Data roaming - Hong Kong based options
About four years ago I noted that Hong Kong mobile operators were offering what I thought was something quite innovative, daily data roaming rates: Hong Kong mobile daily data roaming. When you are travelling and you want to use data, rather than paying the high roaming per MB rate, you just pay a fixed rate on a daily basis.
The mobile landscape both in Hong Kong and abroad has changed a lot since 2010, however it seems not much has really changed on the roaming front for Hong Kong operators. All the operators still offer these daily data roaming options and the number of countries covered has increased, but it seems so has the price, and in some cases there are other restrictions.
Mobile networks like T-Mobile in the USA and Three in the UK have now provide data roaming to their customers to certain destinations at no extra charge.
The cheapest way to get data when travelling is probably just to pick up a local sim card. This can sometimes be tricky and will often involve a bit of pre-planning. Also for short trips it may not be cost effective. The options for local sim cards is constantly changing, requiring you to check the situation before you arrive at your destination. Sites like the Flyertalk Forum are a useful source to check the latest information.
Another development has been the increased use of global sim cards, which cover many countries. There are quite a few products out there, but they do seem quite expensive and seem only to bill on a per MB basis, rather than a flat rate (although there are some that do bill on a flat rate basis). I have not found any global sim product that offers a decent data roaming rate, although happy to be proved wrong.
One product that does seem attractive is called KnowRoaming. Based on what I have read the way the service works is you place a sticker over your existing sim card. Using the accompanying smartphone app, when you travel, rather than using your existing mobile provider's roaming services you end up using the KnowRoaming service instead. They have agreements in place in about 55 countries, including a few in Asia Pacific. Their daily data roaming rate is US$8 (c. HK$62). The sim card costs US$30 with US$5 for shipping and at the moment they are offering US$15 of credit when you register the sim card.
HK$62 a day for data roaming is probably more expensive than if you buy a local sim card, but there is the obvious convenience factor of using KnowRoaming and also the KnowRoaming rate is much cheaper than any of the Hong Kong mobile providers daily data roaming rates. Also another benefit is that while most of the Hong Kong operators (apart from csl) base the daily rate on Hong Kong time, KnowRoaming bases the daily rate on your destination.
I have not tried KnowRoaming yet, but am very interested with its service and as a result I have ordered the sim sticker and will see how it goes when I visit a country that the service covers.
As for the Hong Kong operators, some of them have now launched prepaid data sim products specially for the Asia Pacific region. Depending on the operator countries covered include China, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and Malaysia. Prices and terms do vary, but expect to pay about HK$200 - 300 for about 4 to 5 days of service.
Below is a brief summary of the various network operator's contract and prepaid data roaming offerings. However for full information, especially about restrictions, maximum allowable data, how to activate the service and top-ups do visit the relevant operator website for full terms and conditions.
China Mobile
Contract
- HK$38 - 98 a day depending on destination
- 101 destinations
- Day is based on Hong Kong time
Prepaid
- Specific sim cards for South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore
- Sim card costs HK$288. Duration and maximum data varies depending on country
- One time use, no top-ups possible
CSL
Contract
- HK$198 a day/destination
- 143 destinations
- Day is based on destination
Prepaid
- Countries covered include China, Macau, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand
- HK$198 for 5 days, capped at 500MB
- Top-up of HK$40 per 100MB/day
- Day is based on Hong Kong time
- Cannot top-up for 5 days again
- Card validity - 180 days
Three
Contract
3Roam Data Plan
- HK$38 a day/destination at 5MB
- Thereafter HK$10 per MB, capped at HK$268 a day/desitnation
- 126 destinations
- Europe classed as one destination
- Day is based on Hong Kong time
Data Roaming Daily Pass
- HK$138 - 198 to 98 a day/destination depending on destination
- 126 destinations
- Europe classed as one destination
- Day is based on Hong Kong time
Prepaid
China / Macau
- HK$68 for 3 day pass, capped at 150MB
- Card face value: HK$98
Asia Pacific
- South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia
- HK$248 for 4 day pass
- Card face value: HK$288
All other destinations
- Use the Data Prepaid sim
- Daily data rate of HK$98 - 168 a day/destination depending on destination
- 17 destinations
- Card face value: HK$198
In all cases
- Top up possible
- Day is based on Hong Kong time
- China / Macau & Asia Pacific sim card validity is 60 days
- Data prepaid sim card validity is 180 days
Smartone
- Contract only
- HK$168 per day/destination at 50MB
- Additional HK$168 per extra 50MB
- Unused 50MB free data can be rolled over to roaming data pack usage day
- Over 140 destinations
- Day is based on Hong Kong time
The mobile landscape both in Hong Kong and abroad has changed a lot since 2010, however it seems not much has really changed on the roaming front for Hong Kong operators. All the operators still offer these daily data roaming options and the number of countries covered has increased, but it seems so has the price, and in some cases there are other restrictions.
