If you’ve ever had to use your mobile phone whilst on holiday, you know there’s probably going to be a hefty bill waiting for you upon your return.
Travellers face the prospect of hefty bills upon returning home due to roaming charges, coupled with connection problems when travelling to countries outside of the UK.
Charges on phone calls, text messages and information downloads using mobile broadband technology make for increasing frustration for those looking to use their
mobile phones abroad.
And whilst different providers have different tariffs for using their services abroad, roaming charges will also depend on the telecoms providers in the country you visit.
But now the European Union is clamping down on providers in order to make it more affordable for customers to use their
mobile phones abroad.
The 27-nation council recently accepted proposals to force telecoms providers to cut the cost of making and receiving calls from outside your home country.
The recent EU proposals have also targeted ‘data-roaming’ prices for use of mobile internet services, putting pressure on providers to lower prices for those wanting to use such services on trips abroad – be they on the mobiles themselves or using the handset’s wireless technology to connect to the internet on a laptop.
As the popularity of having an internet service on mobile phones increases, more people now able to access the internet and view pages on their mobiles through wi-fi technology.
Some providers already have packages in place that offer specific download limits for a one-off fee, making it easier to keep track of usage during trips.
Using
pay as you go mobile phones in order to keep in contact during trips abroad is one option, providing you’ve topped it up with a lot of pre-paid credit before you travel and setting yourself call limits each day can help save you money.
For those looking to relocate to another country, it’s also worth looking into purchasing a cheap mobile phone in the country you’re looking to set up home in. This can be handy for contacts in your destination country, but it is also advisable to shop around for deals which offer cheap calls to overseas countries so you can keep in contact with family and friends back home.
