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Roaming or International SIM Cards - What’s the Difference?

When you’re going on holiday or travelling for work, you’ve got three options on what to do with your phone. You can pick up an international SIM card, get one at your destination, or pick up a roaming plan. Which option is best? We’re investigating.

Roaming is for those situations when you go outside of the geographical range of your carrier network. This means that you’re a guest on a different network and subject to higher fees.

Roaming charges can quickly stack up and leave you with a big bill. It’s only really worth looking into roaming if you’re going on a short trip and don’t need to use a lot of data.

International SIM Cards

The second option you have available is an international SIM card. This is designed to be accessible on nearly any network in the world - it’s very flexible.

This type of network coverage does away with the problems of roaming costs or local SIM solutions. With that being said, they’re not meant for short trips. You’ll pick up something like this if you’re travelling for an extended period of time. If you’re going to multiple places and expect to be away for more than a month, then this is the best option for you.

The Local SIM Card

The final option that you’ve got available is a local SIM card. This is about as normal as it gets for travel - you can basically pick up a SIM in this fashion as soon as you land in your destination country - they often sell these types of SIM cards in the airport.

Now, this method does come with a few things to keep in mind. First of all, you’ll be subject to the data plan and charges of whatever network you pick up - this can be a pain to set up and often pricey. It’s up to you, but there is a better, fourth method we haven’t yet talked about.

The eSIM takes all of the assets from the other methods that are available to you and combines them into one. This is a great way to deal with going abroad because you can keep the same number, you get access to data whenever you want it, and you’re not being held over a barrel by local providers. you can activate the SIM whenever you want it, and it’s easy to do.

If you’re going to travel for work purposes then there has never been a better way to stay on top of your data than to consider an eSIM. They’re a reliable way to keep up with your work needs and not rack up a massive bill.

Here at Travel Roam, we’ve made getting a data plan easy to do and it takes practically no effort. All you need to do is sign up and pick the plan that works for you and you’re ready to go. It’s that simple.