What is roaming? What is roaming in simple words How to talk cheaper while roaming

On any business trip or travel outside your home country, you still want to keep in touch with family and friends. Of course, cellular communications make this process simple and fast, but operator prices for this type of communication remain sky-high. However, you can always find options that will suit both the price and the quality of the services provided.

What is roaming?

Roaming itself is a service provided by the operator, which ensures the transfer of traffic to mobile devices even if they work abroad, that is, not in the coverage area of the “home” operator. To put it simply, you do not need to change your SIM card when traveling abroad. Phone number retains the ability to make calls, send and receive SMS messages and transfer data via the mobile Internet. The service provider will not be your “native” operator, but a company that operates in the country where you are going. That is why various promotions, special rates and conditions for using the number do not work abroad.

Companies provide three types of roaming:

Roaming within the network. This service is provided within one country, but in different regions. In this case, only the network of one operator is used.
National roaming. In a large country, there may be regions where your operator does not provide services, but you can use another one.
Roaming international. This is the main type of roaming used for communication from abroad.

This service makes it possible to stay in touch with loved ones no matter where you are.

How does this service work?

In order for an operator to provide roaming services, it must enter into agreements with other operators that operate in those regions and countries where the operator itself is not represented. On this moment This service is provided by almost all communication service providers, since it is beneficial to both parties entering into the contract.

Depending on how the network operates, the service may perform slightly differently. However, in general, the roaming process can be divided into five stages.

Initial is an attempt to connect to the initial network of the SIM card.
Second, the device carefully checks whether it can connect to other networks. In the list of networks seen, those with the strongest signal at the moment will be displayed first.
Third, the device checks whether it can connect to the network you selected.
Fourth, the guest network is connected to the SIM card’s native network and the necessary technical information is obtained.
Fifth - if everything goes well, then the device starts working on the guest network.

The cost of such a service

A characteristic feature of Russian territory is the high cost of roaming. In European countries, a huge number of cooperation agreements between operators are concluded, which greatly reduces the price of this service. The EU Parliament has officially established a legal maximum threshold for the price per minute of a call. However, in countries there are ongoing discussions about the possible absolute abolition of payment for services outside the tariff. In Russia the situation is absolutely the opposite. It is also complicated by the fragmentation of the country and operators, which forces the user to additionally pay for communication services even with the neighboring region.

The service is quite expensive due to the fact that the operator is forced to pay for data transfer from its network to someone else’s. Additionally, the tariffs of the operator who receives the call are also paid. It turns out that the user pays not only for outgoing calls, but also for incoming ones.

An operator who offers its services for outgoing calls and sets their prices. Usually this price is exactly the same as the cost of international calls and communications. The home operator pays for incoming calls, which could reduce their cost, but corporations rarely work for the benefit of their users. Internet while roaming is very expensive, so it is highly recommended to turn it off and use Wi-Fi networks to transfer data.

Tariffs for the service from the “Big Three”

The “Big Three” traditionally refers to the three largest companies providing communication services - Beeline, Megafon and MTS. Let's make a short comparison of the cost of calls to Russia.

"MTS"

In the territory Russian Federation the cost of communication services may differ depending on which tariff the user is connected to and in which city he is located. On average, in Russia, users pay about 8.9 rubles for incoming and outgoing calls. Sending one SMS message costs about 3.95 rubles on average. All incoming calls are usually free. Abroad, the tariffs are completely different:

USA – 200 rubles per minute for incoming and outgoing calls and 19 rubles for sending a message.
Belarus – 85 rubles per minute of an incoming or outgoing call and 19 rubles for sending a message.
China - 115 rubles per minute of conversation (both incoming and outgoing) and 19 rubles for sending one message.

"Beeline"

In Russia, the cost of one minute of incoming and outgoing calls ranges from 2.5 rubles to 9.95 rubles. The price for sending an SMS message is the same as with the previous operator - 3.95 rubles.

