Latest updates on roaming charges for Vodafone, EE, O2, Three, Virgin, Sky, BT and Tesco Mobile

Four mobile phone providers have reintroduced roaming charges for customers in the UK.

O2, EE, Vodafone and now Three, have brought back the charges for those who use their phones abroad due to Brexit.

Earlier this year big providers like, EE and O2, promised they wouldn't be bringing back the fees, but just a few months later, they did, reports Birmingham Live.

Vodafone reintroduced roaming charges for Brits last month - meaning new and upgrading customers have had to pay up to £2 per day to use their monthly allowance of data, calls and texts.

Roaming is when a mobile phone is used outside of its home network, so overseas, and connects to another available cell network.

Before the UK left the EU, Britons could use their monthly allowances of calls, data and texts while in 28 destinations in the EU for no extra charge.

Now the UK is no longer part of the EU some mobile providers have reintroduced roaming charges, while others are allowing customers to still roam for free

Three is the latest mobile network to bring back the roaming charges.

READ MORE : ASOS confirm release of two special Christmas 2021 advent calendars

With this in mind we've decided to take a look at the roaming charges for some of the most popular UK mobile networks and what it will mean for customers.

EE

Will there be roaming charges?

EE has said: "Following Brexit, the way our network operates in the EU will be changing."

Roaming charges on EE will be reintroduced from January, 2022.

EE customers can use their minutes, texts and data allowances in EE's European roaming zone for £2 a day or for £10 a month with a Roam Abroad add on.

Here's how the new charges will work:

Where will roaming charges be active?

The charges will be active - £2 a day - across 47 European countries.

These are: Austria, Azores, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus (excludes northern Cyprus), Czech Republic, Canary Islands, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malta, Martinique, Mayotte, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Reunion Islands, Romania, San Marino, Saint Martin (French), Saint Barthelemy, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Vatican City (Italy).

Will I be affected?

If your pay monthly plan and your contract started before July 7, 2021 then these changes will not affect you.

If your pay monthly handset or SIM plan plan started on or after July 7, 2021 there will be a daily charge for using your phone in EE's European roaming zones from January 2022.

Can I avoid the charge?

From January 2022, if you have a plan with Smart Benefits, you can choose EE's Roam Abroad pass as a Smart Benefit and you won’t have to pay the £2 daily charge in the EU.

Alternatively, you can take Roam Abroad as an add-on to your plan at any time for £10 a month and you won’t have to pay the £2 daily charge in the EU.

To find out more or to purchase these add-ons visit EE here.

O2

Will there be roaming charges?

O2 were the first network to bring back charges, with customers traveling to the EU being charged £3.50 for every GB of data they use once they go past a 25GB limit

O2 say if customers are travelling within their Europe Zone minutes, data and texts will work just as they do at home.

If you're travelling outside of our Europe Zone, then O2 Travel can be used to stay connected when you're on holiday.

The O2 Travel Inclusive Zone Bolt On, included with selected O2 Refresh and sim only tariffs, lets you roam in 75 destinations at no extra cost.

Your data, minutes and text allowances will work in our Europe Zone, just like they do at home.

And you’ll get a daily allowance of 120 texts, 120 minutes, and data roaming, in 27 of their international O2 Travel destinations, including USA, Australia and New Zealand.

Find out more by visiting O2 here.

Vodafone

Will there be roaming charges?

Vodafone has become the latest mobile network to reintroduce roaming charges for Britons who travel to other countries in Europe.

The post-Brexit blow means new and upgrading customers will have to pay up to £2 per day to use their monthly allowance of data, calls and texts.

Roaming fees when travelling across Europe ended in June 2017, allowing consumers to continue using their mobile plan in other EU nations at no additional cost, with a fair use limit.

Will I be affected?

Holidaymakers using Vodafone will be able to reduce the cost to £1 per day by purchasing a multi-day pass for eight or 15 days.

Those on the firm’s more expensive Xtra plans will still have roaming included, while the Republic of Ireland will be exempt for all customers.

Vodafone said fewer than half of its customers roamed beyond the Republic of Ireland in 2019.

“Rather than have all of our customers affected by including the additional costs of roaming into all of our tariffs, customers will be able to choose a plan that comes with roaming included, or purchase an additional roaming pass,” a spokesman said.

“Our ambition is to ensure customers don’t ever experience ‘bill shock’ when roaming with Vodafone, because all of our plans and passes will have clear usage caps, and customers will also be able to set their own limits via Vodafone Spend Manager, which is free to set up via the My Vodafone App.”

Three

Will there be roaming charges?

No additional roaming charges have been brought into place for Three customers.

Three has introduced Go Roam which lets customers use their plan or add-on allowances in over 70 destinations around the world at no extra cost.

However if users go over their plan they will be charged.

Go Roam is made up of both Go Roam in Europe, which is available automatically on all Three plans, and Go Roam Around the World.

Three say customers can check out which plan they are on by logging into My3, in the Upgrades and Offers section.

Go Roam in Europe

Three users can use their allowances to call and text back to the UK or another EU destination, and use their data, and it won't cost a penny more - up to a fair use limit (12GB).

In the Go Roam Europe destinations, customers can use up to 12GB of their data allowance at no extra cost.

Any usage over this fair use limit but within your allowance is subject to a surcharge.

There are no fair use limits for calls made to standard landline or mobile numbers or texts sent within their Go Roam in Europe destinations, or back to the UK.

If you're on a plan with Unlimited data, you can use your device as a Personal Hotspot when roaming in the EU.

