Batelco Introduces New Notification Service for Data Roaming

Be Aware of your Mobile Broadband usage while travelling

Mobilk - Batelco, Bahrain’s leading mobile services provider, has initiated a campaign to help their customers to avoid high Data roaming charges while they travel internationally. Batelco has noticed that with the increasing popularity of Smart Phones which support the use of many applications that use Data Roaming, some of its customers are unwittingly running up big bills while they travel outside of Bahrain for business and leisure. 

Although Customers receive automated messages with full details of the roaming rates charged by the local providers for voice, SMS and data as soon as they land in a new overseas destination, it seems that some customers do not keep track of their data usage and get upset by their bills afterwards.  

Therefore, Batelco is introducing a new automated messaging service that will alert the customer when he/she has reached a data usage bill of BD30, BD80 and BD200 and the roaming data usage notification counter will be reset on the first day of every month. Here is a sample of the message the customer will receive:

“Dear customer, your roaming data usage has reached BDxx for this month. To disable your data, refer to your device data settings. Your roaming data usage is calculated and reset every calendar month.”

On another important point, customers who have mobile packages which include free Data MB’s or GB’s and unlimited data should also be aware that the free Data allowances are only applicable for local usage and do not apply while roaming. Also, the customers’ credit limits do not apply during roaming so it is possible to exceed any pre-set credit limit while roaming internationally. 

Batelco General Manager Media Relations Ahmed Al Janahi stressed that if customers prefer not to use Data whilst roaming, they must turn off Data Roaming on their handsets as soon as they leave Bahrain. 

“If Data Roaming remains active, even if the customer does not use the email or browser, many of the applications on a Smart Phone continue to update in the background and such activity uses Data continuously.”

If customers require any assistance or further advice, they are welcome to visit any of Batelco’s Retail Shops or phone the 24/7 Helpdesk on 196.