What is roaming?

Remember the last time you travelled abroad? Chances are, once you landed, you’d have noticed that your smartphone was able to connect to local cell towers, and you could still make calls and send messages, albeit at much higher rates. This is possible because of something called cellular roaming. Here’s everything you need to know about the technology and how it works.

Just what is roaming and how does it work?

Roaming refers to the ability of your smartphone to connect to the internet, make and receive voice calls, as well as access other services, even when travelling outside the geographical area covered by their home network. It ensures that you can stay connected to your friends and family, as well as colleagues no matter where you are, around the clock.

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Roaming is generally divided into two kinds – domestic (when you travel out of the geographical area covered by your network service provider in the same country), and international roaming, wherein you travel to a different country altogether.

In India, domestic roaming has practically become free as most services providers like Jio or Airtel do not levy any extra charges for domestic roaming anymore, whether you’re in a different telecom circle or a different state. International roaming rates, however, tend to be much more expensive.

How to avoid international roaming rates

To ensure international roaming rates don’t burn a hole in your pockets, especially if you’re a frequent flier, all service providers provide international roaming packages to users. With these, they are given a fixed number of minutes for calling, data for internet usage, and a fixed number of text messages they can send, in a specific travel period.

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Another way to bypass international roaming rates is also to search for local Wi-Fi connections, enabling you to make and receive calls using the same. And the third and last option, of course, is to buy a local SIM card temporarily, to ensure you can stay connected on the go, at all times.