Modern travellers are used to having choices when planning their trips, whether locally or abroad. Travel services like airports, hotels, and the like let you compare prices and decide which one to use. Most of this is done in advance, before the trip even begins. Mobile connectivity is one of the most important aspects of your trip, but the problem is that it doesn’t follow this logic.
For those who rely on roaming, the cost and the terms of the deal are usually not known before or during the trip. The traveller only learns how much they have to pay after returning home, when a surprise bill arrives.
A simple solution to the problem is to switch to travel eSIM services, where the package and the cost are known to the user in advance. Companies like the Swiss provider Yesim show how a system like this works in practice.
Why roaming costs can blow your travel budget
The problem with roaming is that it robs you of the ability to make your own choices. It lets you use your home number abroad, but it also forces you to use your home tariff. That also means paying more for different zones and having to respect daily limits and activation conditions.
The price of roaming varies from one operator to the next, but the prices are always much higher than you would expect. For example, O2 offers a Travel Bolt On for £7 per day, which you can use in 75 destinations. This option is already included in some customers' plans, while others have to apply for it separately.
The problem is that you get a limited amount of data, and you need to ration it carefully. A single action that takes you over the limit will trigger a full daily charge. And if you save some of the data on the first day, it doesn’t transfer to the next day — you only get a single daily portion.
The worry of triggering another charge changes user behavior and has you constantly questioning how and when to use the internet.
Travel eSIM as a modern alternative to roaming
Travel eSIM has emerged as an alternative to roaming that solves many of its problems. It uses an eSIM — a microchip that comes built into many of the newer smartphones and tablets. This chip allows you to install operator profiles supplied by travel eSIM services. You will also need to download their app, which lets you pick plans for different countries, activate your profile, and keep track of the data you spend.
All of this is done remotely, so you don’t have to visit the company’s store or reach out to anyone. Simply set everything up before leaving on your trip, and activate your profile when you land.
The main advantage of travel eSIMs is that they offer lower prices, and you know exactly how much you’ll have to pay. This is what allows you to compare offers and choose the one that gives you the best deal. For example, with roaming, taking an O2 Travel Bolt On for a week-long trip to Japan will cost you £49. However, Yesim’s unlimited package for Japan for 7 days costs only £22.05.
You can choose a local plan for a single country or a regional one if you plan to travel around. You can even pick a global plan for a long trip involving multiple countries. Your native phone number will remain active for the entire time, allowing you to receive calls and texts, while the internet goes through an eSIM.
Yesim: the Swiss standard of travel connectivity
Yesim is an innovative Swiss company and one of the pioneers of the travel eSIM market. It has been operating since 2019, offering mobile internet to over 4 million users in more than 200 destinations. Yesim’s reputation and standing as a global connectivity provider is reflected in its status as the official eSIM partner of the World Players Super League (WPSL) — the largest golf tour in the world. The tour organises over 1,800 tournaments in over 50 countries every year.
Yesim offers Global and Global Plus packages, with both fixed-rate and unlimited plan options. The Global Package covers 80+ countries, while the Global Plus Package covers 140+ countries. The Pay & Fly tariff with a "pay-as-you-go" model covers over 170 countries, and you only pay for the data you actually use, making it perfect for those who don’t know their connectivity needs in advance.
The company also uses Switchless Network technology that automatically connects you to the strongest available signal, thanks to Yesim’s partnerships with over 800 operators. That way, if you find yourself in a remote or a crowded area, you won’t lose internet access. Another useful part of the deal is the Multiple eSIMs feature: it allows users to manage several profiles from a single account, which is great for families and groups.
You can check its connection quality for yourself thanks to the test pack that offers 500 MB for a symbolic price of £0.45. For first-time users, Yesim also offers a 15% discount through a promo code GETYESIM15.
In this day and age, there is no reason for mobile connectivity not to be just another part of the trip that you can pre-plan before leaving home. Yesim provides this model in a familiar way: management through an app, customizable tariff plans that match your trip, and an upfront cost with no unexpected roaming charges.
"Today travellers are becoming far more price-conscious. The cost of air tickets, hotels and everyday travel expenses keeps rising, especially in peak seasons," says Dmitri Verbovski, founder and CEO of Yesim. "At the same time, reliable and simple internet access abroad has become a basic necessity. We believe that staying connected while travelling should be getting easier and more affordable, not harder."