Abroad, Beeline offers other tariffs:

USA – 69 rubles per minute of incoming call and 129 rubles per minute of outgoing call. An SMS message will cost 19 rubles.
Belarus – 49 rubles for incoming and 129 for outgoing call(per minute) and 19 rubles for sending a message.
China – 69 rubles per minute incoming call and 129 rubles per minute outgoing. SMS costs 19 rubles.

"Megaphone"

Within the country, the operator offers calls at 9 rubles per minute and 3.9 rubles per SMS message.

Roaming tariffs:

USA – 79 rubles for incoming and outgoing calls, 19 rubles for sending a message.
Belarus – 49 rubles per minute of conversation (both incoming and outgoing) and 19 rubles per text message.
China – 79 rubles per minute for incoming and outgoing calls, 19 rubles per message.

Naturally beautiful rooms Each operator is more expensive and with such service.

Alternative options

If the cost or quality of services provided by the Big Three does not suit you, you can always use alternative options communications.

First option. IP telephony – that is, calls over the Internet. This is a fairly common and affordable service that allows you to speak for free with a person located in any country. The connection occurs via Wi-Fi networks, but the quality of the call may be affected by the quality of the Internet connection.

Second option. Paid applications, which make it possible to bypass roaming. Typically, such applications have fairly low communication rates, so purchasing an application can quickly pay for itself if you travel frequently at your own expense and pay for communication costs yourself.

Third option. Tourist SIM card. Such a SIM card is quite expensive, but it allows for cheap and high-quality communication with loved ones from abroad. This option is ideal for those who travel a lot.

Services from “YourSvyaz”

YourSvyaz subscribers are completely spared from comparing options. For our subscribers, the transition to communication in another country is absolutely automatic. You don't need to purchase a SIM card or install applications. The subscription fee automatically includes payment for one hundred minutes of international roaming. You can also buy beautiful room or buy a number mobile phone , which is right for your company. We care about our customers, so the system works on the principle of dropping an outgoing call and makes a call to the calling subscriber, after which it connects users. In the tariff plan you can familiarize yourself with the tariffs, which are presented in the form of a convenient table.

Many OS Smartphones automatically update data, which can lead to the use of the Internet while roaming. This is a fairly expensive service, so by default we suspend the provision of Internet services for users who are abroad. In order to maintain the ability to use the service, it is better to have a second SIM card with Internet access on hand. The most convenient way is to choose a phone with two SIM card slots in our online store. We also recommend purchasing a local operator card at the airport. However, be careful and do not be fooled by offers of tariffs with inexpensive Internet abroad. At the moment there is simply no such service on the market. If you travel, be sure to think about it in advance. where to buy a phone number.

Articles and Lifehacks

Even while on a trip abroad, modern man must stay in touch constantly. Is cheap roaming possible? Let's try to figure out which operator's services to choose in which cases.

Why do you need roaming? While abroad, a person, as before, wants to stay up to date with the latest news, call up loved ones, share travel impressions, etc.

However, it is not at all profitable for him to talk at regular rates, since in this case too much money will be spent on negotiations.

How to be in this case? Let's talk briefly about available roaming and options for using it.

If you want to use European roaming, the subscriber must first contact the office of his mobile operator so that a consultant can help him connect and set up this service.
This is necessary if the communication service provider does not offer to turn on roaming automatically, that is, immediately after crossing the border.
The mobile operator acts as a kind of supplier between foreign companies and the subscriber himself.
Of course, fees for such services are sometimes unreasonably high.
For example, an outgoing call from a European country to the Russian Federation using Beeline roaming will cost about 69 rubles per minute. The cost of incoming calls is similar.
MTS also does not please its customers with low tariffs. For example, when making calls from the territory of the neighboring Finnish state, the subscriber will pay 59 rubles.
In the case of Beeline and MTS, simpler does not mean cheaper. In this case, you can pay attention to Tele2 and MegaFon, whose tariffs for calls from European countries are more favorable (9 and 16 rubles, respectively).
In order to save money, a subscriber can try to connect some additional options - for example, the “Zero Without Borders” service from the MTS operator. It will allow you to receive incoming calls for free - however, for a certain fee.

