Spending time in different countries? Be careful to avoid your pocket being hollowed out by mobile companies

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

If you leave India, as I did, for a few months, which were meant to be a mixture of work and downtime with friends, and if in that period you spend chunks of time in different countries, then you must be super-careful and lucky to avoid your pocket being hollowed out by these faceless tricksters. First, all the Indian sub-liars' roaming charges are geared towards the wealthy — the kind of Indian who won't notice when his phone bill fattens about four times for the pleasure of using calling and data that shouldn't cost that much. If you're not loaded, your best bet is to get a local number.

So, say you reach Britain and get a pay-as-you-go SIM. Now, every phone company wants you to pay them in perpetuity, so no one makes it easy for you to have a reasonably priced service for just the time you are there; you inevitably end up paying extra towards the end of your trip for phone and data that you can't use. Then, in the past, when you travelled to the European mainland from Britain, your slightly expensive phone service used to work exactly as it did in England, at least in EU countries.

After Brexit, from June 1, many British providers have stopped this arrangement. As you emerge in Paris or Berlin, your SMS informs you that you will pay extortionate poundage for the pleasure of using your British number. This is a scam because other British providers can continue the same same-to-same service.

Very quickly, then, you find yourself taking out the British SIM and putting it carefully next to your dormant India SIM. Instead, you go to a shop and procure a local SIM that talks to you in a language you don't speak, disconnecting every time you choose the English language option. Your grit your teeth, tighten your belt and