Stewart Witt recently returned from a trip to Israel and was hit with his highest phone bill ever, about $600 more than usual.
The business consultant from Atlanta bought an iPhone 4 a few days before the trip and left his wireless network roaming turned on after he arrived in Israel. He also spoke with his wife daily for two weeks for only up to five minutes at a time, he says.
“I should have learned more about it before I left,” Witt says. “AT&T did send me an e-mail letting me know my data usage was high, but it appeared to me as an advertisement. So I ignored them. My fault.”
Since the expensive episode, Witt has become better acquainted with his phone and remembers to turn off the data roaming feature. He speaks to his wife via Skype, a free Internet-based phone.
Business travelers are some of the savviest people in handling personal technology. But Witt is hardly alone among travelers who’ve returned home after a lengthy international trip to find an outrageous bill.
International roaming calls have always been expensive — typically $1.50 to $4.99 a minute depending on the country from which you’re calling. Data usage can be as much as $20 per megabyte. Text messaging costs about 50 cents per message.
Figuring out how to save money on phone use while traveling abroad has become more complicated as technology advances and newer and better handsets hit the market. The advent of smartphones and more data and Internet usage make the equation more difficult to decipher.
Wireless carriers say they’re aware of increased use, particularly of data, and have introduced pricing options that customers can buy in advance.
“It’s very important to us to make sure our customers are fully conversant in how their phone works, what the rates are and what discount packages…