throughout the States, with phones switching automatically between each of their three networks depending on which offers the best signal wherever you are, so, in theory at least, you should always have good coverage. 

If you were to look at Tello, and decide to give it a go, let me know, I can give you my referral code and who would each get $10 Tello Dollars 

[Mathemagic]

I wondered if there was any news on this idea - being able to purchase an amount of data, calls and texts for countries outside of the EU? It would be great to just be able to buy the add-on from Smarty rather than pay for a different provider for a month.

[JJP2RidesAgain]

This has long been possible, you just buy add ons through the smarty app

[Mathemagic]

Add-ons are available, but for Turkey, £100 for 1Gb of data is prohibitive whereas AloTurka medium is £20 for 10Gb in Turkey.

[JJP2RidesAgain]

That’s why outside the EU, you do need to use a local SIM or travel eSIM. 

Not ideal, but I doubt Smarty’s plans and prices for roaming will change anytime soon. 

[MSF]

@Mathemagic I agree with @JJP2RidesAgain  - if your phone can accept it, you will probably find an Esim a good alternative, particularly for data (some do allow calls and texts).

[Mathemagic]

Sadly neither my phone or my partner's phone are eSim compatible. I think we will plan to get Lyca sim to take with us and get a tourist sim when there for the other phone.