Check out the tariff zone before you travel
First, it is worth knowing that roaming is when you use your home subscription in another country, i.e. when you make or receive calls or text messages while you are there, on the network of a foreign operator. And when you make a call abroad (to an international number) from your home network, it’s still an international call – even if it’s to the EU – and the charges are not the same as roaming.
Since 2017, the cost of roaming in the EU has become cheaper. This means that in countries of Tariff Zone 1, mobile users will not have to pay roaming charges for occasional trips, or only in certain cases. Hungarian customers can use their subscriptions in these countries under the same conditions as in Hungary by default, whether for data, voice or SMS. However, travelling within Europe does not necessarily mean that you can use the services under the same conditions. Popular destinations such as Montenegro, Switzerland, Serbia or Turkey, for example, are in Tariff Zone 2, where roaming charges are higher. Before you travel, it’s therefore a good idea to find out about your destination’s tariff zone in advance, for example on this page.
The fees and conditions may vary. Yettel's Prime+ tariffs can help prevent worrying about roaming data when travelling in the EU. With these tariffs, customers can use 50GB, 100GB or unlimited data from their unlimited domestic data allowance in EU roaming Tariff Zone 1, depending on their tariff plan. For other tariffs and tariff zones, buying roaming data cards can help. These cards allow you to use your mobile phone safely abroad without worrying about the costs.
High-traffic limits and NetRoaming monitoring services can protect you from high roaming bills. With the former, you can use your subscription up to a so-called high-traffic limit. When you reach 80% of the limit, you'll receive a warning SMS, and if you reach 100%, your operator will limit your traffic. This mainly means restrictions on calls and SMS when abroad, but also when using data. The service is automatic, so if you know that you want to use more than your limit abroad in advance , it’s worth asking for a limit increase. The NetRoaming monitoring service sets a spending cap for data roaming traffic specifically for the given month. This is also an automatic service, but it can be cancelled or you can set a higher limit.
Avoid roaming accidents
Automatic updates of mobile apps can generate high data traffic, which may lead to higher costs in a roaming environment. It’s a good idea to turn this off in your handset settings before you travel. If you don’t want to use mobile internet abroad at all, disable data roaming or all mobile data.
It’s also good to know that you can be connected to a foreign network even if you’re just near the border of a country, which can be a problem especially if you're not in EU Tariff Zone 1. If you are travelling by car in EU-member Bulgaria, for example, your mobile phone can connect to the mobile network of non-EU member Serbia or Macedonia near the border, where the conditions of Tariff Zones 2 and 3 apply. If you want to avoid your mobile phone accidentally switching networks, change automatic network search on the handset to manual network selection.
Quality of roaming services
The quality and coverage of Hungarian networks is outstanding in global terms. Across borders, however, you use the networks of foreign operators rather than domestic ones, and many places may not have the same coverage as in Hungary. In the same way, the availability of newer technologies varies by country and by operator, so while you may have access to 5G services at home, 5G services may not be available to you when you travel abroad.
Before travelling, it’s a good idea to check the list of operators available in the given country. The network automatically selected by your mobile phone may not be the partner of your home operator, so you may want to set up manual network selection in case of a connection error. It is also useful to store phone numbers in international format on your phone, so use the international prefix +36 instead of 06.
How to enjoy a completely carefree holiday
If you buy one of Yettel’s range of discount handsets, you can even hit the road with a new smartphone. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 is available for HUF 0 with a Prime Plus+ tariff. This model has a 50 MP rear-facing main camera to help you capture the best moments of your holiday in vivid detail. In addition, the Samsung Galaxy A34 5G and the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G can be purchased with any Prime+ tariff with an upfront payment of HUF 0. They are both water and dust resistant to make your usage carefree while on the go. These offers are valid until 28 May or while stocks last to customers signing a 2-year contract and selecting the e-Komfort package.
More information: https://www.yettel.hu/roaming