Checking you have coverage with mobile broadband services abroad
Many people that travel abroad are used to having free or cheap WiFi access at their chosen holiday resort or in the city that they are staying in. Most major holiday destinations these days offer WiFi access for free or at a cheap cost in the public areas of hotels and even in the rooms. There are also many public places where WiFi is available, such as in bars, eateries, and shops.
Travelers who visit popular destinations are therefore not usually overly concerned if they have 3G mobile broadband and find that they cannot get coverage, as they have WiFi to fall back on. However, for those that are travelling to areas where there is no public internet access the subject of coverage is an enormously important one.
What you should do to ensure coverage
If you are travelling to a more remote part of any country, whether it's staying in a log cabin, camping, hiking, or any other sort of holiday, you need to ensure that you can get mobile coverage so that you can use your mobile broadband service. If you cannot get coverage from your provider then your mobile broadband service will be rendered useless, and you will find yourself stranded without any means of communication other than what is already available in the area.
Therefore before travelling you should:
- Contact your service provider to ask whether they have coverage in the country that you are going to
- Check whether the provider has good coverage in the particular part of the country you are visiting
- Try and plan out your routes if you are doing something such as hiking across different parts of a country or to different countries to ensure that you will have coverage most or all of the way
- Find out what the cost of usage will be in the country or countries that you are visiting so that you are prepared for charges and know how much you should use your mobile broadband service
Looking to take out mobile broadband before you travel?
It may be that you do not already have any mobile broadband plan in place and want to take one out specifically for your travel. If this is the case then you have the freedom and ability to look for a provider that specifically meets your needs and requirements when it comes to your trip. You should:
- Compare different providers to find out which one offers the best coverage in the area or areas you are travelling to
- Check the different prices when it comes to roaming charges to ensure that you get the best value for money on your mobile broadband abroad
- See whether the provider have any packages or plans that could work out cheaper for you when using mobile broadband abroad, such as data bundles for the country that you are visiting