I am generally happy with the service I've had from O2, and the billing for travel in Europe is ok. But I travel to the US for family visits about every other year, and I am not happy with the absence of a low-csot way of using my phone while there. I'm not making or receiving business calls from the UK, I'm just phoning or texting family members in the US to make arrangements, let them know where I am and so forth, and accessing local information.
Years ago, before I had a smart phone, and I think with a different network, I was able to use a partner network while in the US. This was not perfect, as the local coverage wasn't very good. The last time I travelled, I bought a cheap sim in the US and installed it with a bit of difficulty, but again local coverage was ok in one area, not so good in another but ok for texting. This also tends to take a good part of a day, which is not what you want during a visit. But it looks as though my only real option for this visit is to buy a sim from one of the big US networks, who at least have an outlet near where I am staying.
Yes, I know about Tu Go, but that can eat data and needs wifi. At least I can use it and a messaging app until I get a sim, so long as there's wifi where I am.
But wouldn't it be easier if O2 had partnership deals with networks outside Europe? Or if there was some kind of international standard, at least among the bigger companies, that would cover local calls and texts for travellers? I would be willing to pay a small charge to access something like that.
Am I the only one?
