Vodacom will begin informing customers via SMS when they’re abroad about the roaming rates that are applicable in the foreign countries they travel into. The service, known as “roaming tariff information” SMS is designed to help consumers avoid roaming bill shock, the company says.

The service will notify customers on arrival at their international destination that they are in the coverage area of a foreign network and it will specify the exact roaming rates customers are going to pay on a particular foreign network.

When travelling internationally, the company suggests:

— People using a smartphone or tablet ensure that only essential data-related activities on their device are enabled to avoid using large volumes of data. Receiving e-mail, browsing the Web, using instant messaging services and other applications should only be activated when necessary to avoid using large volumes of data and accumulating a high bill.

— Consumers should be aware that using a handset to check e-mail, browse the Web, use instant messaging or other applications, is not free when roaming regardless of whether these are available for free in SA.

— They should also know that accessing Vodafone Live! is also not free when roaming as it is in SA.

— Customers should set up their e-mail clients to download the header of new e-mails only. Once they receive the headers of new e-mails, they can then manually select which emails should be downloaded in full to prevent large downloads.

— Streaming video, person-to-person file sharing or any other type of file download is data intensive and can result in very high bills.

— When using data roaming on a laptop abroad, customers must remember to disable all automatic download activity which happens in the background, like operating system updates or software/app updates.

— Customers should disable their smartphone or tablet from performing automatic app refreshes or automatic software updates when abroad to prevent large data downloads.

— When using data roaming, where possible customers must always roam on selected partner networks to qualify for discounted data rates that are lower than the standard data roaming rates in a specific country. Devices should be manually set to only roam on networks which qualify for special data rates.

For roaming voice services, Vodacom says:

— Contract customers who make calls of long duration can activate Vodafone Passport to save costs. This allows them to use their home rate. A call setup fee is imposed for placed and received calls.

— Receiving a call while travelling internationally is not free — customers will be charged at the applicable roaming rate based on the roaming option they have chosen.

— Divert incoming calls unconditionally to voicemail prior to leaving SA to control costs. All incoming calls are diverted to customer’s voicemail service, but they will still be able to make calls. On Vodacom, to activate unconditional diverts dial **21*08214 and the last nine digits of the cellphone number, followed by the # key and press the send/dial button. If users are abroad and wish to activate unconditional diverts, then the number to dial is **21*+278214. Since Vodacom customers can have cellphone numbers with prefixes 082, 072, 076, 079 and 071, should their cellphone number have a prefix other than 082, they must ensure the appropriate prefix is used. Customers must remember to cancel call diverts on their return to SA by dialling ##002# from their cellphone to receive calls again when they are home.

For SMS use abroad, the company says its SMS Roamer product disables customers’ voice and data capabilities and only allows them to send and receive SMSes only. Sending an SMS then costs R2,75 per message.

TechCentral comment: Of course, a far cheaper option than roaming is simply to buy a prepaid Sim card activated for both voice and data when travelling to a foreign country, especially for an extended period, and to leave a voicemail on your SA number providing details of how people can contact you on your temporary number while you’re abroad. — Staff reporter, TechCentral