We have been told by the media, Ofcom, and from phone networks themselves that prices for international roaming call charges will drop. Will there be a real change in the future or is it more of the same old story?
The way the economy is now, the financial directors of companies big and small are scrambling to find ways to cut costs on a business mobile and international calling.
An important issue when making calls with business mobile phones in other countries is the information that is provided to companies and individual consumers. What amount would we have to pay for? Can we use our minutes abroad? Could there be any other options or means of saving money?
Let’s see what’s available on the market today.
It is possible for Oranges business customers to use the minute bundle and call UK and 28 countries, and services which are similar to this are available with 02 and T-mobile. Business World Traveller offered by Orange, will provide 25% off on roaming data and 50% off on standard voice roaming charges.
You can find a similar service provided by Vodafone called Passport. When travelling abroad, the charges will be reduced. When you are outside the UK you pay 75p to be connected. After that you are charged your normal UK price. If you are interested in this service call 5555 with your Vodafone mobile.
o2 have what’s called ‘International Traveller Service’ which allows customers to call from Europe to the UK for £0.30p per minute. However, if you are calling from other parts of the world then the charges can vary from between £0.81p to £1.20 per minute.
T-mobile also have competitive roaming offers. T-mobile charge between £0.38p and £0.55p per minute to call the UK from Europe. Receiving calls with T-mobile have recently fallen meaning the cost is between £0.13p to £0.20p for Europe.
Depending on your tariff and network, you can often tack on bundles of international minutes for use in a certain country.
If you are regularly visiting a country and using your business mobile phone to call the UK, one option is to buy a local SIM card. You will in turn get a local phone number for the country you’re in. In some countries this will not be viable as you need to be a registered resident.
While traveling in the UK, you have the option of purchasing international PAYG/Prepaid SIM cards which enable you to save on roaming charges as much as 50% to 60%.
Networks are competing and the market for international roaming is becoming more and more competitive. I anticipate there will be increased competition in regard to the price of roaming throughout the globe. Since the networks are all competing with each other for your loyalty, prices will decrease.
Finally, whilst the networks are bombarded with bad press for over charging on roaming I believe they are reacting in a positive way that will benefit business mobile users in the UK.
