Commenting on plans announced by Vodafone today that it will scrap roaming tariffs in 40 countries, Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at Uswitch.com, comments: “With EU roaming charges due to be abolished for UK customers as of 15 June and with uncertainty over what Brexit will mean for roaming charges in the longer term, Vodafone are firing the starting gun ahead of time, keen to steal a march on its rivals and put their current customers at ease.
“It’s also an interesting echo of when networks under public, regulatory and price pressure abandoned charging for texts which were a significant expense when mobile phones first shot to popularity in the late 1990s.
“This will also affect the new VAT charge added to non-EU roaming as Vodafone is effectively cancelling the tax for its customers using data in countries such as Turkey, Switzerland and the Channel Islands. An impressive move – and one that raises the bar for other providers.
“This is bound to go down extremely well with frequent flyers and business customers who represent a relatively large proportion of Vodafone’s client base, and with consumers, positions Vodafone as a strong contender against iD’s Takeaway plans – their continuing commitment to offer customers 4G roaming abroad in 117 countries around the world will also keep the network a nose ahead of its competition. For now, at least.
“However, our research found that almost a quarter (24%) of mobile users have returned home from holiday to be hit with a sizeable bill – the average overspend being £52 – so customers still run the risk of billshock when travelling further afield. Forgetting to switch off data roaming (30%) and mistakenly thinking WiFi is on (27%) are still the key drivers of bill shock, showing there’s still a bigger education piece to be done.
“This move by Vodafone – effective as of today for new customers – is clearly part of a wider plan to address the concerns of mobile users and is something that should be applauded.”
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Claire Jones
Phone: 020 7148 4663
Email: Claire.Jones@uswitch.com
Twitter: @uswitchPR
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