Communication costs in Thailand. Roaming is the gold mine of our operators

How to stay connected in Thailand? Should you bother with local SIM cards or use roaming services? In this article we will tell you how to call your loved ones cheaper while you are enjoying your holiday in the Kingdom of Thailand.

Roaming cost

The cost of calls from domestic mobile operators frightens and shocks even “green” tourists, but experienced ones know that the most wasteful activity on vacation that you can imagine is roaming in Thailand!

• Megafon rates (79 rubles/incoming)
• Beeline prices (200 rubles for 10 minutes every day, as part of the package)
• MTS rates (115 rub./minute for incoming)

At the usual roaming rates set by our favorite “Big Three”, your balance will probably be enough for one normal conversation, but there are also very advantageous offers, let’s take a closer look at them. MTS offers “Zero without borders” and “go-go-roaming”, and if the first service requires a subscription fee, the second is absolutely free until October of this year. “Go-go” will reduce the cost of calls to twelve rubles for incoming calls and twenty rubles for outgoing calls. In our opinion, the Beeline company has the most interesting offers: “Seductive Roaming” and “Country to Order”, both of these services have a subscription fee of up to 15 rubles per day. “Seductive roaming” will appeal to those who mainly receive calls or communicate via SMS, and the “Country to Order” service simply “cuts” roaming prices in Thailand in half.

Megafon has the “Whole World” and “Around the World” options. True, most often ordering a package does not pay for itself, unless of course you are the director of a serious enterprise.

Tourist cards

Roaming in Thailand can be enjoyable and economical. To do this, you need to take care of communication means in advance and purchase a tourist SIM card. The most popular companies are SimTravel and GoodLine; they provide high-quality and, most importantly, cheap mobile communications. For tourists coming to Thailand, roaming with such an international tourist SIM card is an important condition for a good holiday. The cost of outgoing calls starts from 65 cents per minute, incoming calls are absolutely free, and forget about the subscription fee. A little advice for those who decide to purchase a tourist SIM card: no matter where you buy it, ask the seller to test it. For example, call from this number to yours and vice versa, this way you will check its functionality and practice making calls from the new card.

Local SIM cards

To put it correctly, it would be more accurate to say the absence of roaming, because you purchase a SIM card from a local operator, so there is no need to talk about roaming. But still, the prices will not be low, because you will be calling to another country. The most popular and optimal for Russian tourists are cards in light green envelopes. It's called Freedom. Such a SIM card costs 50 baht (or 50 rubles), the same amount of funds is available on this card. You can buy local SIM cards in almost all stores and supermarkets. The cost of calls to Russia depends on the dialing rules and on the promotions carried out by a particular cellular company. Ask your guide about the best conditions for calling home. The cost of calls to Russia varies from 4 to 10 baht per minute. You can top up your account using payment cards; you can purchase them in the same stores and supermarkets. You will find instructions for activating the card on the card itself; in addition, you can top up your mobile phone account in communication shops. You can entrust this important task to your guide.

Payphones

We would like to immediately warn you that calls through automatic machines are comparable in cost to using SIM cards from mobile operators, and convenience undoubtedly comes second. If you want to indulge in nostalgia for Soviet times, then look for bright yellow pay phones. Buy a card for international calls at 7-Eleven and Family Mart stores; by the way, they are open 24 hours a day.

From all these searches for the best, we have come to our conclusion: the best in terms of convenience and cost of calls in Thailand is the connection provided by local operators. Use our experience and communicate with pleasure on vacation!

When going on vacation to Thailand, to save money on communication, choose favorable options for the tariff from Megafon.

Tariffication

Megafon works on the peninsula, so the phone will automatically register in the mobile network of the partner operator.

When you connect your smartphone to the network, you will be in roaming. This will change the standard cost of communication tariffs.

Calls

To save on calls while roaming, Megafon offers its subscribers special options.

