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There are times when, in the coverage area of our mobile phone, the letter 'R' appears and we get a bit of a poker face because we have no idea what it comes from. If 3G or 4G appears, all clear, we know very well that they are different types of networks, with their own characteristics of speed, coverage and others. And soon we will have to add 5G, which the prices of compatible mobiles will drop throughout 2020.
With 'R' roaming
Well, the 'R' that appears from time to time in the coverage signal refers to 'roaming'. And what is 'roaming'? Well, it refers to 'Data roaming'. Roaming is a service provided by your operator so that you can use your mobile data abroad. Roaming was recently eliminated within the European Union and even some operators, such as Vodafone, also allow you to use your own data in the United States. That is, now we can go, for example, to London, and use our data for whatever we want without incurring an extra cost.
But, sometimes, 'roaming' is not activated when we are abroad but in our own city. And it usually happens to OMV users like Lowi, Pepephone or DIGI. For example, Pepephone uses the Vodafone network to be able to connect with data. The network identifier of the Pepephone SIM card is unique to the operator, therefore when it connects to one of Vodafone's own, as it is not identified, the 'R' in question appears.
Does this mean that the user is going to be charged extra? No. You only have to worry if you are in a foreign country and your operator has roaming active, which we remember can no longer be applied in the European Union. We remind you that, as of June 15, 2017, it is free to use your rate data in the following countries:
- Germany
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Croatia
- Denmark
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- malt
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- United Kingdom
- Romania
- Sweden
To ensure that we are not going to be charged anything extra, we must make sure that, when we are around the borders of countries that are not included in the European roaming plan, the 'R' does not appear. In that case, turn off mobile data.
