The summer travel season in Europe has started and hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians go abroad. Many of them hardly think that it is possible that their pocket will be lighter from the very high bills that they may be charged if they use their smartphones abroad.
According to the rules of the European Union, you should not pay additional fees to use your mobile phone in other EU countries if you are a subscriber of a telecommunications company registered in Bulgaria. But this service can be very expensive if you use a Bulgarian mobile phone card in a country that is not part of the EU.
What's more, you may have to pay expensive roaming charges even if you are in a European Union country if your smartphone automatically connects to a telecommunications operator from a country outside the European Union. This can for example happen if you are close to the border with a similar country.
What is roaming?
Roaming is a service that allows you to use your mobile phone when traveling outside the country in which you live or reside.
Your calls, texts and mobile internet usage if you are located in another EU country will be charged according to the prices you normally pay at home. This is considered "fair use of roaming services", according to the official website of the European Union.
When you cross the border between two EU countries, you will receive a text message from your mobile operator. Through it, they will be notified that you have started using roaming. You will also be reminded of the charging rules that apply in accordance with the EU's "fair use of roaming services" policy.
The German Association of Motorists (ADAC) states that these rules do not apply on board ships. Anyone on a ferry or cruise ship using their smartphone via its mobile network will have to pay more, even if they are in the European Union. In this situation, you may have to pay up to 10 euros per minute of talk on your mobile phone.
My roaming is expensive
When you are in a country that is outside the European Union, you may "suffer" financially, even if you have purchased a roaming package from your mobile operator. With these packages, the more expensive roaming service is offered at a lower fixed price.
However, the roaming package can be exhausted without being warned in time by your operator and then you will be charged much higher prices. In this situation, if you use mobile internet through your smartphone, the price of one megabyte of information you have used can reach up to 12 euros. This means that even looking at just one photo can cost you at least 50 euros, according to experts quoted by DPA.
Bulgarians who traveled to Switzerland complain that, despite the purchase of a roaming package, their Bulgarian mobile operator charged them an additional bill of nearly 500 BGN.
The explanation of the company's employees in Bulgaria was that the roaming package of these customers had expired and they were informed about it, but they were automatically "hooked". for a Swiss mobile operator until they stop the "mobile data roaming" on your smartphone. Switzerland is not a member of the European Union.
Danger of higher bills at borders with some countries
If you are abroad, your smartphone generally automatically connects to the mobile network with the strongest data signal. It may be that this network is from an operator based in a non-EC country whose services are much more expensive for you.
Customers of mobile operators who live in border areas of the European Union or visit them may find themselves in a similar situation.
For example, you might be visiting France but find yourself near the Swiss border and your phone connects to a local mobile service provider.
Then, according to data from the German online price comparison portal "Verivox" (verivox.de), a minute of talk on your mobile phone can cost you up to €1.49 more than what you pay to your EU-based mobile operator.
Another such example is Turkey. If you're near the border with our southern neighbor, you can "hook up" for a Turkish telecommunications operator. Then a minute of talk can cost you up to 2.29 euros more.
The same applies to the regions bordering Serbia and North Macedonia, which are also not part of the European Union.
As stated above, "surfing" on the Internet on the network of a mobile operator based outside the EU can be very expensive.
How to avoid shocking bills
Against this background, the question arises - what can we do to avoid unexpectedly high bills for unwanted roaming?
The German online portal "Verivox" states that if you are in a European Union country but located in an area that borders a non-EU country, you can turn off automatic mobile network selection and switch to manual mode. Then your smartphone will not automatically connect to the mobile network that has the strongest signal and is probably the most expensive, DPA points out.
When you are in the hotel or in the apartment in which you are staying abroad, use the local wireless network of the type WI-FI, the use of which is most likely included in the price of your stay.
Turn off mobile data roaming when in public places like train stations and airports where you have free Wi-Fi access. However, this also carries certain risks, as such public networks can be used by computer criminals (hackers) to access your smartphone and the data you store on it, experts point out. They advise buying roaming packages offered by your mobile operator for countries outside the European Union, but carefully monitoring the amount of data you've used from them. When you receive a message, for example, that you have 10 megabytes of mobile internet left in your prepaid package, you should turn off your smartphone's access to mobile data while roaming. You can then purchase a new package. If you don't, your prepaid mobile data can quickly run out and you'll be hit with a hefty roaming bill in minutes to access your local telco's network.
Following these tips can save you a lot of money and stressful situations, advise experienced travelers.