Features of the “Whole World” option:

1. It is not activated simultaneously with other options that change the tariffication of calls in roaming.
2. Has no restrictions on validity period. The option will work until the subscriber disables it.
3. Free minutes are credited once a day. When the minutes run out, new ones will be credited only for the next day.
4. Not valid on air cruise ships, via satellite, through AT&T Mobility LLC (BMU01) and in Syria, Tunisia, Maldives and Andorra.

Features of the “Around the World” option:

1. The cost of one outgoing SMS message is 14 rubles.
2. To properly configure the service, you need to restart your phone after activating it.
3. Connection is available for all tariff plans except “Around the World”, “Internet Start”, “Business Travel”, “Megafon-Login”, “Megafon-Login Unlimited” and “Megafon-Login Optimal”.
4. Not valid on air cruise ships, satellite communications, AT&T Mobility LLC (BMU01) or in Syria.

Features of the “25 minutes World” and “50 minutes World” packages:

1. Megafon subscribers of any tariffs can connect, with the exception of the Around the World tariff plan.
2. The service is not available on air cruise ships, via satellite, through AT&T Mobility LLC (BMU01) and in Syria, Tunisia, Maldives and Andorra.
3. The service is not activated simultaneously with other options that change the tariffication of calls in roaming.
4. Packages are valid for 30 days from the moment of connection. Unused minutes are deleted. In case of premature deactivation of the service, funds will not be compensated.

Messages

Special tariffs apply for messaging in Thailand.

Features of the “50 SMS Whole World” and “100 SMS Whole World” options:

1. SMS packages are valid for 30 days from the moment of activation. Unspent messages are deleted. It is impossible to disable the service ahead of schedule. Money for unspent SMS is not refunded.
2. It is possible to connect several additional packages simultaneously.
3. Sending free SMS is possible to all mobile numbers, except for short numbers of entertainment services and news portals, for which the operator’s standard tariffs apply.

Multimedia messages are charged the same, regardless of the connected options.

Mobile Internet

There are the following options for surfing the web:

Without connected options, charges for the service begin after connecting to the network in another country. Access to traffic provided every 24 hours, starting from the first connection. When it is used up (before 23:59:59 every day), access is blocked until the next billing period. You can connect faster by using the instructions that will come to your phone.

The “World Online” option has a number of features:

1. Connection is available for all tariff plans from Megafon, including corporate ones.
2. When 1 GB of traffic is consumed, the Internet connection speed is limited to 64 KB/s and is restored in the next billing period.
3. The p2p connection speed is always limited to 64 KB/s.
4. The service period is not limited. Subscription fees are charged daily, until you disable the option yourself.
5. The service is not valid on air cruise ships, via satellite communications or special equipment.

It is worth noting! A high-speed LTE (4G) Internet connection is available in Thailand.

There are several mobile phone companies operating in Thailand, but only three large ones are DTAC, True Move and AIS. Of the virtual operators in the kingdom, Telindus is represented; other services are unknown. In addition to telephone conversations, Thai companies provide mobile Internet support. Communications in the country are quite developed, coverage is available in all major cities and resort areas, but interruptions in the telecommunications network can be caused by frequent problems in the power supply system.

Mobile operators

There is no significant difference between Thai cellular operators; the main players in the communications market work at approximately the same prices. In the past, differences have existed, in particular there have been significant differences in service packages. Nowadays subscribers focus on the stability of communication, and not the cost of calls. The largest telecommunications company in Thailand is DTAC, it also has the most developed network and is able to provide high quality services.

True Movi has a smaller national coverage, so sometimes there may be connection interruptions. The operator is owned by Orange. The main focus is on tourists: there are a number of telephone numbers, calls to which are free and accessible even without money in the account, including the number of the tourist police. For calls to other numbers, for example, to the airport and hospital, you do not need to pay for the first 3 minutes of the call.

AIS is also inferior in coverage quality to DTAC. A distinctive feature of the company is that its services can be used under a contract and on an advance payment basis. For those tourists who decide to stay in Thailand for a short time, the second option is suitable, because under the contract, SIM cards are sold along with the phone.

