Stop ignoring local SIM cards for data plans

I keep seeing nomads in Bali complaining about slow internet while using global roaming plans. Last month I switched to a local Telkomsel SIM for $15 and got 50Mbps instead of 5. Do people not realize that roaming throttles your speed like crazy after the first gig? Has anyone else tested the difference where they are?

2 comments

2 Comments

zaram971mo ago

oh dude i feel this so hard. i was in canggu last year and my "global" plan was giving me like 3mbps after the first day. i finally just got a telkomsel sim from a little shop near my homestay for like 15 bucks and it was night and day. i mean i was getting 40-50mbps easy even at peak times. idk why people think roaming is the only option. like yeah it's convenient to not swap sims but the speed drop is brutal. i watched a whole season of a show on netflix in like an hour with zero buffering on the local sim. honestly once you figure out how to pop a new sim in and get it activated it takes five minutes and saves you a ton of headache.

oliviat171mo ago

Did you guys ever try taking that SIM over to the Gili Islands? I had a friend who did the same thing with a Telkomsel card in Bali, went to Gili T and it just stopped working halfway through the day. Something about the towers being overloaded with tourists. Ended up using wifi from a bar just to text his mom. Real pain when you're trying to coordinate a boat pickup.