How eSIMs make it easy to stay connected while travelling
It’s the time of year when we’re all travelling. People return home to visit family or move to sunnier (or snowier) climates. That means we often rely on phones to keep in touch.
In Europe, we generally enjoy excellent mobile data coverage. However, coming from outside the EU, you can quickly encounter sizeable roaming charges. Using your smartphone to contact friends or plan your next move can become expensive unless you closely monitor your usage.
Fortunately, we have the arrival of the eSIM. Replacing the old plastic SIM cards you used to swap in and out of your phone, this new technology allows you to change your data plan in less than a minute.
A new way to connect
Inside many new generation smartphones, a chip permanently sits that fulfills the same function as the classic SIM card. The critical difference is that it can be rewritten via an internet connection by scanning a QR code or accessing a particular link.
This has several key advantages. Unlike physical SIM cards that must be physically purchased in a store or mailed to you, eSIMs can be purchased and delivered instantly online.
Most phones offer an eSIM alongside a pre-existing physical SIM card slot, meaning that you can switch plans with a single tap. This is very important if you’re travelling across a wide area, with potential changes in roaming charges.
The lack of physical packaging and shipping costs also means that telecom providers can offer eSIMs at a significant discount to other plans or provide a much wider range of coverage for the same price.
A wider world of coverage
eSIM provider Zadarma provides an example of how this new technology can pass on savings while offering a much more comprehensive data coverage range.
They provide eSIMs for use within a single country and packages for 30, 60 or 90 countries worldwide. Each plan can last up to a year, and renewing it online takes just a few moments.
A base 1 GB package for Europe, lasting 30 days and covering 30 nations, starts at €5 and can be extended to cover up to 62 countries under the Europe+ package. You can find the full range of tariffs here.
eSIM technology also allows Zadarma to offer plans for countries like Switzerland and Andorra - both popular skiing destinations - that used to charge exorbitant rates for roaming data for those outside the EU.
It’s important to know that these eSIMs only cover data coverage. They don’t constitute a second phone number. However eSIM providers such as Zadarma often also offer virtual phone numbers that give you the same range of functionality as a regular SIM card. You can even choose in which country the phone number is based. This can make registering for specific apps and services much more accessible than without a local number. You can even add PBX services and other business tools at a low cost.
A solution that makes sense
If you’re a frequent traveller or a digital nomad who needs a stable, constant internet connection, using eSIM technology is the perfect solution.
Knowing exactly what you’re paying and how easy it is to renew or expand your plan grants freedom to focus on what matters during the Christmas period.
Getting started is as simple as ensuring your phone has eSIM technology and then identifying a provider that meets your online needs. Zadarma has simple and direct guides to get you online quickly with minimum fuss.
A new generation of technology gives us a much wider variety of tools to keep us connected to the world - and with a greater ease of use. Before you embark on your next big trip, investigate how eSIMS can change how you stay connected.
This content was paid for by an advertiser and produced by The Local's Creative Studio.
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