About twelve years ago I rang someone in Sydney from a friend’s mobile phone while walking round the medieval walled town of San Gimignano in Italy. That was before mobiles were everywhere. It was really quite special and seemed like magic but that was then. Now so many people take their mobiles on holidays. I’d resisted until a recent trip to Spain and after doing a fair bit of shopping around I came across an Australian travel communications specialist vRoam. With a service that cuts the high costs of using your mobile overseas, vRoam Global’s post paid service offers savings of up to 40 percent on mobile phone costs.

And it’s very easy to use. When you remove the vRoam simcard from the sticky holder, replace it with your Australian simcard for safekeeping then it’s ready to operate. To call a landline in Sydney you just dial +61 then 2 for Sydney then the normal number. To call a mobile it’s +61 then the mobile number minus the initial zero. It extends to more than 25 countries in Europe, North America and Asia and is well worth investigating.

The vRoam Global service provides a new simcard with its own local overseas number. Travellers just need to divert their existing Australian mobile phone number to vRoam’s ‘Follow Me’ service which also lets you remain contactable on your normal Australian mobile number. The local overseas simcard allows any calls to be made at close to local rates, and avoids the much more expensive international roaming charges.

You’re only charged for the calls that you make plus a small rental charge, and an itemised account in Australian dollars will be forwarded on your return. vRoam benefits include free incoming calls in most countries and an average 40% reduction in mobile roaming charges while in the country you’re visiting.

The service doesn’t affect existing relationships with Australian mobile phone carriers. It’s available to prepaid mobile users and SMS messages can be sent and received. In Athens last year, Australia’s Olympic and Paralympic team members and coaches used vRoam and it received the thumbs up.


TRAVEL THE WORLD WITH A SINGLE PRE-PAID SIMCARD OR POST PAID CALLING CARD
Travellers who prefer a pre–paid mobile option can select the vRoam Pre-Paid Simcard which can be used in more than 100 countries. There’s a simple three–tiered rate structure for the whole world and no roaming or subscription costs. The approximate cost to call from Europe to Australia is $1.20 per minute with a starter pack costing $115 including $75 worth of calls and top–up cards $35.

Alternatively, the VRoam Global Calling Card provides low cost calling back to Australia from over 40 countries. This service provides an international toll free number in each country which you call then follow the prompts to enter your card number and a PIN code before dialling the number you’d like in Australia or another country. Charges to Australia range from a low $0.37 a minute (e.g. Greece), and you receive an itemised bill on your return.

iPASS - COST EFFECTIVE INTERNET AND EMAIL ACCESS
vRoam also offers high-speed remote access to the internet and email from more than 20,000 points across 150 countries. iPass delivers secure, convenient and low cost dial up, WiFi and broadband connections. Travellers can continue to use their existing user IDs, passwords and email software. It’s backed by a 24-hour a day support service so for more information call
1300 787 626, email info@vroam.com or visit www.vRoam.com