Broadband guide

Avoiding mobile broadband bill shocks

Want to take your dongle abroad but are worried about coming home to a big bill? New EU rules have made mobile broadband cheaper to use in Europe as well as marking the end of bill shocks on the continent.

The new rules

The new EU roaming rules came into force on 1 July 2010, benefitting not just mobile broadband users but also cutting the cost of making and receiving mobile phone calls and sending texts.

The law now states that your mobile broadband connection must be cut off once you reach the new €50 (£41) cap - though it is possible for you to extend your limit, or even reduce it further, simply by speaking to your mobile broadband provider.

Your provider must also send you a text - which will appear on your computer - you once have reached 80% of your limit.

Mobile broadband bill shocks

A number of consumers have come home to massive mobile broadband bills after downloading data while on holiday or business trips, with reports of massive £11,000, £21,000 and even £27,000 bills.

This is exactly the kind of thing that the EU is hoping to end. But because the new rules only extend as far as the EU, there has been some confusion over exactly how much it costs to use your mobile broadband abroad.

This also means that if you're roaming outside of the EU - or outside of Europe - you could end up paying far more per MB, as well as being free to run up a big bill.

How much does it cost?

If you use your mobile broadband dongle abroad, there are a number of different things that will affect your bill.

Your location - mobile broadband providers charge different fees depending on which part of the world you're in. Europe has the cheapest roaming rates but you could end up paying around £8 per MB elsewhere - so make sure you check with your supplier before taking your dongle abroad
Your provider - some providers apply the new EU rules only as required - in EU-member countries - while others apply a cap no matter where you are in the world, making it far safer to roam
How much you've downloaded - if you're roaming outside of the EU, you need to take extra care not to download too much. Checking your email won’t use much data and downloading a digital photo might only be around 1MB, but the cost of watching YouTube clips or online TV can soon add up.

Data bundles

While the new rules have reduced the risks of running up a big bill in the EU, roaming still isn’t cheap.

All of the major mobile broadband providers offer bundles that can be bought to cut the cost of going online in Europe, and Virgin Media mobile broadband (www.Virginmedia.com) and T-Mobile broadband (www.T-Mobile.co.uk) won’t let you go online without buying one.

But while other providers like Orange mobile broadband (www.Orange.co.uk) and O2 mobile broadband (www.O2.co.uk) do offer data bundles to help you save on costs, it is possible to roam - at a higher rate - without buying one.

So for example, if you buy an Orange roaming bundle before you go, you can cut the cost of your data from £3 per MB to just £2 for 2MB - a saving of 66%.

Where you roam

Unfortunately, the EU rules only apply to member states, so you need to double check exactly how much it will cost you to go online before you leave the UK.

While some providers have implemented the new rules only as required, others have gone an extra step and extended the cap to help customers keep their bills in check no matter where they are.

EU member states

Both T-Mobile and Virgin Media are applying the cap only within EU countries - but you cannot roam in the EU without buying a data bundle anyway. But this can be even more confusing if you're not sure whether or not your holiday destination is in the EU or not. If you do buy a bundle and travel to a European country that’s outside of the EU you could still end up paying the standard rate per MB and running up a big bill.

Orange is applying the cap in what it calls Europe Zone 1 - which covers the EU and EEC countries like Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Make sure you always contact your provider before taking your dongle abroad.

All European countries

Vodafone mobile broadband (www.Vodafone.co.uk) is applying the €50 cap across all European countries and will send a text to your laptop when you reach 50%, 80% and 100% of your allowance.

But you should still check exactly how much it will cost you to go online - it might be cheaper for you to buy a bundle.

And again, you'll need to be extra careful if you're travelling outside of Europe as costs can skyrocket.

Worldwide

O2 has decided to apply the new EU cap on roaming throughout the world - so no matter where you are, you'll never be able to run up a big bill. As with all of the providers, you can increase your capped allowance - or decrease it - simply by getting in touch with your supplier.

Three mobile broadband (www.Three.co.uk) has set the EU €50 cap within the European Union, but also has its own £50 cap that it applies to all other countries. This means that you’ll be disconnected once you reach the £50 limit until you get in touch with Three.