If you're on an Essential plan, you can change your plan or buy an add-on if you want to use your device as a Personal Hotspot.

Go Roam Around the World

If you're in one of our Go Roam Around the World destinations, you can also use your allowances to call and text back to the UK and use your data at no extra cost - up to a fair use limit (12GB).

Go Roam Around the World does not include calls or texts to international numbers.

Can I avoid the charge?

Three has introduced a Data Passport.

For £5 a day, customers can benefit from unlimited unrestricted data (up to fair usage limits) which can be used exactly as customers like, whether that's to upload pictures, stream TV shows or create a personal hotspot.

If you use a lot of data, or just want the best internet experience, Three say their Data Passport is made for you.

Find out more about it here.

Virgin

Will there be roaming charges?

No extra roaming charges are in place yet with Virgin Mobile.

Virgin Mobile customers can use their UK allowance of minutes, texts and data in the EU just as if in the UK subject to fair use limits.

However, when roaming in the EU, Virgin Mobile's fair usage policy applies.

If customers happen to go over Virgin's fair use policy, they may need to charge. This is dependent upon individuals' plans.

Check out their Pay Monthly tariff guide or their Pay As You Go tariff guide for their current rates.

Purple SIM abroad

Virgin say customers who have a purple SIM will not be able to use their mobile in certain destinations, these include:

Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Guam, Guyana, Namibia, Northern Mariana Islands, Paraguay, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Swaziland, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Vanuatu and Venezuela.

As well as; Brunei Darussalam, Lesotho, New Caledonia and Zimbabwe.

Avoid EU charges

Need more data and on a Pay Monthly plan? Then get Virgin Mobile Pay Monthly Data Add-Ons and use your add-on when in the EU.

If you've got a data rollover, this will work whilst travelling in the EU but is still subject to fair use limits.

Sky Mobile

Will there be roaming charges?

Sky Mobile customers can use their phone or tablet in over 40 European (EU / EEA) destinations at no extra cost with a Roaming Passport.

Sky say when customers travel abroad they will text them information about the roaming charges in the destination they are visiting.

Sky has also set up a worldwide data roaming spend cap of £45 per month for each SIM so customers will never spend more than they want to on data.

You can remove this cap here.

Roaming Passport

Any mobile data used will come out of customer's UK data plan.

If customers have Unlimited Calls and Texts whilst they are roaming in the EU/EEA, calls and texts to standard EU/EEA mobiles and landlines will be inclusive (and it won't cost anything extra to receive calls either).

If you’re a Pay As You Use customer whilst you are roaming in the EU/EEA, the cost to make a call or send a text message to standard EU/EEA mobiles and landlines is 10p per minute or per text (and it won't cost anything extra to receive calls either).

The cost to send a picture message is the same as if you were sending it from the UK (40p per message).

Where can I roam for free?

Aruba, Austria, Azores, Belgium, Bonaire, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Croatia, Curacao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malta, Martinique, Mayotte, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Reunion, Romania, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, St Barthelemy, St Martin and Sweden.

Roaming Passport Plus (RPP)

Roaming Passport Plus gives customers access to their UK plan in 12 popular roaming destinations outside the European Union for £6 a day.

It will be automatically activated and added to your account when customers make a call, send a text or use more than 10MB of data a day in these destinations: Australia, Canada, Christmas Islands, Cocos Islands, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Qatar, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey (incl Northern Cyprus) and USA.

The Pass lasts for 24 hours and customers will only be charged for the days they use.

It's based on local time (not from midnight to midnight) and will reset after 24 hours.

Another Pass will only be activated again if the above thresholds are reached or if customers are travelling to another RPP destination within 24 hours.

BT

Will there be roaming charges?

There'll be no extra roaming charges for BT customers using their phones in Europe.

Roam Like Home is available to all BT Mobile customers at no extra cost.

It lets you use your minutes, texts and data allowances within BT's Roam Like Home zones without paying extra roaming charges.

Which countries are included?

You can benefit from Roam Like Home in the following countries:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal (including Azores and Madeira), Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Vatican City

As well as; Canary Islands, French Guiana, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Guernsey, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Martinique, Mayotte, Norway, Reunion, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, San Marino and Switzerland.

What's included in your bundle?

What happens if you go over your allowance?

If a customer goes over their allowance they will be charged the UK out of bundle rates:

Tesco Mobile

Will there be roaming charges?

Tesco Mobile say they have no plans to reintroduce extra data roaming charges.

A Tesco spokesperson said: "There are no Brexit changes to our Home From Home service.

"You can still use your data, minutes and texts in Europe as you would at home.

"We have no current plans to re-introduce roaming charges in European countries following the UK’s departure from the EU on 1 January 2021. If anything changes, we’ll contact all our customers to let them know."

Pay monthly customers

If you have a safety buffer on your account then you can protect what you spend on data by choosing a buffer that’s right for you.

Your usage will be capped at the safety buffer you choose.

If you have an older tariff without a safety buffer Tesco cap the amount you’re charged for data usage abroad at £40 per month.

So no matter how much data you use in any given month while you’re abroad, you’ll never be charged more than £40.

You can also choose to remove your safety buffer altogether in which case you’ll be able to spend more. If you reach your £40 data limit, Tesco will place a bar on your usage.

Pay as you go customers

Using data abroad will come out of your credit. Find out the cost of using data abroad (per MB) on the Tesco website here.

To see the latest Tesco Mobile deals visit the website here.