Help! Going London how to avoid bill shock?

[cloudystar]

Mobile networks are notoriously bad in London. Roaming makes it worse. I was roaming on Vodafone and the connection was intermittent all the time.

I ended up buying a local O2 eSIM and it was better but you can still lose connection randomly..

 

[hereiam7788]

A lot of this depends on her discipline and whether she has access to Wifi networks.

For generous roaming allotment, I think for now it's the $15 plan under ZYM/Vivifi/Zero1.

I'm on Vivifi. Was in Australia late-May, early-June. The 30GB was generous enough, and because I was there across 2 months, I effectively had 60GB to use in my 16 days there. But caveat, Australia is considered under Asia bundle.

For UK, there is also the additional port in bonus of 60GB/y so I expect her to be well-covered.

As for outgoing calls, all calls will be roaming calls because they originate from outside Singapore. For incoming calls, they will likely be roaming calls to as they are delivered to an overseas recipient. I suspect SIMBA may be the workaround for this since received calls while roaming are "local" calls, but SIMBA may not have enough roaming data for her. As July is just next month, even with SIMBA's rollover promotion she'll only accumulate +1 mo of data, which may not be sufficient for her use.

One possibility is to get a local e-SIM there and just stack the two.

go for eight, eight there is NO WAY one can incur additional charges other than ur monthly subscription.

 

[lkjh00]

go for eight, eight there is NO WAY one can incur additional charges other than ur monthly subscription.

Should I get her Eight $18 5G Triple Eight Plan!

18GB International data Roam., port over now so when plan renew effectively about 30GB since her trip 8july-6Aug. Additional data UK group A $3.88/GB is reasonable

Does Eight includes Voice roaming in UK direct calling UK number and also call back SG? Eight website states;

VoLTE Roaming: 288 incoming minutes, 288 outgoing minutes to home country (Singapore), 288 outgoing minutes to local country (the country that you roam)

https://www.eight.com.sg/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/eight_cis_mobile_18-Triple-Eight-Plan.pdf

 

[lkjh00]

Corrected! It seems that Eight IDD does not include UK and no voice roaming! What’s the difference between IDD and VoLTE?

Is Simba $25 plan with 15GB International roaming and 800mins IDD is a better choice?

 

[BBCWatcher]

Should I get her Eight $18 5G Triple Eight Plan!

No!

First of all, she's a 19 year old adult. Let her figure it out. Second, when she lands in London, her existing M1 Maxx service will provide plenty of "startup" allotment. She can step off the plane, and her phone will work, including for voice calling to her +65 number. There will be no "bill shock"; M1 Maxx just shuts off for the remainder of the 30 day cycle if she runs out of data or minutes.

THEN, after she arrives, if she wants a U.K. phone number (with some data allotment), she'll have to get a SIM or eSIM there, after she arrives. (You've already explained your fears that the university won't be able to reach her, and that they might need a U.K. mobile number. I think those fears are unjustified, but that's what you wrote upthread.) She can ask the university's international student office for suggestions, and she can ask local students for their suggestions. A local SIM or eSIM will probably cost roughly £10 for a 30 day "Pay As You Go" (PAYG) SIM with plenty of mobile data, in some cases unlimited data. Maybe less if she shops around a bit. But that's her problem to solve (see above).

In terms of technical preparation, all she needs to do is make sure her phone is a "dual SIM" phone, that it can at least accept another eSIM (or physical SIM). But even if not she'll be able to swap SIMs, and that's not horrible.

....Now stop worrying about this, please? PLEASE?!? You're freaking me out, and I'm just reading your posts. Let her be a responsible student who learns how to live life and enjoys her experience. She's not headed to the remote Amazon rainforest where she might need satellite communications.

 

[skazzz]

Corrected! It seems that Eight IDD does not include UK and no voice roaming! What’s the difference between IDD and VoLTE?

Is Simba $25 plan with 15GB International roaming and 800mins IDD is a better choice?

https://www.eight.com.sg/mobile/roaming/roaming-countries/

International Roaming Group A
Part of all plans – check the eight app for your entitlements and usage. Add-ons can be purchased in-app at $3.88/GB.

United Kingdom Vodafone, Hutchison Vodafone, Hutchison

For the eight IDD roaming VoLTE calls connected to the listed network, charges will be deducted from the IDD talktime allocation.

 

[loganrunning]

No!

First of all, she's a 19 year old adult. Let her figure it out. Second, when she lands in London, her existing M1 Maxx service will provide plenty of "startup" allotment. She can step off the plane, and her phone will work, including for voice calling to her +65 number. There will be no "bill shock"; M1 Maxx just shuts off for the remainder of the 30 day cycle if she runs out of data or minutes.

