How much does MTN ask for international roaming in Europe?
I recently had the privilege to travel to Europe. During my stay I needed to be online 24/7. My home network in South Africa is MTN and I received various SMSses whilst overseas promoting their services.
MTN's international roaming rates - are these realistic? Can you go overseas and expect to use your mobile phone?
Let's do a dive into MTN's roaming charges for a couple of countries. This article covers Portugal, Switzerland, Angola and the Netherlands.
A picture is worth a thousand words, so here are the screenshots with accompanying tables and textual representations of the costs:
MTN's International Roaming charges for Portugal
In summary, MTN's definition of "low data rates at ZAR 0.99/MB" in Portugal is a complete joke. You will be paying through your arse if you decide to use their data. They have completely lost touch with reality. They are making some serious rounding errors here and using marketing speak to make you think it's actually a good deal. It's not. It's a joke.
Summary table:
Item | Price |
|---|---|
Data | 0.99 per megabyte |
Make local calls in Portugal | R 5.00 per minute |
Make calls to South Africa | R 5.00 per minute |
Receive calls | R 2.50 per minute |
Send SMS | R 1.50 per SMS |
MTN's International Roaming charges for Switzerland
Summary table:
Item | Price |
|---|---|
Data | 0.99 per megabyte (MB) |
Make local calls in Switzerland | R 5.00 per min |
Make calls to South Africa | R 7.50 / min |
Receive calls | R 10.00 / min |
Send SMS | R 1.50 per SMS |
Again you can see the ludicrous numbers. Be warned, "FROM", as local call in Switzerland will vary greatly if the destination is a local landline or a mobile network.
MTN's International Roaming charges for Angola
Summary table:
Item | Price |
|---|---|
Data | R 10.00 per Megabyte (MB) ??? Is this real? Hello Africa? |
Make local calls in Angola | R 10.00 per minute |
Make calls to South Africa | R 15.00 per minute |
Receive calls | R 2.50 per minute (printing money for MTN) |
Send SMS | R 5.00 per SMS |
I cried when I saw this SMS.
MTN's International Roaming charges for The Netherlands
Summary table:
Item | Price |
|---|---|
Data | 0.99 per MB (megabyte) |
Make local calls in Portugal | R 5.00 per minute |
Make calls to South Africa | R 7.50 per minute |
Receive calls | R 1.25 per minute |
Send SMS | R 1.50 per SMS (a joke) |
Solution
Here is the solution. Do not use MTN international roaming. Ever. Try to use a dual SIM phone. Use free wi-fi and WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal. Most airports have free wi-fi with the exception of Angola where it doesn't work. Most accommodation should have free wi-fi.
Or get a local provider. Examples:
Lyca Mobile exists in a lot of countries in Europe, including Portugal, Spain, and The Netherlands. Cross border we had the most luck with them.
In Switzerland we used Salt which provided an exceptional service.
We were also able to get a cheap unlimited plan from Vodafone on the airport in Portugal.
On Angola airport there is a bar around the corner. Not in the main area, but around the corner. If you are nice to the lady and order something like food or drink, she might just give you her wi-fi code.
You've been warned. MTN has lost touch with reality and their international roaming rates are incredible expensive. Simpler solution such as free wi-fi and local data plans in combination with WhatsApp calling is the future.