This is the amount you pay to use your cell phone abroad
There are large differences in prices depending on the provider. It gets especially expensive if travelers don't pay attention to cost traps.
For European countries, Swiss telecom companies offer roaming offers at reasonable costs.
Photo: Virginia Mayo (Keystone)
Roaming: standard tariff cost trap
Things can get really expensive if you go on vacation abroad without first thinking about smartphone usage fees. Having the intention of using your cell phone sparingly sometimes doesn't help much. Costs can skyrocket after just a few minutes: find a route using Google Maps, send a welcome video, or make an urgent phone call – and the bill is already more than 100 francs. In the worst case, further use will be blocked when the level reaches, for example, 300 francs.
“Salt and sunshine are theirs Standard roaming charges “Their prices have risen steadily over the past few years, and they are now charging sky-high prices in order to take money out of their customers’ pockets,” says Ralf Bieler, telecommunications pricing expert at comparison portal Moneyland.ch. Roaming makes it possible to call over a foreign mobile network. Statistics show that international roaming is underappreciated: according to statistics from the Federal Communications Office, the Swiss made 36 million minutes of calls abroad at a record rate in 2022 alone.
A data package without dial-up is often enough
Since you can make calls via messaging services like Whatsapp, a data package is often enough. Swiss providers sell Data packets In different sizes and durations. The longer term of twelve months has the advantage that any unused data volume can be used during another stay abroad. However, these packages can be much more expensive than shorter terms. This is the case with Galaxus: 10 GB in European countries costs 99.90 francs for one year. For 30 days it is 39 francs. However, it is difficult to compare packages, which is why individual consideration is recommended.
Cheap offers online
In the short term, there are sometimes much cheaper data packages from internationally active ISPs such as Airalo, Flexiroam or Nomad. Fast connections are available there. These data packages can be purchased at short notice. To do this, you need a smartphone with an eSim – a SIM card built into the device as a chip. iPhones and the best Samsung mobile phones, among others, are equipped accordingly. If the credit expires, it can be easily renewed in the country you are traveling to.
Does a credit call make sense?
There is a lot that can be done with messaging services like Whatsapp, but they have their limitations. For example, if there are problems on a return flight, the hotline of the responsible airline usually cannot be reached via Whatsapp. Such phone calls can quickly cost money.
Anyone who uses an eSIM exclusively during holidays cannot be reached via their regular phone number. However, it is of course possible to answer calls briefly via the known phone number and call them back via Whatsapp.
Purchase a SIM card in the country you are traveling to
In distant exotic countries and sometimes in individual European countries such as Croatia or Albania, very high roaming charges can apply. Sometimes it is useful to purchase an additional SIM card in the country you are traveling to. “Sometimes you can get a SIM card with a generous data package and call credit for just a few francs,” says Belair. However, with these cards, call credit may be limited to phone calls within the country of travel.
Package solution or option with a base fee?
Instead of package solutions, there are so-called options. Salt has such performances. For a certain monthly fee, customers get much lower roaming fees. According to Beeler, this sometimes pays off for a phone conversation that lasts only a few minutes, charging only a fraction of the standard rate. However, he advises against doing so.
The problem is that these options renew automatically. Anyone booking such an option for their holidays must deactivate it again. Otherwise, fees will continue to be charged even if the customer no longer uses roaming. The data bundle is more transparent and customer friendly because you pay a fixed amount for a fixed period.
Transparent and less transparent offers
When it comes to pricing and transparency, there are big differences between the three main providers: Salt, Sunrise and Swisscom. Salt and associated brands such as Lidl Connect or Post Mobile are clearly the least transparent, says Ralf Bieler: “A difficult-to-understand offer with a huge range of sometimes complex options makes things complicated for customers.” In addition, roaming fees are relatively high.
An example of this is that Salt's European roaming package only covers 21 of the 27 countries in the European Union. For example, Croatia does not exist, for which separate and much higher fees apply. However, Swisscom and Sunrise roaming packages include all EU countries.
According to Biller, Swisscom performs best in terms of pricing and transparency: “Sunrise has reduced its prices significantly this year, but Swisscom is still much cheaper.” However, since there are usually offers for holidays abroad cheaper than standard tariffs, an individual comparison may be worthwhile, as the Moneyland.ch portal offers, among others.
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