Travelling abroad - Roaming and Local SIMs

[WayneWW]

Hi, I'll be in travelling to South Korea for a two week period. Would it be best to purchase some sort of Public Mobile add-on (and if so, suggestions please) or better to purchase a local Sim card?

Thanks

[wmleung]

Well, if they do think like this, we would not be looking for deals for cell plans, would we?

If that time did come, I would have been so delighted as we would have been paying $10 (oh well maybe $20 for 10GB or more).

Day dreaming I know.

[srlawren]

@Michael77 interesting thought.  I don't think we'll ever see that happen.  I think the only reason Telus and Bell share is that they were behind to their previous commitment to the CDMA family of network technologies, plus they each have a "side" of the country in which they had a stronger base, so it made sense to share.  Rogers already has that strong country-wide presence, as well as had an easier migration path to UMTS/HSPA given their previous 2G tech choices (GSM/Edge/GPRS, migrated up from TDMA)

[Michael77]

@skifan,

Yes, Korea is much smaller and their population is larger. But one can't help but feel that if Rogers, Telus and Bell all shared the cost and locations of their towers, there would be towers and reception in every part of Canada. Now there are Freedom Mobile Towers. There is so much duplication that it is not even funny. 

[skifan]

---

@Michael77 wrote:

Another thing I just thought of is that in Korea you get reception everywhere. You can be 4 stories below ground in a parking lot, in the wilderness or up on the highest mountain. You get amazing reception. Korea is so much more advanced than Canada.

---

One should consider that South Korea has a population that is ~ 42% larger than Canada but is geographically ~ 1% the size of Canada.   Those numbers might explain why it is much easier for South Korea to be so "advanced".  

[Michael77]

Another thing I just thought of is that in Korea you get reception everywhere. You can be 4 stories below ground in a parking lot, in the wilderness or up on the highest mountain. You get amazing reception. Korea is so much more advanced than Canada.

[Michael77]

If you know someone in Korea, they can get you the sim and a rental phone. The rates in Korea are so reasonable compared to Canada. 

[brobinson5662]

@sheytoon

I can't recall the company (or even the carrier) unfortunately. It was in 2013 I was in Korea and I rented a flip phone as my iPhone wasn't unlocked at the time. The same ccarrier booth was selling SIM cards as well.

[isaacjeong]

Hi there,

I'll be traveling to South Korea next week as well.

I searched and studied about Roaming and Prepay in Korea.

Unfortunatly Public Mobile doesn't support Roaming in Korea.

I found this site and made a decision with this:

There are 3 options in Koreainfo: 

1. KSIM Call & Data - This is unlimited data plan (with call)

2. KSIM Data Only  - This is unlimited data only

3. KSIM Rechargeable - Prepaid plan 

I don't use much data and I chose 3. 

Safe travel!

[sheytoon]

@brobinson5662

Really? When I went to Korea 7 years ago, it was illegal for non-residents to buy SIM cards. They even had English signs at the airport shops that said this.

Glad to see it's no longer the case. Which operator did you use?

[mattdxb]

Quite frankly, a lot of the time, the local sims will just be a lot cheaper. The only issue is that you won't have the convenience of having being contacted via your primary number. You can resolve that with just using data during your travels and using messenger apps with your family and friends

[ScrapIron]

If you look on Redflagdeals, you'll find a thread about KnowRoaming. Just having their simcard, you can make international whatsapp messages for free (within reason as long as you don't download huge files).

You can also buy roaming options from them but as others have mentioned, it is much cheaper to buy a simcard locally for regular call/text/data. 

[imm1304]

Duplicate posts merged. 

Pick up a local sim card from the airport when you land and have a wonderful trip.  

FYI: PM only offers international roaming to the US and its territories.  But honestly, a local sim at the destination is always cheaper than international roaming.  Your messaging apps such as Whatsapp should continue to function as normal using data from the local sim.

For calling home, be sure to have the Fongo app or Google Hangout Dialer.  These voip apps offer free calling to Canada/US using data/wifi from anywhere.  

[brobinson5662]

I travelled to Korea a few years ago and it was very easy to get a SIM card (right in the airport)

Just be sure to confirm that your phone is unlocked!

Happy travels 🙂

[Michael77]

You will need to purchase a sim card locally.

[will13am]

Public Mobile offers no service for roaming in Korea.  You will need to shop locally.

[WayneWW]

Hi, I'll be in travelling to South Korea for a two week period. Would it be best to purchase some sort of Public Mobile add-on (and if so, suggestions please) or better to purchase a local Sim card.