Published on August 17th, 2015 | by Diogo Costa

Slash Roaming on Europe With MTX Connect

Most European countries have several connections between them. Some even share languages, but since the creation of the European Union (EU), they share a lot more than that – mainly, they share currency, the Euro, and open borders, with the signing of the Schengen Agreement.

This Agreement led to the creation of the Schengen area, where EU citizens can travel freely, without border controls nor the need to have a passport. However, mobile phones cannot travel with the same freedom, as roaming fees are highly prohibitive for most people to regularly use a mobile phone abroad.

There will soon be specific legislation made by the EU limiting those fees but, while that is not applied, there is a way to circumvent those high fees. MTX Connect is a data-only mobile virtual network operator, that gives travelers in Europe a pre-paid SIM card that delivers mobile broadband internet access over 3G throughout the continent.

One of the key differences brought by MTX Connect is that, unlike regular carriers do, they charge a flat rate for a package, instead of charging per megabyte of data. Even though it offers that option (with a €0.10 per megabyte rate), its business is based on plans, offering 100MB (valid for 24 hours) for €3.50, 24 hours worth of unlimited data for €9.99 and 1GB valid for 30 days, priced at €49.99.

These are very competitive prices – for example, my carrier (Vodafone Portugal) charges mobile data at a €0.246 per megabyte rate, which is almost 2.5 times what MTX Connect charges for each megabyte of data. Hopefully, in the near future the EU will approve even more regulations where users will pay the same rates regardless of their location within the EU, basically paying the same in their country as well as in any other country. Mobile carriers are now undergoing some much needed changes, not only in Europe but in the United States as well, as reported by AptGadget.

MTX Connect is now available in 32 states and is set to come soon to Belarus, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Slovenia, and Switzerland.

Tags: europe, mobile, mtx connect, roaming