Tourist and local SIM cards

However, there are others, no less available methods save. For example, a subscriber can buy an international travel SIM card, with which he can make calls from almost any country in the world.
There are also tourist monocards designed only for calls from certain countries.
The advantages of all travel SIM cards include multiple uses, favorable rates, ease of replenishing your balance (while the money remains in the account) and no fees for incoming calls.
Of course, such SIM cards also have disadvantages. Among them: absolutely new number and the presence of a charge for forwarding (about 7 rubles every minute). Of course, if the call time is short, this is not very beneficial.
You can purchase a tourist SIM card in Russia, for example, from Simtravel or Goodline. They often hold various promotions.
Another way is to purchase a local SIM card. It is more profitable and simpler than the previous one.
Its disadvantages include the fact that in the absence of sufficient language knowledge and skills, connecting to any tariff plan and additional services will not be easy.
This method is suitable, for example, for those who like to travel with a group and often call up with friends, or, if necessary, make frequent calls within the territory of a foreign country.
Another option is to call on Skype. To make it more economical, it is recommended to connect the application on a laptop or mobile device.
In this case, you can subscribe within a specific country, or activate payment for outgoing calls upon delivery.
The disadvantages of connecting using Skype include the need for the Internet. Of course, thanks to the widespread availability of free Wi-Fi in most foreign countries, this won't be too much of a problem today.

Our century is the century of mobile communications and total communication between people, countries, continents. Traveling is becoming more commonplace, but so is cellular communication in every region of the world. Roaming is something that any owner of a mobile phone will face and active user cellular communication. Let's understand it in a simple way, without complex terms and diagrams.

Roaming from mobile operators

Telephone mobile networks can be roughly divided into “home” and “guest” networks. The SIM card that you purchased in your region connects to your home network, but when you travel outside the region, it starts working on the “guest” network. What should I do? Is this fraught with overpayment? In no case if the “home” network has entered into an agreement with the “guest” network. All client information is transferred between networks and the client can make calls based on your tariff plan in any region of the Russian Federation.

Essentially, roaming is an ability or service that allows any user to keep his number in any region of his country or world where a cellular operator operates.

There are three types of roaming: intranet, international and data roaming. Let's get acquainted with each of them.

Roaming within the network

From the name itself it is clear that this type roaming is valid only within the country, in our case – within the Russian Federation. This allows the client to use mobile communications in accordance with the tariffs and prices of their operator in all regions from Kaliningrad to Sakhalin.

The service can be activated in the following ways:

Connects to automatic mode at the moment of crossing the border of your region;
When contacting a mobile phone store directly;
Via USSD – request by sending a short SMS;
Through the SIM card menu or by calling the telecom operator's office.

According to the Law “On Communications” within the Russian Federation, the roaming service within the network is paid and is paid for by withdrawing funds from the phone balance. Each crossing of the region is recorded and a score is generated subscription fee. It is worth noting that all the main mobile operators provide clients with bonuses, discounts and various profitable offer on the use of roaming.

International roaming

Similar to intranet roaming, there is an agreement, but in this case between a domestic operator and a foreign operator or provider. This agreement satisfies the client’s desire to communicate via mobile phone outside the Russian Federation as well as within it. More than 500 operators around the world have mutual agreements and obligations, and our compatriots can use roaming in 210 countries.

When using this roaming, you need to remember some characteristic points:

Communicators and cellular communication centers use a variety of frequency bands, which may not be supported by some phone models (relevant for North Korea and China);
Funds for international roaming are not written off immediately; a delay of up to 1 month is possible.

data roaming

Phone data is a “quick information” cache and all data from browsing web pages from a phone (smartphone, communicator, etc.). To put it simply, this is the most typical mobile Internet. And data roaming is a remedy for the shock of huge bills that will follow if you do not enable the “data roaming” service abroad.

