James Whatley: TV star & Roaming Guru

James, love the video and great advice. Given the amount of travel I have done in the last 5 years, my suggestions are as follows:

1) Take the time to have an unbranded/unlocked phone. Yes, it may be more expensive up front, but if you travel a couple of times a year, the ability to be able to put any sim chip in anywhere will make up for the price. My old N95 has a new life as the world-traveling phone with my friends as it is unlocked & unbranded. It recently returned from New Zealand & Germany and will be off to Mexico next week. So, if you have a branded phone that you can’t put another sim in, borrow one.

2) Like James says: research. In my case, my phone operator does have good rates for International calls, text & data if I subscribe a month before I go and then make sure what countries that they have a co-promote with. In India & the UK, I only spend a $1/MB for data. Calls are $.20-.49. When I have compared how much I will spend on a pay as you go UK sim to my international subsciption, they come out nearly equal for a two week trip. I get to use my own # and I don’t have to confuse folks with another one as long as I do my research.

3) Do make sure you know what countries your carrier may have cheaper rates in and which don’t. Funny, AT&T has NO relationships with Finnish carriers, I thought I was safe with my International Data plan and I was not. Not to the tune of $1,220. I was able to negotiate it down to less than half by signing my life away, but….. ((O.o)) If I go back to Finland, I will make sure I get a Finnish Pay as you Go sim chip before I exit the airport.

;o)

Bloody hell Jen! $1220? What were they charging you?

James, love the video and great advice. Given the amount of travel I have done in the last 5 years, my suggestions are as follows:1) Take the time to have an unbranded/unlocked phone. Yes, it may be more expensive up front, but if you travel a couple of times a year, the ability to be able to put any sim chip in anywhere will make up for the price. My old N95 has a new life as the world-traveling phone with my friends as it is unlocked & unbranded. It recently returned from New Zealand & Germany and will be off to Mexico next week. So, if you have a branded phone that you can't put another sim in, borrow one. 2) Like James says: research. In my case, my phone operator does have good rates for International calls, text & data if I subscribe a month before I go and then make sure what countries that they have a co-promote with. In India & the UK, I only spend a $1/MB for data. Calls are $.20-.49. When I have compared how much I will spend on a pay as you go UK sim to my international subsciption, they come out nearly equal for a two week trip. I get to use my own # and I don't have to confuse folks with another one as long as I do my research.3) Do make sure you know what countries your carrier may have cheaper rates in and which don't. Funny, AT&T has NO relationships with Finnish carriers, I thought I was safe with my International Data plan and I was not. Not to the tune of $1,220. I was able to negotiate it down to less than half by signing my life away, but….. ((O.o)) If I go back to Finland, I will make sure I get a Finnish Pay as you Go sim chip before I exit the airport. ;o)

James, love the video and great advice. Given the amount of travel I have done in the last 5 years, my suggestions are as follows:

1) Take the time to have an unbranded/unlocked phone. Yes, it may be more expensive up front, but if you travel a couple of times a year, the ability to be able to put any sim chip in anywhere will make up for the price. My old N95 has a new life as the world-traveling phone with my friends as it is unlocked & unbranded. It recently returned from New Zealand & Germany and will be off to Mexico next week. So, if you have a branded phone that you can't put another sim in, borrow one.

2) Like James says: research. In my case, my phone operator does have good rates for International calls, text & data if I subscribe a month before I go and then make sure what countries that they have a co-promote with. In India & the UK, I only spend a $1/MB for data. Calls are $.20-.49. When I have compared how much I will spend on a pay as you go UK sim to my international subsciption, they come out nearly equal for a two week trip. I get to use my own # and I don't have to confuse folks with another one as long as I do my research.

3) Do make sure you know what countries your carrier may have cheaper rates in and which don't. Funny, AT&T has NO relationships with Finnish carriers, I thought I was safe with my International Data plan and I was not. Not to the tune of $1,220. I was able to negotiate it down to less than half by signing my life away, but….. ((O.o)) If I go back to Finland, I will make sure I get a Finnish Pay as you Go sim chip before I exit the airport.

