Using Your Mobile in Britain

As any traveller can tell you one of the most difficult things about being on the road is not being able to contact your friends and family.

In the past travellers to Britain had to wander off down to the corner with a bag full of coins and watch as the pay phone literally ate a week's wages during a 20-minute call to loved ones.

Nowadays mobile phones make keeping in touch easier, but the payment pain remains.

However, if you have a GSM mobile operating on frequencies between 900Mhz and 1800Mhz then there may be big savings available to you in Britain.

Firstly, you won't need to hire a phone. Then there are these options to make payment easier and cheaper.

Using your own SIM card

If you use your own SIM card, registered to your home network, you will be charged for "roaming". This is the extra cost of using your phone on a foreign network.

Roaming charges can be very expensive, especially due to the fact that you must pay to receive calls, as well as to make them. It can be very hard to find out exactly how much you will be charged for roaming; your service provider may not be able to specify the exact cost of calls made in the UK.

Also, if you do wish to use your own SIM card, it is important that you contact your service provider before you travel, and ask them to remove any "roaming bars" they may have put in place.

Using a UK post-paid SIM card

It is now possible to find UK post-paid SIM cards with no contract and no monthly charges. You benefit from free incoming calls, a cheap UK call tariff, free itemised billing and a connection that will never expire. Plus, you can even receive a cheaper call rate back to your home country.

As a special offer to Visit Britain users, Mobell Communications is currently offering these SIM cards free of charge. Visit the Mobell Communications site for details.

Using a UK pre-paid SIM card

UK pre-paid SIM cards are contract free and work by paying for your call time in advance. Once your credit runs out you have the inconvenience of having to "top up" by buying more call time.

As you are operating on a UK network all your incoming calls will be free, but outgoing calls can still be expensive when compared to UK post-paid services.

Useful Information on Using UK SIM Cards

Quoting your new UK number

When informing people outside of the UK of your new number, you must always quote it in its full international format beginning with "44" (the UK Country Code), and then your full number - but with the first "0" removed.

Making local and national calls

To make local and national calls within the UK you must always include the area code.

Making international calls

To make international calls you must dial out of the UK using the International Direct Dial (IDD) code, which is "00", followed by the appropriate Country Code. However, by using the "+ key" on your GSM phone it will automatically insert the IDD code appropriate for the country you are in.

Emergency services

By dialling "112" from any GSM phone you can contact Fire, Police or Ambulance services on any GSM network worldwide.