Holidaymakers set to benefit from cheaper roaming charges

With just three weeks to go until the new reduced mobile roaming rates, ‘Eurotariffs’, come into play, uSwitch.com warns holidaymakers to contact their mobile networks before they travel or they may continue to pay through the nose for using their mobiles abroad.

Next month sees mobile phone customers jetting off on holiday with bigger smiles on their faces and more money in their pockets. Thanks to new regulations being introduced by the EU, customers could be paying up to 69% less to make calls when abroad and two thirds (67%) less to receive calls while abroad. By now, all customers should have received details from their networks of the new “Eurotariff” rates and some will automatically be moved to them as early as the 29th August. Yet this will not happen automatically for all customers, reveals uSwitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service.

Eurotariffs have been introduced following new EU regulation, capping the amount of money that mobile networks are allowed to charge customers using their phone abroad. The regulation is welcome news to the 18 million consumers taking their mobile phone abroad this year as, before the ruling, they were set to see post-holiday bills increase by as much as £230 million.

The new caps imposed by the EU have resulted in mobile networks cutting their charges by up to 69%. According to the new regulation:

Mobile phone operators are obliged to offer a Eurotariff to all of their customers by 30th July 2007

Customers without an existing roaming package as part of their current mobile contract and who react immediately will benefit from a Eurotariff by 30th August 2007

For those who do not nothing and who do not have an existing roaming package, the Eurotariff will apply automatically from 30th September 2007

Subscribers who already have a roaming package can choose between keeping their existing arrangement or switching to the Eurotariff, and must inform their operator of this choice.

Steve Weller, Head of Communications Services at uSwitch.com comments: “For Brits travelling abroad this year, 3 has really stepped into the sunshine and left the other mobile networks firmly in the shade. 3 customers will now pay just 25p instead of 80p per minute to phone the UK while they are in Europe and 10p instead of 30p per minute to receive a call.

“These new rates will not come into effect until the end of the month, so we advise anyone going on holiday over the next three weeks to call their mobile network before they go to make sure that they get the best deal while they are away. There are a number of alternatives to the Eurotariff, such as Vodafone Passport or O2 My Europe Extra, which still offer savings on the current roaming charges, depending on where you are travelling to and for how long you are away.”

Vodafone customers who are not on their Passport scheme will automatically be placed onto its new Eurotariff on 29th August and customers of T-Mobile, Orange and 3 will swiftly follow on 30th August. Yet O2, the UK’s largest network with 17.8 million customers, is placing the onus on its customers to call in to get the special rate, with activation then taking up to 7 days from the telephone request.

Weller continues: “Consumers should be mindful that operators may not go the extra mile to advertise the new deals for the time being as they will be keen to reap the benefits of the existing roaming charges incurred by this summer’s late holidaymakers – as seems to be the case with O2. Our advice to anyone going abroad with their mobile, whatever the network and wherever you are going, is to ‘call before you fly’.

“Two final words of warning: people still need to exercise caution when using their mobile phone abroad as the new rules only cover telephone calls and exclude SMS, data and MMS services. They also need to take care when using their mobiles in non-EU member states: while most networks are extending the new deals to non-EU countries, there are some exceptions that may catch people out.”

Mobile Money Saving tips from uSwitch.com for August Holidaymakers:

Some networks are cheaper than others and your phone may not always automatically select the cheapest when you arrive in a new country. Do your research beforehand: check with your network operator on the cheapest network for the country you are in, and select this manually when you arrive. Keep checking that you remain on this network.

Check with your network whether they offer any special products such as bolt-on’s or flat fees for using your mobile abroad. For example Vodafone’s Passport or O2’s My Europe Extra tariff provide cheaper calls for either an initial connection charge or an additional monthly fee.

If you’re away for a long period, consider buying a local SIM card. This will let you receive texts and calls without being charged and calls can be made on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Find an internet café or consider taking your laptop with you to use Skype or Voice over IP service to make free calls over the internet.

Buy a calling card and use a local payphone to make calls.