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Ask Our Expert
Is mobile broadband abroad becoming more affordable?
I've always avoided taking my dongle on holiday because it costs so much to go online abroad. But I've just seen news that roaming charges are coming down - will using mobile broadband abroad really be affordable now?
Anthony Jones, via email, 5 July 2011
Our Broadband Expert says...
The European Commission (EC) has set new caps on how much mobile providers can charge you for using your dongle abroad.
This is part of a wider plan to bring down the cost of mobile broadband, making and receiving calls and sending text messages within the EU.
Download caps
The EC decided to take action after a number of consumers came home to “bill shocks” running into thousands of pounds for using the internet abroad. Even today, after widespread media coverage of the problem and price caps already in place, the average post-holiday mobile bill is still £149.
New rules that came into play last year capped the cost of going online in the EU to a maximum €50 (around £45, though this varies slightly by provider). Once you reach this cap, you won’t be able to surf any more unless you agree with your provider to raise your limit - preferably beforehand.
Although this will cut the cost of going online on holiday, data isn’t quite what you’d call “affordable” yet.
The next round of price cuts will come in July next year, bringing the cost of surfing the net or checking emails down to 90c or around 81p per MB - from an average of around £1.80 per MB today. This should fall again to 50c or 41p per MB by 2014 and the EC hopes to align domestic and EU charges by 2015.
Current data roaming costs
Although data roaming costs are coming down, it’s still easy to reach your €50 limit if you're not careful. The following standard charges apply to pay monthly tariffs within the EU. But no matter where you're travelling to, you should make sure you check exact costs before you go.
| Provider | Cost per MB within Europe | Spend cap within Europe | Cost outside of Europe | Spend cap outside of Europe |
| O2 (www.o2.co.uk) | £3.07 per MB | £40 for up to 50MB, or £120 for up to 200MB if you choose a higher limit | £6 per MB | £40 for up to 50MB, or £120 for up to 200MB if you choose a higher limit |
| Orange (www.orange.co.uk) | £3 per MB | €50 | £8 per MB | None |
| Three (www.three.co.uk) | £1.28 per MB | £43 | £3, £6 or £10 per MB depending on where you travel | None |
| T-Mobile (www.t-mobile.co.uk) | £1 for 3MB, £5 for 20MB or £10 for 50MB | You can only go online in Europe using a Euro Internet tariff, up to your bundle allowance. You’ll then have to buy a new bundle to go online again | £7.50 per MB | None |
| Vodafone (www.vodafone.co.uk) | £1 per MB up to 5MB, then £5 for every 5MB after that | £38 plus VAT | £3 per MB up to 5MB, then £15 for every 5MB after that | £100 |
| Virgin Media (www.virginmobile.com) | £10 1-day Travel Pass give you 10MB, £15 3-day Travel Pass gives you 15MB, £30 7-day Travel Pass gives you 30MB or you can buy a 30-day 60MB Travel Pass for £60 | You can only go online in Europe using a Travel Pass. Once your pass expires or you have used up your data you will need to buy a new Travel pass to stay online | £5 per MB | You can set your own limit before you travel |
According to Three, “each MB of data is the equivalent of viewing about 100 web pages on your phone, or three pages on your PC.”
You also need to make sure you know exactly where Europe is as far as your provider is concerned. For example, T-Mobile says: “Europe means countries in the EU and EEA. Unfortunately some favourite tourist spots like Turkey, Croatia, Morocco and Tunisia are not in the EU.”
To be absolutely certain, you need to speak to your supplier before you go.
Bundles
While some providers, like T-Mobile and Virgin Media, will not let you go online in Europe without buying a data bundle - guaranteeing that you'll never spend unknowingly, policies do vary by provider.
The best way to keep your bill under control - and save on roaming costs at the same time - is to buy a data bundle before you travel.
Capping call costs
The new data roaming rules are also bringing down the cost of making and receiving calls from your mobile, or sending a text message within Europe.
From 1 July, the cost of making a mobile call while travelling in Europe dropped to a maximum 32p per minute, plus VAT. Receiving a call will now cost you no more than 10p per minute, plus VAT while the cost of sending a text message has stayed the same at a maximum of 10p, plus VAT.
Again, voice and text roaming charges are set to meet domestic rates by 2015.
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