July/Aug 2005

Can a bit of judicious buying save you money on international mobile phone calls? Yes, says a mobile phone SIM card reseller called TextBay, which is hoping to woo cross-border truck drivers with its independently-sourced pre-paid SIM cards.

Its basic proposition is that you buy one of its pay-as-you-go SIM cards and you use this to replace your existing card. Presumably you could either discard the old one or swap it back later; and to save regular swapping, the company also offers dual SIMS for specific countries.

According to TextBay, the savings could be substantial. It cites a ten-minute call from Spain to the UK, which it says would cost £10 on most UK networks, but which it can provide for just £3. Another example is the price of ten text messages from Germany to the UK - £1.30 compared with £4.25.

How does it do this? Basically it says it is possible because it avoids the usual roaming charges applied by the networks. You also have to 'unlock' your mobile (release it from being limited to its original supplier), which can be done by your supplier or (more cheaply) by a dealer.