When traveling to foreign countries, vacationers or business travelers have a lot of additional worries and questions: complete all urgent matters, prepare things, luggage, purchase sunscreen, arrange insurance, collect all documents, find out which operator offers the most favorable rate in roaming.
The season is starting in the southern countries now. For example, in India, the first tourists have already arrived in the capital Delhi for further travel to Goa. Ski resorts, azure shores of island countries - all this attracts travelers. Therefore, the topic of choosing a tariff and a mobile operator can be more relevant than ever.
What is "Most profitable roaming"
The service of the same name was created by the mobile operator "Beeline" for its subscribers. The option is valid in almost all countries. The company itself notes 3 advantages that can attract and satisfy subscribers:
- does not require connection;
- simplicitycost calculations;
- pay as you go.
3 types of services are charged: incoming and outgoing calls, short messages and Internet traffic. At the same time, package volumes are allocated for voice communication and data exchange.
Prices for visiting CIS countries
For travelers to Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and other countries that are members of the Commonwe alth of Independent States, the operator offers the following tariff conditions:
- 20 minutes included in the package for 200 rubles per day. After the end of the allocated minutes, each call will be charged at 10 rubles until the end of the day.
- 40 MB for data exchange on the Internet, the cost is also 200 rubles. If the allocated volume is over, each 1 MB is paid for 5 rubles until the end of the day.
- The cost of outgoing SMS messages is 30 rubles.
Fares for traveling to Europe and certain countries
A similar cost applies to popular destinations such as Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, Greece, Italy and other European countries.
For example, how is "Most profitable roaming" used in Turkey? The cost of both incoming and outgoing calls will first be deducted from the total daily package of minutes for a subscription fee of 200 rubles. If no calls were made, funds are not debited from the personal account.
How much do calls, messages and internet cost in other countries
When visiting countries such as the Bahamas, Bolivia, Virgin Islands, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, Liberia, Tonga, Uganda, Chad, Ecuador and others, conditions will change:
- outgoing short messages will be sent with subsequent debiting of 30 rubles from the balance;
- incoming calls are charged at the rate of 25 rubles per minute;
- outgoing calls within the country, to Russia or other countries - 100 rubles with per-minute billing;
- paid per megabyte and Internet - 90 rubles/MB.
For China, Morocco, Tanzania, Tunisia, Nepal, Uruguay, an exception was made in the method of calculating for using access to the World Wide Web - as in other cases, a daily limit of 40 MB is allocated for 200 rubles. Write-off occurs at the first access to the network. For the rest (the cost of calls and SMS), the rates remain at 25, 100 and 30 rubles.
Where the service does not work
A number of countries classified as exotic.
These include Bahrain, Bermuda, Bhutan and several others.
Fares will be very high while in these states:
- incoming and outgoing calls can be made with subsequent debiting of 200 rubles per minute;
- sending short messages - 30 rubles;
- Internet traffic is paid at the rate of 15 rubles for every 20 kb.
A complete list of countries of a particular group can be found on the official website of "Beeline". In any case, it should be noted that the remainderminutes or amount of data is not transferred. The day of the option ends at midnight local time.
Activation and deactivation of the option
For greater comfort of its subscribers, the mobile operator has provided for the inclusion and deactivation of the service in automatic mode. There are no special steps for activation. When the traveler arrives at the airport of the host country, the fact of being in international roaming is determined at the first registration in the network and the service is activated.
What should not be forgotten: the subscription fee in the territories where the allocation of a daily limit is practiced is charged when making or receiving the first call within one day, and for the amount of traffic - when you first connect to the network.
Does the service work when traveling in Russia
No. The "Most profitable roaming" option is valid only in international roaming. If the subscriber travels across the territory of the Russian Federation, billing occurs on different terms. If you are interested in the most profitable roaming in Russia, we are in a hurry to please you: in 2018, at the insistence of the FAS, intranet roaming was canceled. Tariffication should be checked with operators.
Subscriber reviews
Despite the relatively attractive conditions, many owners of Beeline mobile numbers remain dissatisfied. Let's try to understand the nuances of the option.