The service is activated independently. You need to go to the settings of your smartphone and find the tab there - “ Mobile Internet", there we look for information about roaming and set the checkboxes to the required position (for Android). However, application help will help you understand this much more effectively.

How it works?

Roaming only works if operators enter into mutual agreements with each other. This leads to a general globalization of communications around the world, mitigating communication and communication barriers.

Roaming work can be divided to the next successive stages:

The phone, through the operator, tries to connect to its native “home” network;
If the phone cannot “connect”, then it starts automatic search networks with the best signal;
If a network is found, a connection is made to it;
The new network is connected to the “home” one, and information and connection protocol are transferred;
All conditions are met and the phone is transferred to the “guest” network of its operator.

It is best to configure your smartphone to auto-search yourself available networks, This will allow you to always be in touch. And the cost issue is so minimal that it is not worth the attention. Roaming - convenience and reliability of communication in any corner of your country and the world.

Questions and answers

What you need to know before your trip

How to activate roaming when traveling around Russia and the world?

For trips around Russia intranet roaming connects automatically, you just need to go to another city in Russia.

To travel around the world, you must activate the services “international and national roaming” and “international access”

With these services you will be able to:
- receive any incoming calls and make any outgoing calls;
- send and receive SMS;
- transmit and receive data via the Internet (Mobile Internet service is required).
You can connect both services in MTS showrooms or through the Virtual Manager.

How are communication services charged when traveling around the world?

How are calls charged?

Tariffing in roaming is carried out per minute, rounded up to whole minutes, starting from the first second. For example, if your call lasted 1 minute 10 seconds, it will automatically be rounded up to 2 minutes. There are no connection fees charged.

In most countries, roaming services are charged online. In some countries, charging may occur with a delay, since information from foreign operators arrives with a delay.

How is the Internet charged?

Internet in roaming via APN wap.mts.ru, internet.mts.ru is charged online in all countries for most subscribers, for a number of tariff plans - in a mode close to real time. Internet via APN mms.mts.ru, im.mts.ru is charged in a mode close to real time for all subscribers. Internet via other APNs is charged with a delay depending on the receipt of information from the roaming partner, which can lead to negative balance or exceeding the established limit.

Check out the tariffs for communication services.

What are special types of roaming?

You can freely communicate by mobile phone while traveling by ferry, plane or ocean liner, thanks to MTS roaming agreements with operators that provide GSM communications on ships and aircraft.

Questions that may arise during your trip

How to call from Russia to other countries

How to activate the international communication service?

In order to call from Russia to other countries, you need to have the “International Access” service. The service is free.

You can activate the service through the Virtual Manager or in MTS showrooms.

How are calls to other countries charged?

Calls to other countries are charged per minute, rounded up to whole minutes. Calls lasting less than 3 seconds are not charged.

Check out the tariffs for international communication services.

How to choose an operator or network

How to choose an operator when traveling around the world?

When you arrive in another country, your phone will register with an available operator's network automatically.

In addition to automatic registration, you can select the desired operator in roaming yourself; to do this, follow these steps:
- in the “Settings” section of your mobile phone, go to the “Select network (operator)” menu;
- From the list of available networks displayed on the phone, find the name of the operator you want to select and click “OK”. For example, in Ukraine, when manually selecting a UMC operator (MTS Ukraine), the phone may display the following names: MTS UKR, UMC UA, UKR 01.
If registration is successful, the name or code of the guest network in which the phone is registered will appear on the display of your mobile phone. If you encounter difficulties with either manual or automatic registration, we recommend that you turn your phone on and off. You can find additional information about manually selecting a network in the instructions for your mobile phone.

How to disable international roaming in the border regions of Russia?