;o)

Hi Ben,

The whole $1,220 AT&T roaming in Helsinki fiasco was a non-so-perfect some-what-humorous storm of

* I really thought Finland was covered in my international data roaming package.
* Really really really jet lagged from staying up until 2am to pack, having to be at LAX at 5am for a 7am flight, didn’t sleep on either of the flights, arrived in Helsinki near noon the next day, had a full day.
* Oops too many glasses of red wine at Bläk. Oops.
* Did I mention the 10 time zone difference jet lag?
* I got back to the hotel room at 1am or thereabouts & decided it would be a GREAT IDEA to send up ALL 181 photos I had taken in the last 1.5 days to my SportsTracker/viNe account. I made sure that the phone was set to the hotel’s wifi, plugged it into the wall, and went to bed.
* Woke up with a notice that 62.5 megabytes of photos went up to my account and thought, “Dear God, I HOPEHOPEHOPE that I used wifi.”
* Life exploded with activity, the jet lag continued.
* Didn’t think about it until 2 weeks later when AT&T turned off my account for non-payment of a huge bill.

So, what were they charging me for? $20/mb data roaming.

I was livid when I finally got to spend 8 hours, yes, 8 hours talking up the customer service food chain. How, I asked, can I only be charged $1/mb in India but nearly $20/mb in Finland…. etc etc etc etc

Anywhoo, persistence in negotiating helped reduce.

Moral of the story: When Dons hands you a sim chip & an e71, don’t put the finnish sim in the e71, but put it in one’s N82. Take AT&T sim out & store it in a safe place, like flushing it down the toilet, before using the hotel wifi on the phone. ;o)

Second Moral of the Story: Always confirm & re-confirm, even if one has to deal with a byzantine carrier website, exactly what the data rates are in the country one is going to. In some cases, one will need to manually choose which carrier one is going to use in the country you are visitng, as your home carrier may only have a relationship with 1 or 2 of the 3-5 roaming carriers available.

Bloody hell Jen! $1220? What were they charging you?

Bloody hell Jen! $1220? What were they charging you?

Uploading that lot over roaming 3G is a goof, but $20 per meg is criminal… youch.

Hi Ben, The whole $1,220 AT&T roaming in Helsinki fiasco was a non-so-perfect some-what-humorous storm of * I really thought Finland was covered in my international data roaming package.* Really really really jet lagged from staying up until 2am to pack, having to be at LAX at 5am for a 7am flight, didn't sleep on either of the flights, arrived in Helsinki near noon the next day, had a full day.* Oops too many glasses of red wine at Bläk. Oops. * Did I mention the 10 time zone difference jet lag?* I got back to the hotel room at 1am or thereabouts & decided it would be a GREAT IDEA to send up ALL 181 photos I had taken in the last 1.5 days to my SportsTracker/viNe account. I made sure that the phone was set to the hotel's wifi, plugged it into the wall, and went to bed.* Woke up with a notice that 62.5 megabytes of photos went up to my account and thought, “Dear God, I HOPEHOPEHOPE that I used wifi.”* Life exploded with activity, the jet lag continued.* Didn't think about it until 2 weeks later when AT&T turned off my account for non-payment of a huge bill.So, what were they charging me for? $20/mb.I was livid when I finally got to spend 8 hours, yes, 8 hours talking up the customer service food chain. How, I asked, can I only be charged $1/mb in India but nearly $20/mb in Finland…. etc etc etc etcAnywhoo, persistence in negotiating helped reduce. Moral of the story: When Dons hands you a sim chip & an e71, don't put the finnish sim in the e71, but put it in one's N82. Take AT&T sim out & store it in a safe place, like flushing it down the toilet, before using the hotel wifi on the phone. ;o)Second Moral of the Story: Always confirm & re-confirm, even if one has to deal with a byzantine carrier website, exactly what the data rates are in the country one is going to. In some cases, one will need to manually choose which carrier one is going to use in the country you are visitng, as your home carrier may only have a relationship with 1 or 2 of the 3-5 roaming carriers available.