THEN, after she arrives, if she wants a U.K. phone number (with some data allotment), she'll have to get a SIM or eSIM there, after she arrives. (You've already explained your fears that the university won't be able to reach her, and that they might need a U.K. mobile number. I think those fears are unjustified, but that's what you wrote upthread.) She can ask the university's international student office for suggestions, and she can ask local students for their suggestions. A local SIM or eSIM will probably cost roughly £10 for a 30 day "Pay As You Go" (PAYG) SIM with plenty of mobile data, in some cases unlimited data. Maybe less if she shops around a bit. But that's her problem to solve (see above).

In terms of technical preparation, all she needs to do is make sure her phone is a "dual SIM" phone, that it can at least accept another eSIM (or physical SIM). But even if not she'll be able to swap SIMs, and that's not horrible.

....Now stop worrying about this, please? PLEASE?!? You're freaking me out, and I'm just reading your posts. Let her be a responsible student who learns how to live life and enjoys her experience. She's not headed to the remote Amazon rainforest where she might need satellite communications.

calm down, calm down.
she's daddy's little princess.......
(that said, sounds like my colleague. daughter at 25, dunno how to take cab/grab home, after arriving at Changi)

 

[Jenny22222F]

No!

First of all, she's a 19 year old adult. Let her figure it out. Second, when she lands in London, her existing M1 Maxx service will provide plenty of "startup" allotment. She can step off the plane, and her phone will work, including for voice calling to her +65 number. There will be no "bill shock"; M1 Maxx just shuts off for the remainder of the 30 day cycle if she runs out of data or minutes.

THEN, after she arrives, if she wants a U.K. phone number (with some data allotment), she'll have to get a SIM or eSIM there, after she arrives. (You've already explained your fears that the university won't be able to reach her, and that they might need a U.K. mobile number. I think those fears are unjustified, but that's what you wrote upthread.) She can ask the university's international student office for suggestions, and she can ask local students for their suggestions. A local SIM or eSIM will probably cost roughly £10 for a 30 day "Pay As You Go" (PAYG) SIM with plenty of mobile data, in some cases unlimited data. Maybe less if she shops around a bit. But that's her problem to solve (see above).

In terms of technical preparation, all she needs to do is make sure her phone is a "dual SIM" phone, that it can at least accept another eSIM (or physical SIM). But even if not she'll be able to swap SIMs, and that's not horrible.

....Now stop worrying about this, please? PLEASE?!? You're freaking me out, and I'm just reading your posts. Let her be a responsible student who learns how to live life and enjoys her experience. She's not headed to the remote Amazon rainforest where she might need satellite communications.

Singaporean princesses are very childish, spoilt, entitled and useless outside of their bedrooms, and out of their apps.

Many have zero life skills.

She should definitely learn, but she wont learn them all in the first few days in London.

19 is not adult, by the way.
in fact, many girls in their mid20s still havent had their frontal lobe matured.

GenZ is also the first gen with lower IQ compared to previous.

its understandable why fathers are worried nowadays.

 

[BBCWatcher]

19 is not adult, by the way.

She's an adult for these purposes. When she steps foot in the U.K. local law will treat her as an adult.

GenZ is also the first gen with lower IQ compared to previous.

So the way to fix this problem is to "help" your 19 year old child avoid the pain and indignity of even 1 minute without TikTok?

 

[Jenny22222F]

She's an adult for these purposes. When she steps foot in the U.K. local law will treat her as an adult.

So the way to fix this problem is to "help" your 19 year old child avoid the pain and indignity of even 1 minute without TikTok?

law and personal maturity is different.
UK law is not going to help her get SIM card
you claim she is an adult under UK law,
but ultimately after 30 days she is back in Singapore as a minor.

you are going out of point already, keep harping on throwing her into the deep end of the pool.

let the father decide.

he is here to ask for internet access advice, not upbringing advice.

 

[Jenny22222F]

My 19 year old daughter going UK summer school for 30 days in July.

How to avoid bill shock?
Currently she’s on M1 Maxx plan only 7 GB for international roaming!
Also M1 Maxx doesn’t offer UK local direct calling in case London university needs to call her., same goes to Singapore Embassy in London in case of emergency!

Any MNVO to recommend? Thanks

The best thing to do is to start by using the 7 GB that you have first,
and then check if there is free wifi at her lodging.

If she is disciplined, and accesses most of her social media with free wifi, you may not need additional data
(use the 7GB for google maps, or checking something quickly while outside)

If you think she needs more, or if there is no readily available free wifi,
then you can either add ala carte data to her plan, which is most convenient,

or consider buying a local SIM card for 30 days.

 

[BBCWatcher]

Whether it's this anxious father or this soon-to-be adult, you simply cannot get a U.K. mobile number from any Singapore MNO or MVNO. A U.K. mobile number is available with a U.K. SIM or eSIM, and those are readily available after she arrives.

Any more questions?