How much it will cost to use your mobile phone on holiday abroad this summer

5 May 2022, 11:46 | Updated: 5 May 2022, 11:53

By Naomi Bartram

@naomibartram

Vodafone, EE, Voxi, BT and O2 roaming charges in Europe revealed this year.

Many of us are heading on holiday for the first time in more than two years this summer.

But while we’re all looking forward to enjoying some sun, it’s important to be aware of the new regulations around mobile roaming charges.

With the UK no longer part of the European Union, phone companies can now charge customers to use their phones while travelling in Europe.

Here’s everything you need to know…

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Vodafone roaming charges

It depends what plan you are on as to whether you will be charged for using your phone in Europe.

Anyone with a Vodafone Pay Monthly plan that started before 11 August 2021 will have no changes to roaming, but if your plan started after this, there will be an extra cost.

There are different zones which include:

• Zone A: the Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man. No roaming charge.
• Zone B: 49 destinations, most of which are in Europe and are EU member states. For anyone with a Vodafone Pay Monthly plan that started on or after 11 August 2021, Roaming costs £2 a day.
• Zone C: 32 destinations, from Australia and Barbados to the US and South Africa. Roaming costs £6 a day.
• Zone D: 75 destinations, from Afghanistan and Argentina to Uzbekistan and Vietnam. Roaming costs £6 a day.

Find out more information on the Vodafone website here.

EE roaming charges

Similarly to Vodafone, EE charges £2 a day for use of your phone in Europe.

But they are also offering a 30-day package to make things cheaper if you are heading abroad for a long time.

Check whether your destination is included in the charges on the EE website.

Tesco roaming charges

You can check how much it is to call, text and use your data on the Tesco website.

As an example, making a call from Spain to the UK will cost you 55p per minute, while sending a text is 20p and using data is 10p per MB.

Find out more on the Tesco website here.

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Sky roaming charges

Sky's new roaming package is known as Roaming Passport Plus and charges a flat £2 charge per 24 hours to use your phone.

A Sky spokesperson said: “Sky Mobile goes wherever our customers go, not just around the EU. To make things simpler, we will now charge £2 per day for data roaming in popular destinations globally – in the EU, the USA, Australia, South Africa and more.”

Shy's full roaming charges can be found on their website.

Voxi roaming carges

Contract-free mobile operator VOXI - which is owned by Vodafone UK - confirmed that free EU roaming will come to an end on their network from May 27.

In a message on Twitter, VOXI said: “From April 2022 … customers will need to activate an EU Roaming Pass to enable them to use minutes, texts and data while they’re Roaming in the EU.”

It looks like they will follow Vodafone’s lead and charge £2 per day. You can find out more on their website here.

O2 roaming charges and Virgin roaming charges

Virgin Media O2 is the only major mobile network to keep data roaming free for customers in 2022.

O2 customers will continue to be subject to a fair use policy with a limit of 25GB data per calendar month.

There is also a fair use cap in place for Virgin Mobile customers. You can find out more on their website.

BT roaming charges

BT’s Roam Like Home package lets you use your UK calls, texts, and data abroad in 47 destinations without paying extra roaming charges.

Check the full list of free-roaming destinations on their website. However, it could cost you extra if you go over your allowance.