Hi Ben,

The whole $1,220 AT&T roaming in Helsinki fiasco was a non-so-perfect some-what-humorous storm of

* I really thought Finland was covered in my international data roaming package.
* Really really really jet lagged from staying up until 2am to pack, having to be at LAX at 5am for a 7am flight, didn't sleep on either of the flights, arrived in Helsinki near noon the next day, had a full day.
* Oops too many glasses of red wine at Bläk. Oops.
* Did I mention the 10 time zone difference jet lag?
* I got back to the hotel room at 1am or thereabouts & decided it would be a GREAT IDEA to send up ALL 181 photos I had taken in the last 1.5 days to my SportsTracker/viNe account. I made sure that the phone was set to the hotel's wifi, plugged it into the wall, and went to bed.
* Woke up with a notice that 62.5 megabytes of photos went up to my account and thought, “Dear God, I HOPEHOPEHOPE that I used wifi.”
* Life exploded with activity, the jet lag continued.
* Didn't think about it until 2 weeks later when AT&T turned off my account for non-payment of a huge bill.

So, what were they charging me for? $20/mb.

I was livid when I finally got to spend 8 hours, yes, 8 hours talking up the customer service food chain. How, I asked, can I only be charged $1/mb in India but nearly $20/mb in Finland…. etc etc etc etc

Anywhoo, persistence in negotiating helped reduce.

Moral of the story: When Dons hands you a sim chip & an e71, don't put the finnish sim in the e71, but put it in one's N82. Take AT&T sim out & store it in a safe place, like flushing it down the toilet, before using the hotel wifi on the phone. ;o)

Second Moral of the Story: Always confirm & re-confirm, even if one has to deal with a byzantine carrier website, exactly what the data rates are in the country one is going to. In some cases, one will need to manually choose which carrier one is going to use in the country you are visitng, as your home carrier may only have a relationship with 1 or 2 of the 3-5 roaming carriers available.

The most bizarre part of it is that AT&T has relationships in certain countries with certain carriers but not with other countries. Most telling is why is the data roaming $1/mb in the UK, most of Europe, and India but $20/mb in Finland? Obviously, in 2008, AT&T executives rarely if ever traveled to Finland. Cause if they did, that rate would change. ((O.o))

Something tells me that the Espoo folk need to invite the AT&T folk over to Espoo and not give them some sim chips….

Uploading that lot over roaming 3G is a goof, but $20 per meg is criminal… youch.

Uploading that lot over roaming 3G is a goof, but $20 per meg is criminal… youch.

Try Roaming Guard for Nokia Symbian S60 smartphones to prevent an unpredictable access to data in roaming. Roaming Guard is useful for anyone who travels abroad, lives or works near a border, resides in national or regional roaming. Roaming Guard simply and reliably guards your data connections and prevents unpleasant surprises, like being presented an astronomical bill for data roaming. For a detailed description please visit http://www.roamingguard.com.

The most bizarre part of it is that AT&T has relationships in certain countries with certain carriers but not with other countries. Most telling is why is the data roaming $1/mb in the UK, most of Europe, and India but $20/mb in Finland? Obviously, in 2008, AT&T executives rarely if ever traveled to Finland. Cause if they did, that rate would change. ((O.o)) Something tells me that the Espoo folk need to invite the AT&T folk over to Espoo and not give them some sim chips….

The most bizarre part of it is that AT&T has relationships in certain countries with certain carriers but not with other countries. Most telling is why is the data roaming $1/mb in the UK, most of Europe, and India but $20/mb in Finland? Obviously, in 2008, AT&T executives rarely if ever traveled to Finland. Cause if they did, that rate would change. ((O.o))

Something tells me that the Espoo folk need to invite the AT&T folk over to Espoo and not give them some sim chips….

Try Roaming Guard for Nokia Symbian S60 smartphones to prevent an unpredictable access to data in roaming. Roaming Guard is useful for anyone who travels abroad, lives or works near a border, resides in national or regional roaming. Roaming Guard simply and reliably guards your data connections and prevents unpleasant surprises, like being presented an astronomical bill for data roaming. For a detailed description please visit http://www.roamingguard.com.

Try Roaming Guard for Nokia Symbian S60 smartphones to prevent an unpredictable access to data in roaming. Roaming Guard is useful for anyone who travels abroad, lives or works near a border, resides in national or regional roaming. Roaming Guard simply and reliably guards your data connections and prevents unpleasant surprises, like being presented an astronomical bill for data roaming. For a detailed description please visit http://www.roamingguard.com.

