Telstra International Roaming for Free
Are you sick of paying Telstra $10 per day (on top of your monthly plan fee) to use your mobile service while travelling overseas?
If so, read on.
We are sharing with you a clever little hack that enables Telstra customers, to make and receive calls and texts whilst overseas without incurring any charges from Telstra.
The trick is to leverage the Wi-Fi Calling feature that available in most phones.
Wi-Fi Calling allows you to make calls over an internet connection. It is similar to the way that Skype, WhatsApp and other VoIP services work. It is designed to improve voice quality when you are in an area with weak or no network reception but you do have access to a reliable Wi-Fi connection.
Calls sent over the more stable Wi-Fi connection are better quality with fewer annoying dropouts. It also provides Telstra with the benefit of not having to carry the traffic over their mobile network.
If you have Wi-Fi calling turned on many of your calls probably already are carried across your home's NBN connection without you even realising it.
Can I use Telstra Wi-Fi calling while overseas?
The short answer is Yes! While overseas and connected to Wi-Fi, Telstra Wi-Fi Calling allows you to make and receive calls and texts.
Calls to and from Australia over Wi-Fi calling are at no additional chargeHow can I use Telstra Wi-Fi calling while not on Wi-Fi?
The above solution is great because it is free, but it isn't terribly convenient. Being tethered to your hotel's Wi-Fi just so you can make calls doesn't exactly make for an ideal holiday.
If you wish to use your Telstra service while travelling out and about you could use a Wi-Fi hotspot, but you'll have to buy another SIM Card and you also have to carry the thing around with you.
If you have an eSIM enabled phone, you are in luck! You can purchase a prepaid travel eSIM, that can provide you a secondary prepaid mobile Internet service.
This will work alongside your Telstra service so you will still be contactable on your usual Telstra number.
Wi-Fi Calling doesn't use much data. You can expect to consume 1MB per minute. Text messages use virtually no data at all.
So, before your heading off on your next trip consider whether you really need to spend that $70 per week on Telstra International Roaming. You can easily save some of your hard earned money by only making calls when on free WiFi of by spending a couple of bucks and purchasing a Travel SIM from us! So you can stay connected while you are out and about.
Of course, if you need more data, you can simply top up Data Plans from the BNESIM mobile app. The BNESIM is prepaid and never expires. Once you have set it up you never need to worry about overseas roaming charges ever again.
It is also much more convenient than queuing up to buy a local SIM Card when you arrive at your destination.
I am using this in a Pacific Islands Country and it works fine, Bank SMS and normal calls to even 1800 numbers are no issue.