Brits heading to Greece have been alerted to a potential mobile phone error which could cost them a few hundred pounds. Foreigners visiting the Greek island of Corfu are reported to have been caught out after receiving text messages reading “Welcome to Albania”.
While Corfu is part of Greece, part of the island is closer to Albania than the Greek mainland. Because it is so close to Albania, some Albanian mobile networks pick up tourists’ phones on Corfu by mistake in what’s known as inadvertent roaming or network drift.
An expert from the eSIM travel company Airalo said: “This cross-border signal interference isn’t new, especially where countries are separated by just a few miles of water or land.
“It usually happens because holidaymakers’ phones accidentally connect to the networks of nearby nations, which are not part of the EU’s Roam Like at Home (RLAH) regulation.
“Tourists can avoid accidental connections to the wrong provider by manually selecting a Greek network or using a Europe eSIM.”
An eSIM allows travellers to keep control of their mobile data while overseas. Airalo’s spokesperson explained that by activating a Europe eSIM before travelling, you can significantly reduce roaming charges, the Liverpool Echo reports.
They added: “In some cases, you can avoid and start using your data as soon as you land, even if your phone briefly connects to the wrong network.”
As well as Corfu, the company has advised travellers to exercise caution in the following places where it observes holidaymakers falling foul of network drift.
It said some mobile phone users have reported connecting to networks in Bosnia while visiting Dubrovnik. Network drift is also possible in border areas between Germany and Switzerland as well as France and Monaco, according to Airalo.
Mobiles can also “drift” onto networks in Turkey while their owners island hop in the Aegean, particularly on islands such as Kos, Chios, Samos and Lesvos.
To prevent network drift, open your phone’s settings, find the network options (usually under “Connections” or “Mobile Networks”), and switch from automatic network selection to manual selection.
In Greece, you can then choose from a list of Greek networks, including Cosmote, Vodafone, or Nova. By manually selecting a Greek network, you can guarantee you’re only using a Greece-based provider, thereby avoiding any potential charges from other countries.