Carmel2
Well-Known Member
How will this affect internet via portable devices, if at all?
The end of roaming charges July 2014.
- Thread starter Carmel2
- Start date
Steve C Cronin
N/A
Well, the major players aren't very happy about this and have said that they need the income from roaming to prop up the cheap costs to "ordinary people including benefit recipients" in their home countries and that those people will not be too keen on financing posh holidays for rich folk and "Jack the Lad" negotiating dodgy deals on his phone from the deck of his yacht in Antibes. Also, the full implementation is not expected until Q4 of 2016 at the earliest. Whatever happens then and whenever it happens, looks like we are in for a general price hike.
DaveRo
Well-Known Member
charles_reed
Well-Known Member
Obviously a "half-empty" view. I can confirm, however, that UK headline mobile prices have risen. However with a little judicious use of "offers" it's still cheaper for ME to use Vodafone in the UK rather than change to gif-gaf or Tesco, both of whom appear cheaper but have major service issues.
Researching costs for visits to Finland I note the 24p/min is less than the 30p/min per call in UK on Vodafone and SMS are also cheaper @ 14p instead of 21p for PAYG. Charges for those poor suckers on contracts are even higher (even when you work out their so-called "free" minutes).
Based on the future costs, it could well be cheaper to use my UK mobile rather than have a local SIM card.
Apart from a re-think on my mobile plans it will probably mark a sea-change in the providers' business plans.
So, I'd suggest Steve looks at the potential benefits, rather than drive himself, before time, into a chronic depressive's tomb.
It does, of course, mean one has to do some research and thinking...
RobbieW
Well-Known Member
I see data as the problem, even looking at DaveRo's link data is capped at 20c / Mb. Multiply that up to 10Gb which is the monthly allowance we find useful when cruising and you're looking at €2000/month! For calls my current O2 contract gives up to an hour for 50p within the EU, texts are part of the deal though I recognise my contract has some features that are no longer available.
I think its still going to be far better to find a local SIM for data in whichever country you spend most time
I think its still going to be far better to find a local SIM for data in whichever country you spend most time
KellysEye
Well-Known Member
I've never understood why people pay roaming charges we bought a local SIM card wherever we went, they are cheap.
DaveRo
Well-Known Member
This may be of interest to some folk - I don't know if it's been mentioned here before.
UK operator Three's Feel at home allows you to use their UK SIM in countries where there is a local Three operator. This includes Italy and USA. It works with PAYG SIMs, which are free, and to which you can add an 'All-you-can-eat' data add-on for £15/month.
List of countries here:
http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI...cat=roaming,varset_subcat=4157,Case=obj(8216)
I've not used this. There are some caveats: no streaming, no tethering - but tablets seem to be allowed.
Useful for short periods in Italy. No codice fiscale required ; )
UK operator Three's Feel at home allows you to use their UK SIM in countries where there is a local Three operator. This includes Italy and USA. It works with PAYG SIMs, which are free, and to which you can add an 'All-you-can-eat' data add-on for £15/month.
List of countries here:
http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI...cat=roaming,varset_subcat=4157,Case=obj(8216)
I've not used this. There are some caveats: no streaming, no tethering - but tablets seem to be allowed.
Useful for short periods in Italy. No codice fiscale required ; )
abraxus
Well-Known Member
Robbie, if I remember rightly Vodafone have an option for European travellers that you just register for (no upfront cost), which then bills you for calls, text and data as per your existing UK call/data plan, with a fixed charge of £3 a day that is only levied on the days you use it. So for an additional £90 a month you get all your included data (probably up to around 4 or 5Gb max) and beyond that are then billed at the UK rate of around 2 or 3p per meg.
I'm fairly sure that's how it works so may be worth checking out.
charles_reed
Well-Known Member
I suspect that that situation will be the same with regard to data - but for UK mobile users it#s now cheaper and more convenient to use your UK provider on roaming.
To answer the original poster - the EU Commissioners' efforts appear to have been restricted to voice and SMS - so no change there.
RobbieW
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the thought but when data can be bought in, say, Italy at €15/10Gb/month on a PAYG deal the Voda deal isnt so attractive. I'm sure it benefits a short term visitor but for those either full or part time liveaboard its still much cheaper to buy local. From experience over the last couple of years we use 6-8Gb/month, thats two laptops running through a MiFi box. Granted some of that is TV at 600Mb/hr (optional) but its also useful to factor in software updates etc etc as well as general browsing.
charles_reed
Well-Known Member
I think you're 10Gb usage is probably higher than most will use (I have 10Gb in UK, 5Gb in Greece) and when aboard average out @ 3.5GB - but little streaming, almost no OS updates and no uploading. Mobile data is even more asymmetric than landline and you're lucky to get 0.8mBit.
I find the mobile offers in UK laughable, only good for smartphones not serious web and prices prohibitive. My 5Gb in Greece costs €30/month and Vodafone have a package offering 10Gb @ €50/month; which bears out your comments.
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Carmel2
Well-Known Member
Thank you one and all. BTW we have the Wind MIFI deal in Greece which is 24.90€ for 30GB per month.
DaveRo
Well-Known Member
When I started sailing in Greece, five years ago, data roaming with my operator was £5/Mb. In July it'll be about 16p, so that's progress. (Back then I made do with 40Mb a month with a local SIM.)
The recent proposal by the EU's 'commissioner for digital affairs' is to abolish all roaming changes in the EU - including data - by 2016. As already mentioned in this thread the operators are against (and so is the UK government FWIW.)
I would expect free data roaming will be accompanied by many limitations on volume, speed, types of traffic, etc. But handy for short visits or passages where it saves you the hassle of having a box of SIMs and keeping them all alive.
The recent proposal by the EU's 'commissioner for digital affairs' is to abolish all roaming changes in the EU - including data - by 2016. As already mentioned in this thread the operators are against (and so is the UK government FWIW.)
I would expect free data roaming will be accompanied by many limitations on volume, speed, types of traffic, etc. But handy for short visits or passages where it saves you the hassle of having a box of SIMs and keeping them all alive.
