Gone are the days where we have to pay hefty charges to bring our mobile line overseas to use data roaming, or get charged thousands of Ringgit just because we forgot to turn it off. Roaming charges have been slowly but surely coming down over the past year and are pretty affordable right now.
Take U Mobile for example. For several of its postpaid plans, you can bring your mobile line overseas, and use your local data for free. This is perfect for travellers because you won’t have to pay for expensive data roaming charges, or go through the hassle of buying a local prepaid pack in a country whose main language is one you don’t speak.
Of course, these promotional prices are limited to certain destinations on certain telcos, and are available only on selected postpaid plans. Here’s a closer look at what U Mobile has to offer for data roaming, so do read on to check out how you can enjoy these affordable prices.
We’ve also attached a handy guide on how to make sure you don’t get charged unnecessarily when roaming.
U Mobile Data BackpackTM
If you are on U Mobile Hero Postpaid P70 or P98, iPlans i90 or i130, or Ultimate Device Plans UD95 or UD135, or even a member line of these plans, here’s an extremely good piece of news for you – you can roam to 12 countries and use your existing data for free. That’s right, that 15GB of data on your promotional P70 plan (or 30GB of your P98 plan!) is applicable for international usage as well. The 12 participating countries are:
Just make sure you manually select one of the preferred network operator in the respective country you are visiting. Otherwise, you will not be able to connect to the internet.
U Data Roam 10
For those who are on the more affordable U Mobile postpaid or prepaid plans, you can subscribe to U Data Roam 10 to get unlimited data roaming to the same 12 countries for only RM10 a day. Again, do ensure you are connected to the preferred network operator in those countries.
You can get unlimited data roaming for RM10 a day, but internet usage will be subjected to Fair Usage Policy from U Mobile.
U Data Roam 36
Not travelling to one of those 12 countries that are eligible for Data BackpackTM / U Data Roam 10? Don’t worry, for a handful of selected countries, the maximum charges for data roaming is RM36 a day with U Data Roam 36. The countries include China, Japan, Macau, New Zealand, Qatar, United Kingdom and more.
Do note that the maximum charge data roaming to these countries is RM36. If you use below the maximum amount, your internet usage will be pro-rated at RM9 per MB.
How to Roam with U Mobile?
Before you start planning your holiday, do ensure you activate international roaming on your U Mobile number. The service is not available by default for postpaid users, so try to visit a U Mobile store or better yet, contact the telco to check beforehand or you might land at your destination with zero reception.
To activate roaming for new postpaid subscribers with a tenure of less than 6 months with the telco, you must activate auto debit for bill payments, then call them with your U Mobile number at 1318. Port-in customers can also walk-in with your past 2 months bill (1 month with internal roaming usage). U Mobile subscribers with over 6 months tenure and above can directly call 1318.
If you do not meet the criteria, you will need to pay a RM300 deposit. For prepaid customers, roaming services are pre-activated, but do ensure you have sufficient credit before you travel. Locate a store near you on U Mobile’s website.
How to Connect to the Preferred Network Operator
A common mistake made by travellers who are roaming is that they forget to manually select a network operator. Roaming services from most telcos require you to connect to a preferred roaming partner in order to enjoy the promotional rate. First things first: before you activate data roaming on your mobile phone when you land, do this first:
Roaming with U Mobile Data BackpackTM or U Data Roam 10/36 requires no manual subscription. Just ensure that you have activated international roaming, and that you are connected to the preferred roaming network – and you’re good to go. You will receive an SMS when you land at our destination country with a welcome message stating the preferred roaming operator’s name.
For U Data Roam 10/36, the time zone for your internet usage will be based on the local country you are roaming in from 12:00am to 11:59:59pm daily. If you travel to two countries in the same day, i.e. if you go to Singapore and Thailand, you will be charged for both countries, i.e. RM10 + RM10.
For Data BackpackTM , you can utilise your local data when roaming. If you are out of data, you can purchase an Internet Booster at the same rate of RM10 for 1.5GB that is valid for 3 days. You can purchase via the MyUMobile app, via UMB at *118*2*2#, or SMS “ON BT” to 28118. Standard SMS charges will apply when you send the SMS to 28118.
How does U Mobile’s Roaming Plan Compare Against Other Telcos?
Other telcos also have their own data roaming promotion, but for the destinations listed on U Mobile Data BackpackTM and U Data Roam 10/36, it looks like U Mobile’s plans are the most affordable at RM36/day for unlimited usage in most countries.
On the other hand, MaxisONE World for RM38/day lets MaxisONE plan subscribers utilise their local data while roaming. The price is also inclusive of 500MB additional data a day, as well as unlimited calls & SMS.
Celcom’s Wonderoam has several options. Customers can opt for Wonderoam 1 Day social pass at RM10 a day that gives 1GB of access to Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp alongside 50MB quota of high speed internet. There is also a weekly pass at RM138 with 3GB of high speed internet, and unlimited calls & SMS.
Digi’s roaming price for selected countries starts from as low as RM10. Get unlimited access on WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and other social media networks for only RM10 for 24 hours. It also comes with additional 50MB quota. Regular data roaming plan starts from RM36 a day.
Do note that this is only available for data roaming. Voice calls and SMS made while roaming will be subjected to pay-per-use charges depending on the country you are in.
For countries not listed in the tables above, check out U Mobile for the full list of roaming rates and partners. These U Mobile Data BackpackTM and U Data Roam prices are valid until 31 December 2016. Visit U Mobile now to find out more about U Mobile Data BackpackTM and U Data Roam 10/36.
Disclosure: This article was sponsored by U Mobile.
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