Chelsea Dickenson
Published: 17 Aug 2022
Updated: 24 May 2023
Gone are the days where it’s a given that mobile calls, texts and data roaming are free whilst we’re travelling in and around the EU. Unfortunately, due to the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, we no longer have a right to it! At first, nothing changed but over time, some mobile networks have started to introduce additional fees.
Free EU Roaming Now Varies From Network to Network
The good news is that not all providers have brought these charges in so let’s see who’s still offering free mobile and data roaming whilst in the EU.
The 'Big Four' Networks
Network
EU Charges
Notes
O2
No extra charges
Applies to all customers and those who join now. There’s a ‘fair usage’ roaming limit of 25GB a month
Vodafone
£2/day (or £1/day if you buy an 8 or 15-day bundle) for contracts.
For pay-as-you-go no extra charges
Applies to all customers and those who join now.
EE
£2/day for contracts.
For pay-as-you-go no extra charges
If your contract started before 1 October 2021, these changes likely do not affect you.
Republic of Ireland is excluded from the daily roaming charge
Three
£2/day for contracts.
For pay-as-you-go no extra charges
Republic of Ireland and Isle of Man are excluded from the daily roaming charge
If You’re With EE or Vodafone, Keep It Rolling…
You may not be affected by the ‘new’ charges, if you remain on your existing contract. It’s worth weighing up how much you could save on a contract per month versus what you would spend that in roaming fees. Ask the network see if the new charges apply.
More Networks With Minimal or No Charges
Network
Charges
Notes
Asda Mobile
No extra charges
BT Mobile
No extra charges
Giffgaff
No extra charges
5GB of data limit
Lebara
No extra charges
PlusNet
No extra charges
Sainsbury’s
No extra charges
Virgin
No extra charges
What Countries Are Included in ‘Free Roaming’?
If you have free EU roaming, it will apply to countries in the ‘European Economic Area’ which includes the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Ways to Keep Costs Down if You Don’t Get Free EU Roaming
Stick to the Wi-Fi but turn off Wi-Fi Assist
Many phones have a feature which automatically switches to the data network of your provider if the signal of the Wi-Fi network to which you are connected is too weak to establish a connection. You can turn it off in your settings.
Choose one person to pay daily and then share their data
Also known as 'tethering', this is a great way to share the daily mobile costs between a group of people however make sure they pack a battery pack as sharing the data in this way can often drain your power.
Reduce how many characters you text
Every 160 characters count as a text. So, if you send a text longer than this, you will get charged for multiple text messages.
Travelling near Turkey?
You’ll get charged international roaming rates if your device connects to a Turkish network. To avoid charges, check you're on the right operator in your device settings whilst abroad.
Simply turn it off!
Go old skool and simply disable celular data completely and enjoy a holiday away from the screens.
Travelling Outside The EEA?
If you’re travelling outside of the EEA, you could pay a LOT more than just £2 a day and so it’s worth checking the potential costs with your mobile provider.
Is It Worth Buying a Local SIM Card?
Often sold at the airport or in locals shops, you could save a lot of money with this option. We did this on a trip to Thailand and got SIM cards for around £14 at the airport that came with 30GB of data. Much cheaper than paying £5 a day for our 12 day trip! You may also be able to order your SIM card in advance to your home so you’re ready to hit the ground running – just double check those delivery costs!
Got a New Phone? Check Out an eSIM Card
Yes, these days you don’t even need a physical SIM! If your phone has an eSIM built in (many new ones do!), you simply need to activate it and install a new ‘eSIM’ profile onto it – and that means you can add SIMs that have international plans on them. You can find out more information about it here.
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