It is no secret that mobile services between countries are charged according to a completely different principle, unlike conversations within the state. This is normal, since the operators do not provide them on their own, by their own means, but in agreement with other service providers. Since all this rests on the financial relationship between the companies, the cost of calls for subscribers can vary. Therefore, if you try hard, you can find tariff plans that will be more beneficial for calls abroad.
One of them is the Planet Zero tariff. Beeline, one of the most popular mobile operators in Russia, provides it specifically for subscribers located abroad who want to talk with their relatives and friends in the Russian Federation. Read why this plan is so beneficial and what conditions it provides for, read in our article.
General fare conditions
The fact that the Planet Zero tariff plan (Beeline is its supplier) is beneficial for people abroad, the operator indicates on its official website and in any promotional materials that relate to the service. First of all, users can see a bright headline informing that incoming from the Russian Federation to numbers served on this plan are absolutely free.
Of course, for domestic communication, it looks wild; Do operators charge you for calling you? But if we talk about roaming, then this practice is absolutely normal. When the subscriber is in another country and they call him, most often he pays for the call. You can also recall the heyday of the era of mobile communications, when you had to pay for an incoming call even in your region. Therefore, in fact, this feature of the Planet Zero plan, Beeline, has made quite profitable for the subscriber. True, it is important to mention one limitation - we are talking about the first 20 minutes of the conversation. Further conversations will be charged at a rate of 10 rubles per minute for the first category of countries. We talk in more detail about what this means.
Cost of services for subscribers in "popular" countries
Given the different features of the agreements between mobile operators of other countries and Beeline, Planet Zero (how to connect the tariff, we will describe below) implies an unequal cost of services in each country. Therefore, all regions of the world were divided into several groups.
The first includes Europe, the CIS countries and some popular destinations for Russian subscribers, such as Egypt, China, the USA or Thailand. They have their own tariff - for one day of use you need to pay 60 rubles; in addition, the first 20 minutes of the incoming call are free, after which the cost of each reaches 10 rubles. As for the outgoing call, it will cost the subscriber 20 rubles per minute. SMS messages from these countries to Russia will cost 7 rubles.
Communication prices for other countries
In addition to the group of countries mentioned above, there is one more. It brings together some of the remaining regions, which are obviously less popular for domestic users of mobile services, therefore, Beeline roaming (Planet Zero) in them will cost more. In particular, the daily fee for a subscriber is 100 rubles, and incoming calls from Russia after the 20th minute rise in price to 15 rubles. At the same time, the price of each minute of an outgoing conversation rises to as much as 45 rubles. SMS messages rise in price insignificantly - up to 9 rubles.
The list of countries that fall into this category is longer. This includes, for example, Israel, India, Japan, Africa and the Middle East. The higher price of services, obviously, is explained by lower demand of subscribers in these areas. At the same time, the Planet Zero tariff “Beeline” makes it more profitable than some packages of services of other operators. Therefore, if you like (or have to) travel, this package deserves your attention. As you can see, it extends its effect even to exotic states.
Other countries
Finally, there is a group of countries in which the service cannot be connected, and the tariff does not imply any discounts. In view of what this is happening, it is difficult to say, because Beeline does not give any explanations. Just for some oceanic island and unrecognized states: Cuba, Jamaica, Tunisia and Bahrain, Kosovo and Abkhazia - Planet Zero (Beeline openly indicates this on its website) does not extend its discount. Therefore, the subscription fee is not charged to the user, but the cost of incoming calls is 30 rubles per minute, outgoing calls are 60 rubles, and the price of one SMS also reaches 9 rubles.
How to connect or disconnect a tariff
Suppose that you are traveling to a place where the plan provides a substantial discount on communication services, due to which the tariff is quite advantageous for you. The question is what should a Beeline subscriber do? Planet Zero - how to connect this package? What is required of the user in the first place? Therefore, we answer these questions, revealing in parallel the connection mechanism.
As always, the operator offers several ways to connect the service. This can happen through the “My Account” or during a conversation with an operator consultant (filling out an application with his help). However, we pay attention to the simplest and most affordable command that can be executed from your mobile. To make it simple - dial * 110 * 331 # and press the call button. In response, you should receive a message that you are going to activate the Planet Zero tariff. Beeline provides this action to make sure that you agree and are confident in what you are doing.
After that, you need to wait a bit until the service is registered to your number. This usually takes a few minutes. The system should update information on how calls, SMS and so on will be charged.
Suppose you have successfully traveled abroad, resolved all your questions and would like to switch to your usual tariff plan. The question is, what to do with roaming, how to disable it? Planet Zero (Beeline) is deactivated in the same ways: through the "Personal Account", using the operator or manually, using a short command: * 110 * 330 #. A notification that you have disabled the tariff plan will also be sent in a reply message to your number. There is another way - you can call the number that is specifically designed to refuse the service. Remember it is easy: 0674030. This is a free line for Beeline subscribers. They can deactivate the Planet Zero service in just a few minutes, as in the situation with its activation. After that, of course, the charge-off mechanism and the whole tariffing will be changed.
Features of using the plan
When working with the Planet Zero package, you need to remember some of its features. Firstly, it is exclusively suitable for smartphones. It is impossible to combine it on the tariff for tablets or mobile USB-modems. This also explains the fact that the service does not provide data for using the mobile Internet.
Secondly, the tariff is not combined with the plan “My Planet”. This is also a roaming plan, so the operator goes by providing the user with a choice of which tariff will be set on his number.
Thirdly, Planet Zero is a Beeline service that does not include other features for the client. As reported on the operator’s official website, all other voice services will be automatically disabled when this plan is activated.
Finally, the last - Planet Zero does not limit its validity. This means that the tariff will be active until the subscriber disconnects it.
Tariff Plan Reviews
If we talk about how subscribers themselves evaluate the service from Beeline, then in general we can note a positive attitude. This is not surprising - in comparison with the conditions of other operators, which relate to communication in roaming, as well as with other plans of the Beeline company itself, the offer is really interesting. Connect Planet Zero is definitely worth those who are going to visit one of the countries of the "first" category.
Is it worth it to connect?
If you are traveling abroad and want to talk with your relatives, friends, acquaintances or just business partners from Russia by mobile phone, then connecting this tariff is definitely worth it. With it, you can save a lot of money, compared with the classic tariffication scheme for communication in roaming.
Alternative
Of course, if you don’t know how to keep in touch with people from Russia while you are abroad and are looking for the most affordable conditions, we can suggest as an alternative Internet telephony or even instant messengers like Skype and WhatsApp. Working with them will be much cheaper, or even free, provided that you and your interlocutor have access to the Internet.