According to research from Uswitch, collectively, Brits have racked up almost £539 million in unforeseen roaming expenses over the past year. It’s common for the ease of keeping connected to come at a high cost, but this doesn’t have to be the case. In this article, Hamish White, the founder and CEO of eSIM SDK provider Mobilise, discusses a way to avoid this frequent travel blunder and how travel agencies can benefit from the opportunity that roaming fees bring.
Before the Brexit, British travelers could use their mobile devices without restriction inside the EU. The ‘roam like from home’ policies, however, have been gradually phased down since the UK’s leave. Despite the importance of this, particularly for individuals who travel extensively, UK mobile operators have been rather quiet about it and have had little interaction with customers.
The world has changed.
Numerous mobile service providers have started charging daily fees after the UK left the EU; while these fees may appear low at first, they can add up over the course of a trip to substantial sums. EU roaming fees of about £2 per day might seem reasonable, but over the course of a two-week vacation, this could easily mount up to an extra £28 in costs. When traveling outside of Europe, daily costs can reach £7.
According to a recent Ofcom study, 18% of travelers do not check roaming fees before leaving, and nearly one in five vacationers are unaware they could incur additional fees when using their mobile device abroad. In order to guarantee that their clients are informed of the fees they now incur when roaming abroad, all UK mobile operators would be required to provide greater clarification to their clients, according to new rules and guidelines proposed by Ofcom.
In accordance with the plan, mobile consumers would receive tailored alerts when traveling that would include information on the roaming fees that will be applied, any mobile expenditure limits the customer may have, and resources. However, as of right now, this system is still a suggestion, and Ofcom won’t make a final judgment until early in 2024. Meanwhile, ambiguous operators continue to sting consumers.
Put in your travel eSIM.
The trip eSIM has emerged as a viable answer to the problems with conventional roaming. By downloading network credentials directly onto the device, an eSIM, or embedded SIM, does away with the necessity for a conventional SIM card. Users can use this to change cell carriers without having to physically transfer SIM cards.
Since 2016, eSIMs have been available for consumer applications, and an increasing number of cell carriers are including them as standard in mobile contracts. However, in addition to standard cell subscriptions, eSIM provides travelers with a further, more affordable, and practical method to stay connected through specialized travel eSIMs, with specialized roaming packages offered for a variety of international locations. Upon arrival, travelers can choose their location, buy a plan for a predetermined amount of time, and instantly connect to a local network without paying the exorbitant rates associated with conventional roaming.
The main draw of travel eSIMs is their cost effectiveness. Travelers can choose data plans that are tailored to their needs, frequently at a fraction of the price of standard roaming fees. Travelers can experience clear pricing that is in line with local prices rather than paying exorbitant fees for each call or megabyte of data. This not only lessens the cost of keeping connected but also gives customers peace of mind knowing that there won’t be any unforeseen fees added to their regular phone bill when they go back to the UK.
An inherent opportunity
The market for trip eSIMs offers a substantial opportunity; according to a recent industry report from Kaleido Intelligence, it will grow by 500% and represent more than 80% of all travel SIM spending by 2028. In turn, this offers a fantastic opportunity for service providers across various industries to broaden their service portfolio and add eSIM as a new revenue source.
Given their proximity to travelers, it stands to reason that travel businesses, including airlines, hotel booking websites, and any other service provider within the travel and tourism industry, would be the best travel eSIM providers. Customers are likely already in contact with a travel agency, who might provide eSIMs as an add-on service, if they are going abroad.
A travel agency has two things to do if it chooses to integrate connectivity into its mobile application. It must collaborate with a connection provider, such as a roaming aggregator or a mobile network operator. Then, it needs to figure out how to link up with that connectivity service and offer a way for its consumers to access the internet. The first step is simple, but the second requires a lot of time, energy, and effort.
Instead, by collaborating with an embedded connectivity provider, travel agencies could skip over these steps. In as little as two weeks, service providers can integrate travel eSIM functionality straight into their current mobile application thanks to Mobilise’s eSIM software development kit (SDK). The solution is ready to use and can be quickly integrated via APIs into any app. While it gives service providers another way to let travelers travel more easily, it also gives customers a simple way to set up their foreign connectivity.
While the UK gets used to the loss of roam like at home, the adjustment period shouldn’t necessitate exorbitant fees when a less expensive alternative is available. The use of eSIMs offers both travelers and travel service providers the chance to generate new sources of income and connect without incurring additional costs.
Source- Travel daily