Mobile broadband

Using your iPad abroad: keeping costs down

Tuesday 24 May, 2011

By Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk

Heard the horror stories about mobile broadband bill shocks? With a bit of forward planning you can take your iPad on holiday while keeping costs in check.

Even simple tasks like checking emails can become expensive if you're using your domestic iPad tariff to go online abroad. Follow our tips to make sure you stay connected without running up a big bill.

The first thing you need to do before you take your iPad abroad is find out exactly how much it will cost you.

iPad roaming costs aren’t necessarily the same as those applied to regular mobile broadband packages - even if your provider also offers dongles. So make sure you know exactly how much you'll be charged before you go online.

Capping costs in the EU

New rules capping the cost of using the internet in the EU came into force in July 2010. The new EU regulations mean that your provider must take measures to prevent bill shocks by stopping your connection once you reach €50 (£57).

You can increase your cut-off point - or lower it even further - simply by contacting your provider.

At present neither Orange (www.Orange.co.uk) or O2 (www.O2.co.uk) allow iPad customers to use 3G abroad - so even if you have the 3G model and a mobile broadband contract with one of these providers, you will still only be able to use wi-fi to go online abroad.

How much could it cost?

Although you won’t be charged more than €50 within the EU, many people have been caught out going online in countries just outside of the EU, or elsewhere in the world. And unfortunately, policies and prices vary massively from one supplier to the next.

While some providers, such as Three (www.Three.co.uk) apply a cap no matter where you are in the world, others only limit your roaming costs in the EU or within European countries - which isn’t the same thing.

The best way to work out how much your trip will cost you in data roaming charges is to contact your provider, telling them where you're heading to - but bear in mind that costs could be as high as £8 per MB in some parts of the world.

Use wi-fi when you can

Even if you're not on Orange or O2 and can use your mobile internet to roam online while on holiday, you should still try to take advantage of wi-fi connections where possible.

Many hotels now offer free wireless broadband when you check-in, while coffee shops, bars and even McDonalds all let their customers surf the web using their connections.

Making use of wi-fi will allow you to check your emails, update your Facebook profile and keep up to date on all the news from home for free.

You'll also get a faster, more reliable broadband connection using a wi-fi signal than the 3G network.

Even if you have to pay to use a local wi-fi connection this could still work out a lot cheaper than paying premium roaming charges.

Buy a bundle

At the time of writing, Vodafone (www.Vodafone.co.uk) was the only provider to specifically offer a roaming bundle for iPad users. It charges £9.99 for a 50MB allowance within Europe, or £29.99 for the same amount of data in the rest of the world. If you exceed these limits, the same charge - with the same 50MB allowance - will be automatically added to your bill again, though the EU roaming cap does apply across the “Europe Zone”.

This puts costs at less than 20p per MB in Europe and around 60p elsewhere. However, Vodafone says these prices will change as of 1 June 2011, to offer “more flexibility and better value for money”.

Even if you're signed up to a different supplier, you should double check if any new bundles have been added before your next holiday rolls around.

Avoiding unseen costs

Many apps use the internet to enhance their services, taking note of your location to get you the best deals or updating your information automatically online.

While this may be useful in the UK, some people have spent a lot of money without even realising it - so make sure you take steps to avoid unseen costs.

Turn off data roaming

The easiest way to make sure you don’t accidentally go online is to turn off data roaming on your iPad.

To make sure data roaming is turned off simply:

• Go to Settings
• Choose Cellular data
• Select Data Roaming
• Turn data roaming Off.

Comments