An interesting feature of AIS is also the division of the country into communication zones. Calls within a zone are cheaper than calls to another zone. This applies not only to calls to AIS subscriber numbers. In addition, there are SIM cards designed for use only within a certain zone; their use in other zones is quite expensive.

The virtual operator is significantly inferior in popularity to other telecommunications companies. Its services are not in demand by tourists.

Purchasing SIM cards and topping up your account

SIM cards from all mobile companies are sold directly at Thai airports, so any tourist can connect to communications immediately after arriving in the country. You can also buy the card at retail points of sale of mobile phones. Family Mart and 7-Eleven store chains sell SIM cards. No ID is required to purchase a prepaid card.

You can also buy payment cards of various denominations in Family Markt and 7-Eleven stores. You can top up your account with some operators, for example, DTAC, using a bank account. In addition, users of electronic money systems can transfer a certain amount to their account via the Internet. Webmoney and Yandex money, popular in Russia, are not represented in Thailand, so it is better to use foreign Internet wallets.

Comparison of tariff plans

Calls and SMS

In Thailand, telephone numbers can be dialed directly or via IP telephony. The last option is more profitable: if you call directly, the cost of a minute of conversation will be 25 baht (1 THB = 1.90 RUB). Codes for DTAC subscribers are 009 and 004, True Move subscribers are 009 and 006, AIS are 00500.

All operators have free incoming calls, there is no regional roaming, with the exception of AIS zones. The cost of a call to Thai numbers varies from 1 to 3 baht. The cost of a call to Russia using a DTAC SIM card is 7 baht per minute of connection, for AIS and True Move cards - 4THB per minute. Sending an SMS to a subscriber within Thailand costs 3 baht for all operators, and 5 baht to other countries.

Internet

The cheapest Internet connection tariff in terms of baht per MB is offered by DTAC, but traffic is limited to 1 GB per month. AIS and True Move offer two completely identical tariff plans - for 399THB the subscriber receives 1.5 GB of traffic per month.

For those who plan to stay in Thailand for a short period of time, DTAC offers special rates - 75 MB of traffic for 7 days for 49 baht and 15 MB of traffic for 1 day for 9 baht. In addition, you can connect to the unlimited Internet access service for 2 hours.

It is not recommended to use GPRS when the phone is roaming. The calculation is carried out not per megabyte, but for every 10 kilobytes of traffic, so the cost of connection increases many times, and the bill can reach several hundred or even thousands of baht.

Most mobile operators in Thailand use the EDGE protocol to provide Internet access - this is an improved version of GPRS, when theoretically the traffic speed reaches 238 Kbps. In theory, a tourist should have access to EDGE anywhere in the kingdom where mobile communications are provided by the country's leading operators. In practice, the speed of mobile Internet often does not correspond to the advertised speed, so if you want to watch a movie or need to download something to your phone, it is better to use Wi-Fi.

Roaming

DTAC and True Move operators allow you to receive calls from abroad for free, that is, there is no roaming as such. Other mobile phone companies, such as AIS, charge a fee. However, the fee is very low - only from 1 to 3THB, but provided that the subscriber does not activate additional services.

Roaming from Russian operators is very expensive in Thailand. For example, outgoing and incoming calls abroad from Beeline cost 99 rubles, and the prices for local calls are the same. At MTS, incoming calls cost 59 and outgoing ones - 69 rubles; at Megafon, 100 and 125 rubles, respectively. Sending an SMS to Russia varies from 15 to 19 rubles.

MTS roaming in Thailand is of interest to many customers. As part of our material, we will consider the current tariffs abroad and options that will save money.

Thailand is one of the popular destinations among our tourists. Roaming allows you to get a wide range of services for further use:

1. Exchange messages quickly.
2. Receive and make calls.
3. Go online.
4. Use various applications.
5. Evaluate all the advantages of the operator’s services.
6. Maintain contact with friends and family.

