Vodafone Roaming Update
Please find the below announcement from Vodafone regarding changes to Roaming.
We have now announced that we’re moving to a new approach to European roaming for our Consumer pay monthly and Business customers.
Roaming will remain an inclusive part of some of our Xtra airtime and business plans, either SIM-only or with a phone, but it will no longer be included in every plan, and we’ll be introducing great value roaming passes, from £1 per day.
There are a few important caveats to make clear about this change:
- These changes will only apply to new and upgrading (or migrating) Consumer and SoHo customers from 11 August 2021 and for other business customers from the end of November 2021 – existing customers will not be affected while they remain on their current plan with us.
- The roaming charges themselves won’t apply until January 2022, though the terms and conditions will be changing for new and upgrading customers from 11th August and the end of November.
- Roaming in Europe and beyond will be included with some of our Xtra and business plans, handset plans or SIM-only - and that includes our market-leading offer of access to 83 destinations worldwide.
- Roaming will remain free in the Republic of Ireland for all customers.
- There will be no unexpectedly high bills to pay, no “bill shock”. Our customers will know exactly what they’re paying in advance, as we’ll be offering a choice of roaming passes to cover all their data needs (subject to your fair usage policy) during their trip. And they can set up a spending limit on their data usage using our Spend Manager tool.
The majority of our customers aren’t using roaming on a regular basis. In fact, fewer than half our customers roamed beyond the Republic of Ireland in 2019, before Covid-19 had any impact on travel. And the reality is that inclusive roaming in every plan could result in some of our customers paying for something they don’t use. The cost of roaming always has to be covered somewhere and what’s free for one person usually has to be paid for by someone else.
So, we believe it’s fairer and more transparent to give people more choice over what they pay for, either opting into a price plan that includes free roaming or paying for roaming only if and when they need it.
- We’re giving customers more choice over what they spend their money on, so that people who don’t use roaming aren’t paying for others who roam frequently.
- Our network investment and security costs are rising, and our charges have to reflect this to allow us to continue providing the best products, services and network possible for our customers across the UK.
- Changes to plans for Consumer and SoHo customers will be made from 11 August for new and upgrading customers, but roaming charges will not apply until 6 January 2022. For other Business customers, changes to plans will be made in November, but roaming charges will not apply until 6 January 2022.
- Roaming in the Republic of Ireland will remain free for all of our customers.
- The European roaming passes will offer great value roaming from just £1 per day with our holiday packages of 8 and 15 days. That’s half the price of EE, and better value than airport and hotel WiFi or local eSIM packages.
Further details can also be found on Vodafone.co.uk/roamingupdate22