Travelling to UK, UK long distance add-on

[jtd]

I don't know why I struggle to get my head around this but.

If I purchase this add-on and travel to the UK can:-

People in Canada can all me in the UK?

Can people in the UK call me while I'm in the UK?

Can I call people in the UK while I'm also in the UK?

Can I use my data or is there an option to get data while I'm in the UK?

Thanks in advance.

John

[darlicious]

@Luddite 

3 to 4 months is pretty good I find and compare between an online flight search agency and the carriers. A quick search for 28 days September/October this year.

• Vancouver>>>London            return $650 westjet
• Vanvouver>>>Dublin              return $775 klm/air france
• Vancouver>>>Lisbon              return $920 finnair
• Vancouver>>>Amsterdam     return $715 westjet

[Luddite]

@softech We too await the all clear. Though we have gambled on a house in Wales; full refund if we cancel 60 days out.
Plane is bigger headache  as we likely need to book 5-6 months ahead to be sure of decent price & seats  

[darlicious]

@jtd 

Fortunately you are travelling to the UK one of the cheapest countries in the world for mobile data. The average plan is £30 with unlimited texts, minutes and 5G data with a 20GB roaming cap for europe and a fair use policy per month of 650GB. ( but not all!)

There are cheaper plans in the £16-£20 range with a mix of 4G or 5G and 100 or unlimited international minutes (incl.Canada) and almost all have 20 GB roaming data included.

You can easily pick the kind of sim cards/plans we are used to but with unlimited texts/calls and 4GB of data for £6 and 12GB for £8. 

You can call forward your pm phone to a fongo number and leave your pm sim card in Canada. You could then recieve your incoming calling to your pm # to your fongo number which works on both wifi and mobile data. This can all be done on the cheapest pm $15 plan.

Free wifi is everywhere there and you can get by without a plan  but at those prices you can certainly afford to stay well connected through out your whole trip. So if you buy a sim card plan in the UK and use it in conjunction with fongo and call forwarding your pm #..

So......yes, yes, yes, yes and yes to your questions just not really from the pm side of things.

https://www.4g.co.uk/news/unlimited-data/

[softech]

@Luddite  will definitely message you when I need it.. (unable to fly yet..   😞   cancelled my UK trip last year..  still waiting for the pandemic to clam down )

thanks

[LurganIeUk]

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@Luddite wrote:

@LurganIeUk  Free UK hotspots: https://www.o2.co.uk/connectivity/free-wifi

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@jtd 

The above is for you.....will be handy to have. 

[Luddite]

@LurganIeUk  Free UK hotspots: https://www.o2.co.uk/connectivity/free-wifi

[LurganIeUk]

Look at is this way. 

You can only make calls from Canada or USA. 

For calling while in USA you will to buy a 10 day USA add-on. 

I would suggest to have an unlocked phone, study what carriers will suit your needs in the UK and likely once arrived you will find, at the airport, a cigarette machine that is full of various SIM cards that you can purchase. Free WI-Fi is hard to find in the UK so you may want to find an app or ? to show you where you may find. 

[Luddite]

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@softech wrote:

@Luddite  nice find.. do they send the SIM to Canada?  Can I run hotspot out of my phone? Just want to see if I can  just buy one SIM and family can share the connection..

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@softech  Hotspot is allowed; prepaid like PM so no overages. Why not let me send you a SIM? (Their referrals are 1 time bonuses attached to SIMs I order; no need for you do anything but activate).

FYI: special SIM and "golden" goodybags needed for 5G service. 

[softech]

@Luddite  nice find.. do they send the SIM to Canada?  Can I run hotspot out of my phone? Just want to see if I can  just buy one SIM and family can share the connection..

[Luddite]

@jtd  I use hgottps://www.giffgaff.com/sim-only-deals when in the UK. Send me a private message if you would like more info and/or a SIM (they're free).

To manage incoming calls from Canada I forward our PM number to  https://www.fongo.com/fongo-mobile/  and turn on their voicemail to email service. Then I can deal with urgent messages over wifi or giffgaff cellular data.

[softech]

@jtd  no, LD add-on is for calling UK from your PM phone in Canada.

NO Tier 3 providers offer roaming other than US

The best solution is get a UK SIM card.  Make sure you bring with you an unlocked phone.   With a UK sim, you get data and you get a UK number.  People can reach you with app like whatsapp.  You can also download Fongo or TextNow, which you will get a fully functioning Canadian phone number and people can call you with that number and you will answer on the app when Data or Wifi available.

It is very easy to get a local SIM when you arrive UK.  It is cheaper to get it there.  However, if you are worry, some Canadian mobile shops have UK SIM to sell here, too.  It's slightly more expensive but you can get it all prepared if you like.

[Anonymous]

 @jtd : To the last one...no but an option is to get a local SIM to get local service.

[Triguy]

Unfortunately, PM only offers roaming in the US.  The long distance add-on is for calling overseas while you're in Canada.

You could purchase a local sim or use Wi-Fi apps like Signal, Textnow, or Skype.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

@jtd- the simple answer is No to all questions.  The LD add-on is for use while you are in Canada.  You would need a roaming pkg for UK.  Unfortunately, PM only has roaming for the US.

[Dunkman]

@jtd 

No, to all the above questions.  

The long distance add on is for calling the UK when you are in Canada.

Public mobile does not have international roaming packages, except for the USA.