If you want to use mobile communications and Internet access, then you should prepare for serious expenses. Roaming prices are huge, so you should top up your account by 3-5 thousand rubles in advance.

MTS roaming in Thailand: tariffs in 2019

Call costs:

• Outgoing to the Russian Federation – 115 rubles.
• Inbox – 115 rub.
• To other countries – 135 rubles.
• Within the state where the subscriber resides – 115 rubles.

Special option

Do you want to significantly reduce your call costs? It is worth paying attention to the “Zero Without Borders” service. The following conditions are offered as an option:

1. 10 minutes of incoming calls per day are provided free of charge.
2. From 11 min – 25 rub.
3. Outgoing: 1 minute – 115 rubles, from the second to the fifth – 25, from the sixth – 115.
4. Subscription fee – 95 rubles per day.

Using this option, you can optimize the costs of communication services. You can receive up to 10 minutes of incoming calls for free and get a discount on outgoing calls. For many clients, the service will be beneficial.

SMS

The standard cost of one outgoing SMS is 19 rubles. But you can activate a package for the tariff; two options are provided:

• 50 messages around the world – 500 rubles;
• 100 SMS – 750 rub.

Internet

MTS roaming in Thailand provides for incredibly high Internet costs. For 40 KB you will have to pay 30 rubles. According to standard conditions, it is better not to use access to the World Wide Web; visiting one page will cost 100-300 rubles.

But you can connect a special option - BIT abroad. Conditions:

1. At maximum speed, 100 MB of traffic is provided per day.
2. If the packet is exhausted, the parameter is reduced to 128 Kbps.
3. The limit is updated every day.
4. Cost – 450 rubles per day.

Of course, the price seems huge. But the user will be able to completely refuse calls and SMS. Manages to communicate with friends and relatives on social networks or instant messengers.

How to activate the roaming service?

Connecting is easy. To use roaming, you need to activate international access services. Today, several methods are proposed for this purpose.

The first option is using a command. The method is quite simple and does not take much time. Necessary:

• Dial *111*2192#.
• Activate the function.
• Wait for a response from the system with a report on the successful completion of the operation.

The second way is in your personal account. Necessary:

1. Go to the operator's website.
2. Click on the personal account item.
3. Specify authorization details.
4. The user will be taken to the main page.
5. Open the services section.
6. Find the roaming options there.
7. Complete the activation.

You can use the switch on the MTS website. But for this you need to go through authorization in your personal account. When you press the lever, the services will be connected automatically, you can start using them.

Another way is through a contact center specialist. Need to:

• Call 0890.
• Select an item to connect to an operator.
• Wait until you are switched to a contact center specialist.
• Tell him the reason for your request.
• The employee activates the options manually.
• You can use roaming from MTS.

Almost all Megafon tariffs do not include roaming in Russia. Because of this, mobile users are beginning to completely forget what roaming is. However, it unpleasantly reminds you of itself when you leave the borders of our country. Regardless of whether you went abroad to work or relax, you will probably need to use mobile communication services. And here you will have to figure out all the intricacies of international roaming, which the following article will help you with.

To save on roaming fees, select the required option.

Foreign roaming from Megafon

Megafon is a mobile operator with which roaming is very convenient. Flexible tariffs and a variety of services will allow you to spend a minimum of money on mobile communications, no matter where you are. And on the website moscow.megafon.ru/roaming/world there is all the information about roaming tariffs in each specific country. This will allow you to calculate approximately how much you will spend on communications for your entire trip, as well as select the most convenient package of services for you.

Rates for calls, SMS and internet abroad can vary greatly depending on the country in which you will be located. In most European countries, roaming is relatively inexpensive. Tariffs for Egypt and Turkey, popular among tourists, are also not very expensive. But for those who went to the USA, it will not be easy: for a minute of conversation you will have to pay almost 200 rubles (maybe in the USA the salaries are higher, but not by the same amount).

