A summer holiday £6m a minute sting

With our roaming charges remaining some of the highest in Europe for the next month at least, the six million UK holidaymakers jetting off to Europe and the US in July could bring big profits for mobile phone providers, says moneysupermarket.com.

Mobile phone users should be aware that the European Parliament's recent vote for a pricing cap of 33p per minute for calls home from another EU state does not come into place until 30th July and even then may not be implemented until 30th September in some cases.

Providers hoping to maximise their profits will not introduce the cap until they absolutely have to, leaving many holidaymakers in danger of being stung by extortionate roaming charges during their summer break.

Pay-as-you-go 3 customers face the most expensive European charges of £1 per minute, and O2 pay-as-you-go customers travelling beyond Europe should be aware of the staggering £1.49 per minute they will be charged.

T-Mobile holidaymakers have the cheapest rate of 55p per minute to make or receive calls in Europe, regardless of whether they are on contract or pay-as-you-go, but this is still 66 per cent more than the cap.

For holidaymakers who travel abroad throughout the year, a global or local SIM card may be a cost-effective option. Local SIM cards are ideal for people who consistently travel in one country, whereas a global SIM allows you to roam almost anywhere in the world with a single SIM card, which is ideal for backpackers.

A frequent user in Europe should consider a Story Telecom SIM card at a total cost of £21 for 100 minutes. This is almost a third of the price of the most expensive network, UK2Abroad, which is £61.99 for the same call time.

Rob Barnes, head of mobiles at moneysupermarket.com said: “Whilst the cap becomes law on 30th June, the operators are not obliged to do anything until 30th July and even then it can be spun out until 30th September – long after most holiday makers have returned home and mobile companies have made the most money that they legally can.

“In the meantime, costs for Brits using mobiles abroad are amongst the highest in Europe, so travellers should look at ways to cut costs. Contact your network directly to see what they can offer you.

“For frequent travellers, global SIM cards are good idea as they allow you to visit different countries using the one card. But there are three downsides to these cards: you cannot use your existing mobile number to receive calls on; outbound calls connect via a separate system and “call you back” a few seconds or even minutes later when the phone call connects; and they are not very cost effective for the leisure traveller going away for a couple of weeks as buying the SIM card then paying for the calls soon adds up.

“For infrequent users, I would suggest subscribing to their own network’s "roaming bundles” such as O2’s Chosen Country tariff, which once subscribed to, can save you over £1 per minute. Vodafone offers a Passport service with similar savings, but people should be aware these require a monthly fee to be paid or a one-off set up fee.”