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UK operator includes up to 4 GB of data in inclusive roaming bundles as well as unlimited calls and texts.
Vodafone UK has become the latest mobile operator in Europe to enable its subscribers to travel abroad without paying roaming fees.
Just days after the European Commission further reduced the prices that mobile operators can charge on top of their domestic offerings, the operator said it would now offer inclusive roaming in 40 destinations, including Turkey, six Caribbean islands and Switzerland.
Vodafone said the offer applies to 12-month and 24-month Vodafone Red and Red Value bundles, and includes unlimited calls, texts and picture messages, and a monthly data allowance of up to 4 GB. Prices start from £18 (€22.86/$26.13) for 500 MB of inclusive roaming within an overall data allowance of 2 GB. The cost of a plan with 4 GB of roaming data and 12 GB of data in total is £32.
Mobile operators across Europe have been addressing roaming with a growing sense of urgency, as they need to ensure they retain users with attractive offers ahead of the elimination of roaming fees in the European Union from mid-June 2017. In the UK, Vodafone UK now joins Tesco Mobile, whose new Home From Home service will remove additional roaming fees this summer, and 3 UK.
3 UK has been offering the “roam like home” Feel Like Home service for some time, and provisions a maximum data allowance of 12 GB for roaming use. Inclusive roaming is also provided by operators such as Free Mobile in France and Telekom Austria’s A1, among many others.
Vodafone UK said it is able to claim some advantages over rivals, such as the fact that it offers 4G roaming in 32 destinations in Europe and 93 worldwide. It also noted that it does not throttle data speeds when roaming.
It added that its research shows that over 80% of all overseas trips taken by its pay monthly customers are within its new inclusive roaming zone.