Mobile networks like T-Mobile in the USA and Three in the UK have now provide data roaming to their customers to certain destinations at no extra charge.
The cheapest way to get data when travelling is probably just to pick up a local sim card. This can sometimes be tricky and will often involve a bit of pre-planning. Also for short trips it may not be cost effective. The options for local sim cards is constantly changing, requiring you to check the situation before you arrive at your destination. Sites like the Flyertalk Forum are a useful source to check the latest information.
Another development has been the increased use of global sim cards, which cover many countries. There are quite a few products out there, but they do seem quite expensive and seem only to bill on a per MB basis, rather than a flat rate (although there are some that do bill on a flat rate basis). I have not found any global sim product that offers a decent data roaming rate, although happy to be proved wrong.
One product that does seem attractive is called KnowRoaming. Based on what I have read the way the service works is you place a sticker over your existing sim card. Using the accompanying smartphone app, when you travel, rather than using your existing mobile provider's roaming services you end up using the KnowRoaming service instead. They have agreements in place in about 55 countries, including a few in Asia Pacific. Their daily data roaming rate is US$8 (c. HK$62). The sim card costs US$30 with US$5 for shipping and at the moment they are offering US$15 of credit when you register the sim card.
HK$62 a day for data roaming is probably more expensive than if you buy a local sim card, but there is the obvious convenience factor of using KnowRoaming and also the KnowRoaming rate is much cheaper than any of the Hong Kong mobile providers daily data roaming rates. Also another benefit is that while most of the Hong Kong operators (apart from csl) base the daily rate on Hong Kong time, KnowRoaming bases the daily rate on your destination.
I have not tried KnowRoaming yet, but am very interested with its service and as a result I have ordered the sim sticker and will see how it goes when I visit a country that the service covers.
As for the Hong Kong operators, some of them have now launched prepaid data sim products specially for the Asia Pacific region. Depending on the operator countries covered include China, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and Malaysia. Prices and terms do vary, but expect to pay about HK$200 - 300 for about 4 to 5 days of service.
Below is a brief summary of the various network operator's contract and prepaid data roaming offerings. However for full information, especially about restrictions, maximum allowable data, how to activate the service and top-ups do visit the relevant operator website for full terms and conditions.
China Mobile
Contract
- HK$38 - 98 a day depending on destination
- 101 destinations
- Day is based on Hong Kong time
Prepaid
- Specific sim cards for South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore
- Sim card costs HK$288. Duration and maximum data varies depending on country
- One time use, no top-ups possible
CSL
Contract
- HK$198 a day/destination
- 143 destinations
- Day is based on destination
Prepaid
- Countries covered include China, Macau, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand
- HK$198 for 5 days, capped at 500MB
- Top-up of HK$40 per 100MB/day
- Day is based on Hong Kong time
- Cannot top-up for 5 days again
- Card validity - 180 days
Three
Contract
3Roam Data Plan
- HK$38 a day/destination at 5MB
- Thereafter HK$10 per MB, capped at HK$268 a day/desitnation
- 126 destinations
- Europe classed as one destination
- Day is based on Hong Kong time
Data Roaming Daily Pass
- HK$138 - 198 to 98 a day/destination depending on destination
- 126 destinations
- Europe classed as one destination
- Day is based on Hong Kong time
Prepaid
China / Macau
- HK$68 for 3 day pass, capped at 150MB
- Card face value: HK$98
Asia Pacific
- South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia
- HK$248 for 4 day pass
- Card face value: HK$288
All other destinations
- Use the Data Prepaid sim
- Daily data rate of HK$98 - 168 a day/destination depending on destination
- 17 destinations
- Card face value: HK$198
In all cases
- Top up possible
- Day is based on Hong Kong time
- China / Macau & Asia Pacific sim card validity is 60 days
- Data prepaid sim card validity is 180 days
Smartone
- Contract only
- HK$168 per day/destination at 50MB
- Additional HK$168 per extra 50MB
- Unused 50MB free data can be rolled over to roaming data pack usage day
- Over 140 destinations
- Day is based on Hong Kong time
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