However, Megafon, in order to simplify the life of its customers and increase their loyalty, uses a variety of options that will help you spend as little money as possible on mobile communications during your travels (to save on something nice, one assumes). You just need to estimate how many minutes and megabytes you will need during your visit abroad, and then choose the most suitable option.

More about options

The basic option for roaming, which is provided by default on all Megafon SIM cards, is “no option”. You simply use your phone abroad, no need to connect anything additional. However, prices for communication services in this case will be painful. To save money, it makes sense to use one of the services we list below:

The whole world

Provides 40 free inbox minutes for all regions. Connection is free, but for each day of use you pay 59 rubles. Is it profitable? In countries with the cheapest roaming, a minute of incoming calls costs 79 rubles. Do the math for yourself.

Around the world

Reduces the cost of incoming calls several times, as well as outgoing calls to the territory of the Russian Federation and the current country of residence. SMS are also becoming significantly cheaper.

25/50 min World

Provides 25 or 50 (your choice) free minutes for all calls, except those outgoing outside the country and not to Russia. For connection you need to pay 829 and 1429 rubles, depending on the number of minutes.

25/50 minutes Europe and CIS

The same as the previous option, but only valid in the respective countries. Costs 329 and 495 rubles for connection. Outside Europe and the CIS (see the full list of countries on the megafon website) you will be in roaming “without an option”.

These were options related to calls only. There are also those that will help you use the Internet and SMS messages abroad cheaper:

50/100 SMS Europe

For 690 rubles you can buy a package for 50 SMS messages. Pay 100 rubles more, and the number of free SMS messages will increase to 100.

50/100 SMS World

Yes, the same thing, but it also applies outside of Europe. It will cost 990 and 1190 rubles, respectively.

World online

Gives you the right to use unlimited Internet, which will cost you 600 rubles per day. When you no longer need the Internet, do not forget to disable the option - it is renewed automatically, debiting 600 rubles from your account each time.

Vacation online

Connect this option for only 30 rubles to set the price for each megabyte of the Internet at 15 rubles. This is beneficial if you don't need a lot of traffic. Perfect if the Internet is needed only for correspondence in instant messengers.

All options can be activated either via SMS messages, or using special USSD commands, or by calling the support system at 0500, or through your personal account.

More about countries

As already mentioned: different countries - different tariffs.

Roaming in Turkey

If you find yourself in Turkey for several days (it’s unlikely that you went there for work, right?), then for all incoming calls, as well as for outgoing calls to Turkey and Russia, you will pay 79 rubles per minute of conversation, without any discounts for the next minutes, as well as without a subscription fee.

Outgoing calls to all other countries will cost 129 rubles per minute. Receiving SMS, of course, is free, but sending them costs 25 rubles apiece.

Do not forget that large SMS can be divided into 2, 3 or more messages, you will pay for each according to the tariff.

If you use the Internet, 350 rubles will be debited from your account, and you will be given 70 MB for a day; for the next 70 MB you will have to pay the same 350 rubles (but the amount will not be debited automatically the second time). We hope that your hotel will have good internet.

Roaming in Egypt

A more remote resort is Egypt. Roaming prices are also a little more expensive. For minutes of any conversations 129 rubles. By the way, with the “around the world” option there are only 19. One SMS costs 25 rubles, with the same option – 14. And 350 rubles for every 70 megabytes of Internet. Exactly the same tariffs when visiting China and Japan.

Europe

In many European countries, roaming rates from Megafon are the same as in Turkey. Don’t forget about the 25/50 minutes Europe and CIS options, they will help you save a lot when traveling around Europe, and you won’t have to count your losses for every minute of conversation. By the way, these options also apply in Turkey.

Roaming in the USA and Canada

In the USA and Canada, Internet and SMS prices are the same as elsewhere. But calls are much more expensive: 199 rubles per minute for outgoing or incoming calls. Here the options “around the world” and “whole world” will be most appropriate. The same conditions apply in Australia and New Zealand.

