Since 2017, the EU’s ‘Roam Like at Home’ initiative restricted mobile networks from charging for roaming within member states. This applied equally to Brits abroad and EU citizens in the UK.
Brexit has now changed that, and for citizens of the UK, the joy of ‘Roam Like at Home’ will be changing. The good news is that these days you can travel without having to rely on your phone signal alone. Wi-Fi hotspots are fast, reliable and everywhere. And they’re easy to find thanks to WiFi Map. Just make sure you turn roaming off in your settings. Not making calls or using the internet isn’t enough – as your phone could still be using data in the background, so please be mindful of that. Here is a breakdown of what to expect from the changes and when they take affect:-
EE – the network confirmed this week that, starting from January 2022. Contract terms dependent, some customers could be requested to pay £2 a day to be able to use their 4G or 5G data, calls and texts when in Europe. That means a two-week trip to Spain could cost an extra £28 for every member of your party.
O2 – the organisation is offering all customers a 25GB allowance when travelling in EU countries. Only those who exceed that limit will need to worry about roaming charges. But if you need more data, O2 will charge £3.50 for every 1GB used from August 2021.
Vodafone – they have made any changes to its roaming policy right as of yet. However, much like O2, Vodafone has a 25GB “fair usage” allowance that applies to those travelling abroad, so you won’t be able to download dozens of 4K movies on the beach, but you’ll have no trouble making video calls and downloading an app.
For the majority of our customers on O2, these changes apply to roaming in O2’s ‘Europe Zone’, meaning Austria, Azores, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malta, Martinique, Mayotte, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Reunion, Romania, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Vatican City.
For more help and advice when roaming, please contact the support team before you travel by emailing [email protected], live chat or call 01892 893000.
