July 8, 2021 - Getting online in a new country can be a hassle. TCN road tests a new product from Hrvatski Telekom - the digital nomad surfing package.
I don't get asked to review topics very often, and on the rare occasions that I do, it is usually a product I have some experience in.
After reporting so heavily on the digital nomad subject over the last couple of years, Hrvatski Telekom invited me to road test their digital nomad surfing package, under the inviting title of Relax or Work with No Limits in Croatia. I felt the chilled breeze of the Adriatic already.
While glad to accept and help out, the thing is that while I may write a lot about digital nomads and IT startups, I am actually the least technical person in Croatia. So if I could figure out this surfing package, then it really was idiot-proof.
The last time I opened a phone to insert a SIM-card, for example, was over a decade ago, thanks to the tech-savvy ladies in my family. Thinking about it, where was the SIM-card in my Samsung Galaxy?
I started at the recommended place, the dedicated Visiting Croatia page on the Hrvatski Telekom website. Clean simple messages. 7 days of FLAT mobile data, Max 4G speed on the leading mobile network in Croatia, and a 3-in-1 Multi SIM card which fit all devices. So far, so good.
With promised speeds of up to 600 Mbit, no contracts whatsoever, and just a simple payment to get started, this certainly had the feel of a quality product that could soon become my new best friend.
You get started with 85 kuna for 7 days (11 euro), which gets you 7 days of unlimited data at 4G speed, including a 5 kuna credit in the phone (useful for me when I called home, without realising I had switched SIM cards).
Each subsequent week costs 60 kuna, so if you know you are going to be using the service for 2 weeks, simply pay 145 kuna in advance, and your bureaucratic woes are over. Pay by credit card or cash on delivery to the address you state.
My package arrived the next day, with sleek-looking contents. A SIM-card and some multi-lingual instructions on how to get started. There are two things you basically need to know – the Visiting Croatia page was the go to for information and questions, and the Moj Telekom application was necessary to download.
That didn't take long, but then came my first technical challenge. 99% (or maybe 99.99%) of phone users can skip this part, as it merely reflects my own incompetence. Where exactly was the SIM-card in my phone?
Having been shown all by the long-suffering ladies of the household, I was delighted to see I had space for two SIM-cards, and inserted my new friend and restarted the phone. Having downloaded the application, I was guided to enter my phone number, which I dutifully did (my actual phone number, not the one from the SIM-card). There was an error.
As it was a Sunday afternoon, I saw that this was an opportunity to further road test the Hrvatski Telekom system. A shiny new website was all very well, but would customer service actually work on a Sunday afternoon?
Indeed they did, and I had to wait less than 30 seconds for them to start dealing with my issue. Impressive for a Sunday afternoon. It was only when I was trying to explain in detail what my issue was that I noticed a phone number on the card with the SIM-card that I had inserted. No wonder they were having problems understanding what I was talking about.
As I said, some 99.9% of phone users are not as backward as me, so let's move on to the next step, which is to enter the phone number.
And with that, an SMS and I was free to go. Two useful links to the application and the Visiting Croatia page.
The application was friendly enough, directing me to an English-language option immediately.
One suggestion for the application dashboard, perhaps, it to try and make it 100% English, for a better user experience. Having checked with Hrvatski Telekom later about this, they informed mw that they plan to make application 100% in English very soon.
So now that I was finally connected, what about the most important thing of all – speed?
I live in a relative Internet black spot near Varazdin, and I am always envious of the speed in the town itself. I was pleased to see Relax or Work outperforming my current Internet provider, but I was really interested to see what would happen when I hit Zagreb.
I connected to the guesthouse WiFi with my laptop, with the results above. Not that inspiring, and not that much better than at home.
And then I checked out the same test on my phone.
Now THAT is an Internet speed worth getting excited about.
A very useful service that Hrvatski Telekom offers is an Internet speed map of Croatia for their network. You can check by individual address, and it is a VERY useful tool when choosing accommodation. I tried the service in several locations against the local service, and it outperformed the normal provider each time.
I made a phone call, sent a text, and sent an international text – all without problems.
In fact, the only problem in the whole seamless process (apart from perhaps a little translation in the application) was me. But if even I could figure it out, then it really must be a breeze for the rest of the world.
I travel a lot in the Balkans, especially to Montenegro and Albania. Each time, as I leave the EU, I am left with a dilemma. Do I accept I will have higher charges due to being abroad, or do I try and find a local solution? For years, the whole inconvenience of trying to sort this out has kept me paying the more expensive option.
But perhaps no longer. Relax or Work with No Limits in Croatia has been a revelation to me. Not only do I now know where to locate my SIM-card in a phone I have had for years, but it has also shown me that international surfing can really be a stress-free experience with the right product.
So big thumbs up from me on this new service which is bound to be a hit with digital nomads and tourists alike. A one-time payment with no contract, a user-friendly website and application, and excellent Internet speeds. And let's not forget that very useful map when choosing your accommodation.
And if a technophobe like me can make it work, imagine how user-friendly this must be to someone more competent.
This post was done in cooperation with Hrvatski Telekom.