The situation is worst in remote countries with poorly developed infrastructure. For example, in Mongolia and Iraq, a minute of even incoming calls will cost 350 rubles. You can almost forget about mobile Internet there. Fortunately, these destinations are not popular among Russians.

CIS countries

In the CIS countries, roaming prices are different. The cheapest is in Kazakhstan. Here calls are only 39 rubles. In Abkhazia and Georgia, communication is expensive: 109 rubles per minute of conversation. However, for Abkhazia there is a special option “at home in Abkhazia”; for 30 rubles a day you can significantly reduce your communication costs while in this country.

Regarding international roaming, one cannot fail to mention Crimea. Although it is part of the Russian Federation, roaming exists there even for those tariffs on which it is not available throughout the rest of Russia. Prices, of course, are not as high as in international roaming: 10 rubles per minute of conversation, per megabyte of Internet, SMS - 5 rubles. There is also an option “Crimea”, which allows you to reduce the cost of calls. The daily fee for the option is 15 rubles.

Special options for some regions

Sometimes Megafon introduces options that are available only in one or several countries. Not so long ago, “unlimited Italy” functioned, which made it possible to profitably use the Internet in Italy. Today, among the special options, only “at home in Abkhazia” is available.

Before traveling abroad, do not forget to check if Megafon has introduced any special option for the country you are going to visit.

Refusal of roaming

If you decide that when traveling you do not want to use communication services at all, you are ready to limit yourself to only local Wi-Fi, or you want to purchase a local SIM card, then we recommend that you completely disable international roaming. This is done by enabling the “international roaming prohibition” option, when activated, your SIM card actually stops working outside the Russian Federation. Why is this necessary? For example, if you are afraid to accidentally go online, or do not want to receive incoming calls from Russia.

Maybe it's easier to buy a local SIM card?

Firstly, you will still have to accept megaphone incoming messages on your SIM card from people who do not know that you are not in Russia. If you purchase a local SIM card, you will have to figure out the tariffs and services of local operators, which can cause difficulties - they are unlikely to have a website in Russian, and it can also be difficult to communicate with managers in a foreign communication store. In addition, tariffs for communication services in some countries may themselves be expensive.

And keep in mind that most of your calls to Russia, calls to the territory of another state always have an increased rate, even when there is no roaming. And most European mobile operators do not provide unlimited Internet.

Wi-Fi or paid mobile internet?

It all depends on what you will do on the trip. If this is a vacation in a hotel, from which you will not often leave anyway, then it is better to limit yourself to the hotel Internet. However, if you, for example, travel by car, or are constantly on the move on a work trip, then catching Wi-Fi in cafes and distribution points is not the best idea.

The main thing is that you are not obliged to thoroughly plan all the nuances of your vacation regarding mobile communications even before leaving. After all, you can set up tariffs and options that are convenient for you while you are already abroad. To do this, you only need the Internet (you don’t need a lot of traffic) to log into your personal account. Or you can call the contact center at 0500, where operators will help you select and configure the options and services that suit you. From most countries, calling 0500 is free.

Questions from subscribers

What tariffs will apply in Bulgaria?

Incoming calls, as well as outgoing calls to Russian and Bulgarian numbers, will cost 49 rubles - not so expensive for roaming, but it still makes sense to connect the “25/50 minutes Europe and CIS” option. Outgoing calls to numbers in other countries - 129 rubles. For SMS - 25 rubles. Internet - 350 rubles for every 70 megabytes.

We are going to Cyprus, what roaming should we connect and what communication costs should we expect?

It all depends on how many calls you are going to make. If there is a lot - connect “25 minutes Europe and CIS”, if there is a lot - “50 minutes Europe and CIS”. Calls can be replaced with SMS, if only 100 SMS are enough for you, which will cost 790 rubles. Thus, for, say, a week’s vacation in Cyprus, you will pay no more than a thousand rubles for communications. This is in case you want to stay in touch. If during your entire vacation you make only a couple of random calls and send 2-3 SMS, then you don’t need to connect anything - in this case you will spend a maximum of 200-300 rubles on communications.

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