It can be significantly more expensive to use your phone outside the EU. However, there are ways that you can minimise the costs while you are abroad.
It is important to note that roaming costs vary for different countries. Before you travel, check the roaming costs for the country you are visiting with your mobile provider.
The charges for roaming outside of the EU are considerably higher than within the EU. This can be upwards of €5 per megabit. One hour of browsing the web (approximately 60 megabits) could potentially cost upwards of €300.
You can also ask which mobile network abroad will give you the cheapest roaming rates in each country you are visiting – Your network (Vodafone for example) may also have a presence abroad. You can manually choose this one when your phone gives you a list of available networks.
If your phone is on automatic network selection, then your phone will automatically choose a local network to connect to when it becomes available. This setting can be switched off so you can choose whether you want to connect to a local network and which one you may wish to connect to.
Some mobile providers offer non-EU roaming packages that are usually charged on a per-day basis and provide a set allowance for calls, texts and data services. Contact your mobile provider to discuss the best available roaming options.
If you are concerned about data roaming charges, you can turn off your data roaming before travelling. By doing so you will not be able to make calls, send texts, or connect to the internet (unless you are using Wi-Fi). With data roaming switched off, you should not incur any additional costs or fees.
We highly recommend doing this before you arrive at your destination to ensure you do not rack up any unexpected costs.
Alternatively, you might consider buying and using a local phone SIM card when you arrive at your destination. To do this your phone must be unlocked.
When you replace your at-home SIM card with this local one, it means you are paying local rates as opposed to roaming rates.
If you travel outside the EU (as well Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) you should receive a ‘data usage alert’. However, sometimes your home mobile provider cannot send this alert to the country you are visiting. In these circumstances, you should receive a notification advising you that the data usage alert cannot be sent while you are roaming in that country. You should be careful to manage how you use your phone as you will be responsible for the resulting bill.
If you have not removed or modified your data roaming limit, when your mobile provider can send you an alert, you can expect to receive three notifications:
| Notification 1: | Message telling you when you have spent €49.20 – 80% of €61.50 (including VAT). |
| Notification 2: | Message telling you when you have spent €61.50 (including VAT). |
| Notification 3: | Message telling you when you have spent €123.00 (including VAT). |
Once you have received the alert at 100% of your data roaming limit, which is pre-set at €61.50 (including VAT), you must opt-in to continue using data services.
Once you have received the alert at 100% of your data roaming limit, which is pre-set at €61.50 (including VAT), you must opt-in to continue using data services.
There is, likewise, a second alert that occurs when you hit a €123 (including VAT) cap.
Warning
You should be aware that there may be a time delay before you receive the data usage alert. So, you may have already spent €61.50 before you received the first alert. Your mobile provider does not have to continue to alert you about how much you are spending.
Also, be aware that these alerts relate to data usage only and do not include any other roaming usage such as calls or text messages.