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Roaming Tips

Modified on: Tue, 5 Dec 2023 8:15 AM

Introduction

This article contains tips on how you can travel with your Corporate phone.  Please ensure you have the appropriate authorization to take your phones before using them out of the country.  If you do not have authorization to charge your travel to the corporate plan, please use some of the tips here for your trip.

 


Applicability

This article will be useful for University of Alberta Corporate cell phone users that will be travelling and would like general information on roaming.  

For information please see Roaming with a Corporate Mobile Phone

 


Details


Disable Roaming on your Device Tip:

When travelling and you do not have approval to use the corporate plan, please disable the roaming on your phone.  By doing this, you will not accidentally receive charges for roaming outside of the country.  Please see the following support pages:


Apple - How to disable roaming: (Link)

Samsung - (Link)

Google - (Link)



Travel SIM Card Tip:


Please Note:  If you do use another SIM card the charges will not be applied to your University of Alberta corporate cell phone service.  You will be responsible for the charges and will need to work with your department or faculty on expense claims policies.

Getting a local SIM card (Subscriber Identity Module) can save you money when you are travelling abroad.   Where you purchase the card and whether the calls you make are considered local or international can affect the difference in cost.  You can purchase SIM cards at your travel destinations; purchase prepaid International SIM cards from retailers such as Staples, Best Buy, Amazon, etc.

There are 2 main different types of network chips commonly used across the globe. These chips work on different basic networks (think of this like your appliance plugs which are different in North America than in European countries)

  • GSM is used in the majority of countries.
    1. Canada
      • TELUS Mobility, Bell Mobility, and Rogers Wireless use GSM
  • CDMA is in about 35 countries.


First Rule: Your phone must be unlocked and GSM network compatible.

This means your phone cannot be blocked by your local carrier from accepting a SIM card from another competing cellular provider. CDMA phones are not compatible with SIM cards unless they are dual-mode, meaning they can work on any system. 

  • Starting January 2018 the carriers TELUS, Bell or Rogers, sold the cell phones already unlocked. If your cell phone was purchased prior to January 2018 then you will need to have it unlocked. The carriers require 72 hour notice so please advise your department Telecom Contact to place an order in TEMS 

Apple users will see “unlocking successful” message when they sync their device to iTunes to complete the unlocking process. Those that do not see the unlocking successful message, then TELUS, Bell or Rogers when contacted will do it remotely for the user.
 
For Android users, the carrier sends a text confirmation code to the user and the user inputs this code before they insert an International SIM.


Second Rule: Understand which size of SIM card your phone requires. Here are some examples.

Full Sized SIM     Micro SIM   Nano SIM  
  • Apple iPhone 3GS
  • Alcatel Onetouch M'POP
  • All USB modems
  • All Pocket WiFi modems
  • HTC Desire 310
  • Huawei G300+
  • Samsung Manhattan, Galaxy Young

  • Apple iPhone 4/4S
  • Apple iPad Retina Display
  • HTC One (M7), One X, One SV, 8X, Desire 601
  • Huawei Media Pad, Ascend G6
  • Nokia 208, Lumia 630/925/1320
  • Samsung Galaxy Express, S III, S4, S5, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Tab 3, Galaxy Pocket Neo, Ace
  • Sony Xperia S, TX, Z, Z2
  • Some USB Sticks, Turbo Hubs and Laptops

  • Apple iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, SE6, 6s, 6Plus, 7,7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, X, XR, XS, SX Max,iPad Air and Mini and Pro
  • HTC One (M8)
  • Google Pixel 2 and 3
  • Most new devices after 2020


*NOTE* Some manufacturers also offer eSIM options on their phones.  An eSIM is an industry-standard digital SIM that allows you to activate a cellular plan from your carrier without having to use a physical SIM.  You can find travel eSim vendors as well.  


Third Rule:  Decide the plan you need for Voice / Data

Understand your options: 

  • Voice OR Data
  • Voice AND Data
  • Do you plan to make only local voice calls or will you make long distance calls?
  • Understanding how much data you do use is a good starting point to determining how much data you may need to purchase.
    1. NOTE: SMS (text) on iPhones use data

Ask the carrier about roaming. Generally, you do not want to use your local SIM card outside of the primary coverage area for the cellular provider because the rates can be very high.



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