Roam Free in Europe

Vodafone has announced that it is scrapping roaming fees for new customers in most European countries. Roaming fees are the charges in addition to the usual phone plan charges that smart-phone users have to pay when they use an overseas network to get online while travelling abroad. These charges, enabled via international agreements between mobile operators (typically at higher rates than in the UK) and apply the moment that your phone is detected by the overseas network. Calls and texts made / sent from your mobile while abroad are also typically more expensive. You can also be charged extra to receive a call or pick up a voicemail message while overseas and, if you pick up voicemail while your phone is registered overseas, you can be charged an overseas rate for the message being left, in addition to being charged to pick the message up.

 

The Roam Free deal from Vodafone applies only to new customers or those upgrading an existing pay monthly contract, and means that roaming charges (for calls, text, and data) will be ditched for using your mobile abroad in 40 countries from 15th June this year. The 40 countries are mainly European, and the list also includes some non-EU states e.g. Norway, Iceland and Turkey.

 

The Vodafone deal sounds a little less special however when you consider that roaming charges will be dropped by mobile networks across Europe anyway from 15th June anyway (the same date as the offer to Vodafone’s new customers).

 

Trio Telecom provide mobile services from a number of networks including Vodafone.