Data roaming charges are slowly becoming more affordable

I’m the first one to bitch about the outrageous data roaming charges that mobile operators charge around the world. What is the point of having all these great iPhone apps and mobile sites that enhance your travel experience, when you can’t use them when abroad. Unless, of course, you find a free wifi signal. And if you do use 3G to access the apps while traveling, you get a surprise of a phone bill at the end of the month.

But I’m happy to say that things are changing. Slowly.

I have a SingTel account in Singapore and in the last year or so, they have been offering a data roaming package called Bridge DataRoaming. This currently enables me to go to 12 primarily Asian countries where I have an option of unlimited data roaming for 24 hours for only SGD 14. That’s SGD 434 per month, which is much better than paying $2,000-3,000, which is what it added up to previously for a full month of roaming.

To activate this service from Bridge Alliance you do a one-time sign-up through SingTel, after which all you have to do is manually log onto the given provider in the member country as soon as you land, and send an SMS to 3333 indicating your choice of roaming package. It’s as easy as that!

What’s even better, with the latest iOS 4.3 upgrade you can create a personal wifi hotspot with your iPhone and thus also connect your iPad or laptop to your unlimited data roaming connection via your mobile. Brilliant … makes me especially happy now, as I’m waiting on my slightly delayed Tiger Airways flight in Krabi!

Besides the daily unlimited data roaming packages you can also purchase more economical 3- and 5- day packages, as well as cheaper packages that limit the amount of data you can use per day.

With time, I have noticed, that more and more mobile providers are joining this specific alliance, which means more countries are being added to the list.

This is welcome news for someone who cannot be detached from his iPhone and insists on being continuously connected.