Flexiroam X launches alternative overseas data service for Australian customers

IF YOU’RE heading overseas and don’t want to buy a data roaming package or local SIM card, this could be a much cheaper alternative.

A YOUNG mobile service provider has launched a new product for Australian customers that hopes to eliminate the expensive costs of mobile data when travelling overseas.

Flexiroam X launched its new service in Australia Wednesday that offers a reliable and relatively inexpensive way to use mobile data on overseas networks.

The service is powered by a microchip-embedded film that’s thinner than an A4 paper, the company’s CEO Jef told news.com.au. The chip lays atop a customer’s SIM card and once users have downloaded the app, they can use it to piggy back on foreign networks for their data needs without incurring any surprise costs.

Users can toggle between the foreign network and their regular SIM using the settings on their phone.

When users first sign up they can unlock free data by interacting with the app including providing your personal details. If you recommend it to a friend, you both receive 100 Mbs of free data.

Otherwise customers can pay $US20 ($27) for 1 GB of data which lasts for a year. Users also have to purchase a year subscription for $US9.99 ($13.60).

A single GB of data is by no means a huge amount of data but Mr Ong said the company’s research showed people on holiday tend to use their hotel internet and Wi-Fi hot spots for data heavy tasks and the Flexiroam chip allows them to use apps such a Google Maps and messaging services much more cheaply while out and about.

“You shouldn’t have to pay for a daily rate,” Mr Ong said, referring to the common telco practice of charging a daily rate for global roaming data services.

Global roaming was once an easy way to rack up exorbitant fees but these days major telcos offer holiday packages to avoid instances of bill shock. For example Vodafone offers global roaming data beginning at $5 a day.

Telstra on the other hand faced customer backlash late last year when it dramatically increased the price of international data services right before the holiday season. The move caused “International Travel Passes” for countries including Indonesia and Thailand to double in price from $150 to $300 for a 30 day pass.

Flexiroam Ltd has its business and R&D base in Malaysia and a headquarters in Perth, from which it hopes gain a firm foothold in the Australian market.

Mr Ong said the company hopes to win over the nine million Australians who take overseas trips every year but don’t want to buy a local SIM card or pay high excess fees for their data.

Is this the easy way around expensive data roaming packages?

Originally published as Flexiroam X launches alternative overseas data service for Australian customers