What is Data Roaming service on a phone?

Have you ever thought about how you can use your phone to connect to the internet when going on a camping trip outside your resident country, or in other words, the country where you bought your SIM card? Or have you ever received a pop-up message informing you that activating data roaming may incur additional charges for activating “phone data” (4G/5G)? Well, what is this service exactly and why is it present on the phone if it is so costly to activate it to this extent? In the following article, we will try to define this option more with its cost and how to avoid activating it, in addition to its benefit in our lives.

In one way or another, all smartphone users subscribe to a telecommunications company to obtain a SIM card in order to access basic features such as making phone calls, sending text messages, and most importantly, using phone data to access the internet via 4G or 5G when there is no Wi-Fi connection available. However, as you may know, the coverage of the telecommunications company has its limits, and as long as your phone is within the coverage range of the company’s communication towers, you can still enjoy internet service and calls without any problem.

But what if you go to a place not covered by the telecommunications company you are contracted with? For example, if you are forced to travel to Saudi Arabia or a European country from your location in Egypt, does that mean you need to buy a new SIM card to make calls and use the internet in the country you traveled to? No, this is where the data roaming service comes in, allowing you to “roam” from one country to another using the same SIM card, so you can still make calls, send text messages, and use data when you lack coverage from the telecommunications network.

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When activated, the service switches between different service providers in each country without the need to subscribe to new providers, as a result of agreements made between the telecommunications company you are contracted with and other companies. However, note that there are two types of data roaming, which differ in cost, as follows:

Most people often think that data roaming service is only needed when traveling abroad, but this belief is incorrect. Every step you take with your phone, the device searches for the best coverage towers that are closest and have the strongest signal. If signal cannot be obtained, it starts searching within the areas near you, and if it remains the same, meaning it does not find a communication tower belonging to the service provider, it automatically connects to towers of other service providers scattered in that area.

In other words, a telecommunications company alone cannot provide coverage for the entire country with the same quality, so the phone searches for the strongest signals, even if they are from other service providers who are present with you in the same country, when data roaming service is activated. Your phone then transfers the connection from the provider you are subscribed to, to another provider with a strong signal in that area so you can continue using the internet and making calls. The cost of this type of roaming is usually low, but you can visit the official website of the telecommunications company providing the service to find out the operating fees for this service, if supported at all.

As the name suggests, this service is activated when traveling and moving from one country to another. If you are using your phone within the European Union and enjoying a 5G network and then travel to North America, you will find yourself without phone signal. The European service provider does not have a presence in America, so you have to choose between two options. If your device is unlocked or not tied to a specific telecommunications company, you can easily replace the SIM card with an American provider to receive calling and phone data services. However, if your phone is locked, the phone will not work when replacing the SIM card.

Therefore, many telecommunications companies have special agreements aimed at helping their customers to get a signal regardless of their location. This type is called international data roaming and it is more expensive than local roaming. Again, check the details from the official website of the telecommunications company. But in short, when your phone “roams”, it means you can use your mobile phone outside the coverage area of the service provider you are contracted with.

Unfortunately, data roaming service is not included in the regular phone data plan. Data roaming service is very expensive, especially when roaming internationally, where the cost per minute can reach $0.25 for each call, the cost of a message can be $0.1, while the price per megabyte can reach $3. The cost of international roaming between the UK and the EU has reached £2 per day. Some telecommunications companies still offer free data roaming service between the European Union and the UK.

Therefore, before activating this service, you should check the cost details from the official website of the telecommunications company you are contracted with, and you do not need to know the network you will connect to when you arrive at your destination, just knowing the country is sufficient, as the cost varies depending on the country you are traveling to. Official websites of service providers usually contain all the details and prices, but we also recommend contacting customer service to inquire about prices and quality.

There are several ways to avoid using data roaming service without your permission, including completely disabling Data Roaming from the phone, thereby preventing automatic connections to different service providers without prior permission. The method to disable the service varies from one phone to another, for example, on an iPhone, you can open “Settings,” then go to “Cellular,” and then press “Cellular Data Options” and deactivate the “Data Roaming” option. On Android phones, open “Settings,” press “Connections,” then “Mobile Networks,” and you will find the “Data Roaming” option, deactivate it.

The second method is to buy a new SIM card, as this is one of the cheapest and most effective solutions, allowing you to get a local number to give to the people you want to call, and you can use low-cost phone data through it compared to data roaming service.

In the end, data roaming service is only activated when using phone data as a 5G network. So, do not worry about connecting to Wi-Fi in the hotel or café, as Wi-Fi usage fees (if any) are usually much cheaper than phone data roaming charges. Some telecommunications companies offer international data plans at reasonable prices, which you can inquire about from the service provider before traveling.