If the automatic network selection mode is set in the settings of your telephone and you have a roaming service activated, in the border regions of Russia it is possible to register in the networks of MTS roaming partners. In this case, the name of the foreign operator is displayed on the phone screen, and calls made will be calculated at roaming rates. Due to the peculiarities of the propagation of radio waves and the terrain, when traveling in the border areas of Russia, it is recommended to set the phone settings to manual mode select the MTS network. Information about the settings is located in the instructions for your phone; the user of the phone is responsible for its settings.

Can you imagine your life without a mobile phone today? These gadgets have literally become necessary attributes of our existence. Therefore, mobile communications abroad are as necessary as at home.

In addition to the fact that phones give us the opportunity to communicate with friends via the Internet, we do not refuse the opportunity to call them from other countries. How can this be done most profitably and economically?

Currently, and as it has been since the advent of mobile communications, if you cross the border, your operator automatically transfers you to roaming. In fact, this is one of the most convenient ways short stay abroad.

Do not miss:

The advantages are obvious:

no need to buy a new SIM card;
no need to download additional programs.

It is especially important to note that roaming rates are quite reasonable, given short conversations without unnecessary chatter. The main advantage of this choice of mobile communications abroad is eliminating the problem of finding a profitable option for calls. You simply don’t waste time on this, enjoy a good rest and occasionally call home to say that everything is fine with you.

Additional operator services

In addition to the fact that you find yourself in roaming, you often receive a message from the operator listing additional features. They allow you to save a sufficient amount of money while roaming. For example, these could be proposals like this:

free incoming calls;
discounts for a tariff plan in a certain country;
special offer for frequent Internet users;
packages of sms or mms messages.

Each operator has a different list of services provided in roaming, but still, it must be said that this type of mobile communication abroad is always the most expensive. Therefore, if you want to communicate within a new country, you will have to look for another option.

Local SIM cards

If you get a SIM card for the country you are in, this will give you a number of advantages:

use of favorable tariffs within the country;
often unlimited Internet;
ease of use during long journeys.

However, there are also a number of disadvantages:

you can't save yours old number telephone;
a sufficient amount of time will be spent searching for a new operator;
if you don't own foreign language, using the tariff plan will be problematic.

If all the above circumstances are not a problem for you, feel free to buy a local SIM card. The only thing, remember that you will have to look for another way to call home.

Travel SIMs

Perhaps one of the most popular methods of communication among avid travelers is calls using travel SIM cards. They give you the following benefits:

Possibility to save the number.
Most cheap calls from all of the above options.
Different operators provide different options, which gives you the right to choose the best option for you.

It is important to note that not all operators provide tourist SIM cards. For some, they even work only at strict certain rates. Therefore, be careful when applying for such a card and carefully study all the terms of the tariff plan.

SIM cards are the most popular among tourists. They are designed specifically for travelers and offer the best rates for keeping in touch with friends and family.

In general, today SIP telephony is considered the most progressive and economical method of mobile communication abroad. It works using voice signals over the Internet. And in order to use it, you just need to download a special application and register in the provider’s network.

Skype, Viber and other applications

Today, you will hardly surprise anyone with the presence of these applications on your phone. But for some reason, when a person goes abroad, he instantly forgets about them and begins to panic. Stop worrying! Getting internet abroad is as easy as shelling pears. For this there are at least two simple ways:

Wi-Fi network any establishments, taxis and sites.
Local provider for home use.

The first method will be the most profitable, convenient, and most importantly – free for you. You will have to pay for the second one, but, nevertheless, the amount is not very different from the standard prices, and depending on the required number of megabytes per day, you can choose the tariff that suits you.

The Skype and Viber applications allow you to call family and friends simply via the Internet. Therefore, if they also have these programs installed, calls from abroad will not become a problem. The connection quality is excellent, and a nice bonus is added to everything. You probably already guessed that this is a video call from Skype.

Take advantage of all the achievements of the 21st century; when choosing mobile communications abroad, give priority modern technologies and you will always have profitable connection between countries. Then your vacation will go without any hassle, and you will enjoy it 100%!