V-Flyer

I got a message last week from O2 last week but I just skimmed it but I did pay attention to the message I got when I arrived in AMS last Thursday (which was actually the day the change was implemented from)

The message said

Welcome to the Netherlands. Now, all calls, texts and data you use in your Europe Zone will come out of your normal UK allowance ...

I have a pay montly tarriff and the conditions for paygo are slightly different but in principal there are no longer any roaming fees - as long as you have the right package / bolt on.

The change saved me £10 over the 5 days I was there as the previous O2 charge was £1.99 per day.

I imagine other mobile providers sent out similar messages but best check before you go!

Yes, all UK mobile networks now have to included EU roaming in their pay monthly plans (or charge you the UK rates if you are PAYG).

PAYG is a bit of a con now though because most of the networks increased their standard PAYG rates a few months before this EU roaming came in!

EE refreshed all their pay monthly plans to include EU roaming the other week and now also sell a set of 'Max' pay monthly and SIM only plans which as well as including roaming within the EU now also includes roaming in 5 other none-EU countries as well (USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand).

I switched to one of these plans before I went to New York and it's now so much easier and cheaper now not having to worry about needing to buy roaming data add-ons etc when roaming in the US and having everything included (including voicemail access) in my UK allowances when in the USA.

(Be careful with EE though because if you are already on one of their older 'Max' plans purchased before May 10th, those don't include those 5 extra non-EU countries, however, EE will let you switch to the newer 'Max' plan even if you are still in contract)

I think there's only EE and Three that include none-EU roaming in any of their plans isn't there?

mitchja wrote:Yes, all UK mobile networks now have to included EU roaming in their pay monthly plans (or charge you the UK rates if you are PAYG).

PAYG is a bit of a con now though because most of the networks increased their standard PAYG rates a few months before this EU roaming came in!

EE refreshed all their pay monthly plans to include EU roaming the other week and now also sell a set of 'Max' pay monthly and SIM only plans which as well as including roaming within the EU now also includes roaming in 5 other none-EU countries as well (USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand).



I switched to one of these plans before I went to New York and it's now so much easier and cheaper now not having to worry about needing to buy roaming data add-ons etc when roaming in the US and having everything included (including voicemail access) in my UK allowances when in the USA.

(Be careful with EE though because if you are already on one of their older 'Max' plans purchased before May 10th, those don't include those 5 extra non-EU countries, however, EE will let you switch to the newer 'Max' plan even if you are still in contract)

I think there's only EE and Three that include none-EU roaming in any of their plans isn't there?

Does that include calls within th US though, or just calls from the US to the UK?

Yes, on those new Max EE plans calls to local foreign mobiles or landlines when roaming in those countries as well as calls back to the UK and other UK mobiles are all included in your allowances.

Full details can be found in EE's price plan guide here (it's on the last but one page, that price plan guide is for SIM only, however, the same also applies for full 24 month handset Max plans as well).

The only thing not included are calls to premium rate numbers in those countries and also; and this applies to every UK mobile network, calls from your mobile when you are in the UK to International mobile numbers or International landlines.

Thanks James.

Don't forget that this is only a temporary phase, and that 'The people have spoken' about not wanting this 'Europe Thing'

I'm sure the Telcos are already planning revenge for their current loss on revenues and that post March 2019, without having to stick to the EU agreement, nor anyone to regulate them I bet it's going to be painful!

but hey, that's democracy!

Peter

Peter without wanting to get into a whole Brexit debate ALL current and future (until the date we leave) EU regulations, court rulings and directives not currently part of UK law by dint of primary or secondary legislation will be enshrined into UK law in the Great Repeal Bill until Parliament activly repels them at some future point in the future.

Three Mobile hasn't charged me extra in most EU countries for years. They now offer this service in 60 countries inc. USA and Australia.

Take care when exceeding your allowance!

For USA travelers going abroad T-Mobile has free data roaming and SMS text in 160 countries including UK and most of Europe. Voice calls are only 20 cents per minute but you can make WiFi calls at no charge. The data speeds are not always fast, but with the prevalence of WiFi these days it's not critical. And it's so nice not to come home to a massive phone bill!

Just a note of warning. I use Vodafone on a monthly contract. Earlier this year I visited Florida and this system was already in use by Vodafone. As I sent 4 texts home during my stay which cost me £20 (4×£5) as they were on different days. In the past the charges were about a pound each. Now I just use WhatsApp on the w ifi as I am not a heavy user.

David1946 wrote:Just a note of warning. I use Vodafone on a monthly contract. Earlier this year I visited Florida and this system was already in use by Vodafone. As I sent 4 texts home during my stay which cost me £20 (4×£5) as they were on different days. In the past the charges were about a pound each. Now I just use WhatsApp on the w ifi as I am not a heavy user.

You need to opt out of the Global Roaming option. SMS will then be charged at your roaming rate.

I've just replaced my iPad and the new one has an eSim (which I knew nothing about, as it's not a technology I follow to closely - so sorry if you tecchies sigh at this point, as you know it all)

The eSim is inbuilt, and allows me to switch to any network without fiddling with bent paperclips, as all you do is subscribe electronically to any network you can see - and you get to see ALL of them, as you're not tied into one provider (eg o2) and it's mates abroad

Interestingly I've subscribed ti GigSky, which has the nice advantage that in the UK I can see - and roam across - all 4 major networks - 02, Voda, EE, and 3. Naturally it's more expensive than a direct subscription with, say, 02, but coverage is now good.

It's early days - I've only had it for 3 days so far - but hopefully a heads up for those travellers out there

Oh - and the new iPad still has the little draw and bent paperclip in case you're feeling nostalgic

Peter