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greeat topic.. I deal with this in Canada/USA travel all the time. Strange but disabling roaming doesn’t really solve all the issues as you can still receive text messages which really add up. The only true solution is to yank your SIM, use a local SIM, take advantage of WiFi or just wait and use a PC in an internet cafe just in case… great topic, thanks!

greeat topic.. I deal with this in Canada/USA travel all the time. Strange but disabling roaming doesn't really solve all the issues as you can still receive text messages which really add up. The only true solution is to yank your SIM, use a local SIM, take advantage of WiFi or just wait and use a PC in an internet cafe just in case… great topic, thanks!

greeat topic.. I deal with this in Canada/USA travel all the time. Strange but disabling roaming doesn't really solve all the issues as you can still receive text messages which really add up. The only true solution is to yank your SIM, use a local SIM, take advantage of WiFi or just wait and use a PC in an internet cafe just in case… great topic, thanks!

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A good site I use when travelling is the Prepaid Wireless Internet Access wiki ( http://prepaid-wireless-internet-access.wetpaint.com/ ). It shows information on local prepaid SIM details which have special data tariffs. Some countries are particularly good value, for instance Finland’s Saunalahti offer 6.90€ for a week of unlimited HSDPA traffic (I usually get about 2.5Mbps), while others are fairly different to get hold of (in Sweden and Norway you need to be a resident)

A good site I use when travelling is the Prepaid Wireless Internet Access wiki ( http://prepaid-wireless-internet-access.wetpain… ). It shows information on local prepaid SIM details which have special data tariffs. Some countries are particularly good value, for instance Finland's Saunalahti offer 6.90€ for a week of unlimited HSDPA traffic (I usually get about 2.5Mbps), while others are fairly different to get hold of (in Sweden and Norway you need to be a resident)

A good site I use when travelling is the Prepaid Wireless Internet Access wiki ( http://prepaid-wireless-internet-access.wetpain… ). It shows information on local prepaid SIM details which have special data tariffs. Some countries are particularly good value, for instance Finland's Saunalahti offer 6.90€ for a week of unlimited HSDPA traffic (I usually get about 2.5Mbps), while others are fairly different to get hold of (in Sweden and Norway you need to be a resident)

That’s funny. We just did a YouTube video about a $27000 roaming bill for a laptop roaming on a 3G card – the user was watching a US college football game overseas. You need that proactive service mentioned in the video that sends alerts. I did an informal poll with my colleagues and confirmed that users do not pay attention to where the settings are to check on downloads and have no idea what the impact of an email or picture is. Perhaps the phone needs a counter on the front showing the current bill. But that would take away profit, wouldn’t it!

The iPass network just added Free Wi-Fi, so that you can check for those hotspots in your area and take advantage. But I agree, that even that can be a hassle with a phone.

That's funny. We just did a YouTube video about a $27000 roaming bill for a laptop roaming on a 3G card – the user was watching a US college football game overseas. You need that proactive service mentioned in the video that sends alerts. I did an informal poll with my colleagues and confirmed that users do not pay attention to where the settings are to check on downloads and have no idea what the impact of an email or picture is. Perhaps the phone needs a counter on the front showing the current bill. But that would take away profit, wouldn't it!The iPass network just added Free Wi-Fi, so that you can check for those hotspots in your area and take advantage. But I agree, that even that can be a hassle with a phone.

That's funny. We just did a YouTube video about a $27000 roaming bill for a laptop roaming on a 3G card – the user was watching a US college football game overseas. You need that proactive service mentioned in the video that sends alerts. I did an informal poll with my colleagues and confirmed that users do not pay attention to where the settings are to check on downloads and have no idea what the impact of an email or picture is. Perhaps the phone needs a counter on the front showing the current bill. But that would take away profit, wouldn't it!

The iPass network just added Free Wi-Fi, so that you can check for those hotspots in your area and take advantage. But I agree, that even that can be a hassle with a phone.

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I like James Whatley and His work , I saw he did acting in many and do our best performance Wishing him a best luck in Future