Vodafone becomes second UK operator to bring back roaming charges in EU
Vodafone said on Monday that including roaming in mobile plans “costs us money” as it confirmed the reintroduction of charges for UK customers using monthly allowances in Europe.
New and upgrading customers will now be forced to spend up to £2 per day to access data, calls and texts on the continent from 6th January 2022.
Vodafone is the second mobile operator to bring back roaming after EE broke ranks and announced flat-rate charges for customers in June.
Operators had previously said that roaming charges would not return following the UK’s exit from the EU.
However, Vodafone chief executive Ahmed Essam said that its customers are not “regular roamers” and that the new system would “give people more choice”.
Since 2017, UK consumers have been able to use tariffs in the EU in the same way that they do at home without additional fees and the fear of “bill shock”.
The new Brexit trade deal signed last year did not explicitly state that roaming could not return though, and only encouraged operators to offer “reasonable rates”.
Uswitch analyst Ernest Doku said that it was “disappointing” that free roaming is soon likely to be a “distant memory”.
He urged travellers to pore over the fine print of new contracts and to use hotel and cafe Wi-Fi where possible when abroad.
PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore was more pragmatic, claiming that the return of roaming charges is the “harsh reality” of Brexit.
New terms and conditions for Vodafone customers will arrive on Wednesday (11th August) prior to new charges being applied from January, which will also include a 25GB monthly fair usage limit when abroad.