If a person decides to go to a resort in Turkey, "Best Rate" will offer 20 minutes, which apply to both incoming andoutgoing calls. When using the allocated limit, the cost of one minute will cost 10 rubles. If the limit is exceeded, billing will also occur at 10 rubles. However, if only one call lasting less than a minute was made per day, the same 200 rubles will be debited from the balance.
The situation is similar with the amount of traffic provided per day. Given that the owners of gadgets prefer to set the settings for auto-sync data, or the smartphone regularly checks for app updates, the likelihood of receiving a bill for significant amounts upon returning home is very high.
Also, cellular users are not satisfied with the inability to disable the service.
The fourth reason for dissatisfaction is a small amount of traffic of 40 MB. Is it a lot or a little? If you plan to only look at the mail and communicate only through messages, this is enough. If you want to read the news, share photos and videos - this package is only enough for breakfast.
Expert Opinion
In April 2017, Content-Review, an information and analytical agency that monitors trends and events in the field of communications and telecommunications, conducted a comparative study of the tariffs of operators in the Russian Federation, the CIS and the European Union.
According to its results, the conditions of the "Most profitable roaming" tariff from "Beeline" were recognized as the most profitable.
Alternatives from other cellular companies
Determinea small comparative analysis of options from Megafon and MTS can help with the preferred operator and the amount of data or minutes.
| Option name | Outgoing calls | Incoming calls | SMS | Internet |
| "The most profitable roaming" from "Beeline" in the CIS and Europe | Package 20 min./200 rub. per day | 30 rub. | 40 MB/200 RUB per day | |
| Same option in Asian countries | 100 RUB/min | 25 RUB/min | 30 rub. | 90 RUB/MB |
| "Zabugorishche" from MTS | Daily 100 min. for incoming and outgoing to Russia for 320 rubles. per day | 19 rub. | 500 MB per day included in daily package | |
| "Zero without borders" from MTS (the most profitable roaming for calls) | Daily 60 minutes for 125 rubles. per day | - | - | |
| "Beat Abroad" from MTS | - | - | - | Daily 100 MB from 450 rubles. per day at maximum speed (price to be specified for a specific country) |
| "Maxi Bit Abroad" from MTS | Daily from 200 MB for 700 rubles. per day at maximum speed (cost and volume may vary depending on the host country) | |||
| "Roaming, Goodbye!" from MegaFon | For a daily subscription fee of 299 rubles, the subscriber gets the opportunity to receivecalls and make calls to Russia under the terms of the tariff in the home region, for Internet traffic the same terms apply with a limit of no more than 1 GB per day | |||
| "The whole world" from "MegaFon" | According to the roaming tariff of the host country | 40 min/99 RUB per day | According to the roaming tariff of the host country | |
| "Vacation online" from "MegaFon" | - | - | - | 15 RUB/MB in 26 countries within 30 days from the date of connection |
| "Mir Online" from "MegaFon" | - | - | - | 600 RUB for daily 1 GB at maximum speed |
How to save money on international roaming
For those who do not want to pay for the services of a domestic operator abroad at current rates, we can advise the following ways to optimize costs:
- Consider connecting a local SIM card. It is often much more profitable to purchase a mobile number of a cellular company in the host country than to pay for services at roaming rates. For example, in India, the subscription fee starts from 149 rupees (1 rupee=0.89 rubles) for unlimited calls within the territory of the Republic and a daily package of 1 GB at maximum speed. The maximum cost can be 600-800 rupees for a daily limit of about 3 GB of data.
- If a long-term trip is planned, check popular travel forums for connection experiencelocal operator numbers, what documents are required and in what quantity.
- When planning a trip for 10-14 days, you can use the Internet via Wi-Fi in public places, cafes or hotels. You can get information from the tour operator, hotel administration or on thematic sites.
- Turn off auto-sync settings on your smartphone or tablet, access to mobile data to avoid downloading data without your knowledge.
Use messengers that work when connected to the Global Network to make calls.
I want to be sure that now, going to overseas countries, you will be able to act as an expert and say which tariff is the most profitable in roaming. Or how to save a tidy sum.
