In the European Union it is possible to use your own tariff and your subscription every time we go to a country that is part of the Union, so as to save a lot of money for receiving and making calls but also for surfing the Internet (usually with a quantity GB less than that offered in Italy). But for foreign countries we do not mean only Europe: for all the other continents of the world (but also for European countries outside the Union such as Switzerland) the prices for calling from abroad, receiving calls and surfing the Internet depend on the agreements in roaming achieved with local operators. In this guide we will see together the cheapest rates when we have to travel to a non-EU country, so as not to be plucked during the holiday or a business trip.
READ ALSO -> Roaming is free in Europe for calls, SMS and internet, at no additional cost .
1) How non-EU foreign roaming works
The situation outside the European Zone, at the moment, is not uniform and the main mobile operators in Italy ( Vodafone, Tre, Wind and TIM ) have the freedom to apply the tariffs they want with different prices. Without any specific tariff for abroad, the costs for mobile telephony are decidedly high : we can even reach 2-3 € per minute, we also pay to receive calls (if someone calls us when we are abroad and we answer, we will pay the roaming anyway) and we can even get to € 11 per MB (in fact, just turn on the data connection to be bled!).
This is why if we have to travel outside the European Union, it is better to equip ourselves immediately by choosing the cheapest rates for abroad : by subscribing to these rates, we will pay much less when we arrive at our destination. Although foreign tariffs are often not very convenient from the point of view of the quality / price ratio (they often offer a few minutes and a few gigabytes), they are decidedly cheaper than the basic tariff applied by operators.
2) Best offers for abroad
If we use Tim as a telephone operator, we have two offers that we can take advantage of:
- TIM in Viaggio Pass : rate dedicated to those traveling throughout Europe (including countries outside the Union) and in the United States with 500 minutes (250 incoming and 250 outgoing), 500 SMS and 60 GB of 4G Internet at the cost of € 20 every 30 days .
- TIM in Viaggio Mondo Pass : rate dedicated to those traveling in over 70 countries outside the EU (complete list here) with 100 minutes (50 incoming and 50 outgoing), 100 SMS and 2 GB of 4G Internet at a cost of € 30 each 10 days .
If we use Vodafone we can use the official page to find out the roaming costs applied and choose between two rates:
- Smart Passport + : rate dedicated to those traveling in Europe, Switzerland, Turkey, Albania, Monaco, USA and Canada with 60 minutes (30 incoming and 30 outgoing), 60 SMS and 200 MB of Internet at the cost of 3 € per day rechargeable. The same rate, with subscription, offers 500 MB of internet included. With Vodafone you can also choose the Internet Passport + rate at a cost of € 6 per day for 1 GB of traffic.
- Smart Passport + Mondo : rate dedicated to those traveling in over 70 countries outside the EU with 30 minutes (15 incoming and 15 outgoing), 30 SMS and 500 MB of Internet at a cost of € 6 per day or 1 GB of internet at 6 Euros. You can also activate, with Vodafone, the Travel Mondo tariff at 25 Euros for traffic of 10 GB, calls and SMS included, for 10 days.
If we use Wind as an operator we can take advantage of the following offers for abroad:
- Travel Weekly : rate dedicated to those traveling to Alaska (USA), Bangladesh, Hawaii (USA), US Virgin Islands, Israel, Monaco, New Zealand, Russia, Switzerland, USA (excluding the Caribbean) with 200 minutes, 200 SMS and 600 MB at a cost of € 10 per week .
- Travel Daily : rate dedicated to those traveling to over 40 non-EU countries with 30 minutes, 30 SMS and 100 MB at a cost of € 6 per day .
- GIGA Travel Weekly : if we only use the Internet abroad, we can subscribe to this option to browse up to 1 GB in over 30 countries at a cost of € 10 per week .
If we use 3 as a telephone operator, the offers dedicated to those traveling abroad are the following:
- World Pass : rate dedicated to those traveling to over 50 destinations outside the EU with 500 minutes and 500 MB of data at a cost of € 5 per week, with a connection charge of 30 euro cents (both for calls and connections to Internet).
- Internet Pass : rate dedicated to those who often surf the Internet and want to connect in 4G abroad; it includes over 50 countries and the cost is € 5 per 100 MB .
If we do not use traditional operators but virtual ones, here are the best offers for abroad currently active:
- Iliad : Iliad offers seem to be valid also abroad in the EU and Extra EU countries indicated (over 30), so we can bring the offer with unlimited minutes and SMS and a limitation of 4 GB even when we are abroad.
- Fastweb : in the European Union and in Switzerland we can use the minutes of our offer and 1 GB of Internet, while roaming is paid for other destinations.
- PosteMobile : in the European Union we use the same offer already active in Italy, while towards non-EU countries a roaming fee is paid.
3) Conclusions
In conclusion, if in Europe (not all countries but most) you can rest assured with the rates that we have already activated, if you are traveling in a non-EU country there are very few valid options. The best currently for quality / price ratio is certainly that of Vodafone (Smart Passport + with unlimited minutes and messages) but only if we have a subscription. Among the offers dedicated to rechargeable users, the best is TIM in Viaggio Pass, which at a cost of € 20 per month offers a good amount of minutes, SMS and above all GB to speak in the most popular countries for travel abroad. If, on the other hand, we really want to save, the only economic one is that of the 3, which with 5 € per week offers the same advantages as TIM but with connection fee and without SMS. So it is worth buying a local SIM card in order to save money (especially if we have to stay more than 15 days). As seen in the past, however, there is a way to reduce mobile phone costs abroad, using VoIP services, with very low rates for both calls and SMS.
To take advantage of VoIP apps, such as Skype, Indoona and Viber, just connect to a WiFi network and use the apps to call and video call. The difference compared to Italy is that abroad it is easy to find a WiFi hotspot in hotels, shopping malls, some airports, McDonalds, Starbucks and other fast food chains and restaurants, so we can always call for free without spending nothing.
READ ALSO: Save with your mobile phone abroad outside Italy and on vacation
