The return of European roaming charges

[jeffkinn]

I've read in the news today that O2 is about to bring back roaming charges for using more than 25gb of data in the EU. It won't be long before we hear that all operators are doing this and its the slippery road back to being charged for using our phones in Europe. One more Brexit benefit no doubt!! 

[donnyguy]

To be fair, Vodafone have always been ahead of the game when it came to roaming in the EU which was one of the reasons that kept me with them.

Firstly, they introduced the flat rate euro traveller way before anyone else and then were the first to offer free roaming way before the EU mandated it (although it was on the way)

There is clearly change afoot though as Vodafone recently removed Vodafone Global Roaming Plus from all it's unlimited tariffs on pay monthly meaning it's now only an 'extra' on a price plan with a even higher price point. 

I'd like to think that some solution is going to be offered soon in the form of a bolt on for customers to opt in / out of (similar to what they do for PAYT).

As for EU roaming, I never ever cancelled my Greek account so I'll definitely continue using that in Greece and hey, it's there for roaming use in the rest of the EU.

[garetc]

I'm sure the £2 a day and the FUP from O2 is just the start. I imagine that all UK networks will chip away at roaming.

Ofcom and UK Govt won't step in, they've already given consumer a spend cap. Customers will need to make sure that they set that at something affordable.

I wonder what the wholesale rate is compared to what they're charging,

[Rye1]

If Vodafone introduce this I'm (reluctantly) straight onto Three again without blinking an eye..

For someone who travels a lot this amounts to hundreds of pounds just to have the phone even active for incoming calls. I don't even come anywhere near the 25GB month, but if I'm away for 30 days this can cost £60..

Bonkers.

[chistery]

I've no doubt Three will keep theirs free, but will go back to the severe throttling for non social media use, as before, making it almost unusable, whilst denying it and blaming the local operator when people complain.

EE will include the 47 countries in the roam abroad add-on so you can still roam for free by adding the smart benefit.

If Vodafone did charge, they would also likely add it to their most expensive plans, as they do now with GRP.

There will always be options available, and picking a plan should focus on more factors than just roaming.

[jeffkinn]

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@chistery wrote:

There will always be options available, and picking a plan should focus on more factors than just roaming.

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I agree with this sentiment. In the past I never understood customers who would change networks because of roaming charges. Surely they are incidental expenses related to a holiday and should be factored into the cost of the holiday. If it's more than that then other options should be considered, like getting a local PAYG sim when you're overseas (and making sure you have an unlocked phone as well). As a UK customer my overriding concern is the cost of my phone for the 48 weeks or more that I'm in the UK.

[Rye1]

I've got no problem with a data cap, but a blanket 'daily charge' seems dranonian and counter intuitive as a business decision..

Vodafone have previously considered themeselves 'a serious international telecommunications company' and I shall hold them to that (for now)..

However, I am somewhat downhearted over the direction of travel. Come on VF, rise above it, take the extra contracts you'll get over time, and think it through before making any backward moves.. 👍

[Getafix]

Hey @jeffkinn

My discount on a very old Tariff which included Global Roaming is just about to end.

So I started doing some calculation to see how much the Global Plus is saving me.

In 2019, On my 3 lines, total Roaming in Europe was 15 Days but whopping 75 days of Roaming in the USA and Kenya only.
So, considering Global Plus is otherwise £6 per day that becomes a crucial part of my deciding on the the Tariff I pick. In last 6 years or so have always been SIM Only and virtually been on the same Tariff with same discount. Only thing that has changed is my Inclusive Data has gone up from the Original 8GB to 15GB.

So a £2 per day would be additional £180 (£60 per line) extra and that is before looking at increase in Tariff.

And I will confirm what you have mentioned previously, Vodafone UK is independent of other Vodafone companies and their Roaming agreements are not based on that. For Countries where Roaming is included, you can use any Network available in that Country.

[chistery]

Most EE customers won't need to pay. They will be able to add the Roam abroad add-on if they have smart benefits for free, and if they don't they can add it for £10 a month, so if you are away more than 5 days in a month it'll be cheaper for the monthly pass.