Vodafone scraps roaming fees in 40 countries
Effective 12th April, Vodafone has scrapped roaming fees in 40 countries, allowing its customers to use their mobile phones as they would at home without incurring any additional costs.
However, the change comes with strings attached. The elimination of roaming fees only applies to “all new and upgrading pay-monthly consumer and small-business customers.” All other customers will need to wait until 15th June, when the mandatory elimination of roaming fees in EU countries takes effect.
Mark Newman, a tech analyst with ConnectivityX, said: “This is a pre-emptive strike, if you like, before the EU regulations kick in.”
Vodafone has included popular non-EU countries such as the Channel Islands, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey in the elimination of roaming fees. Its competitor Three already provides free roaming service to 42 countries for customers who subscribe to advanced plans.
Vodafone also announced that it is designating 60 countries as “Roam-further” areas, where customers can use their UK data plans for an additional charge of £5 per day. These destinations include China, India, Russia and the US.
Commenting on the announcement, Vodafone UK’s CEO, Nick Jeffery, said: “Customers have told us they want us and the rest of the industry to change. They want life to be simpler and for us to remove the things which make life stressful so they can live their lives uninterrupted by these concerns. Our new programme will do that over the next few years and will prove our commitment to letting our customers talk, text or stream for a great price, wherever in the world they may be.”