The devil is always in the detail.
I wonder whether this simply applies to pricing, or bundels. Most people, whether prepaid or contract, have a bundle os x minutes/texts/data per month either as the rsult of the contract or because they topped up by x amount.
Will the roaming usage come out of these bundle amounts, or more likely, be charged in addition but at the same rate as if it were domestic out of bundle usage?
I believe this was supposed to have come into effect this year (or was it next year), but that was scrapped after lobbying by the phone companies, and hence we have a new announcemnt for the same thing, but with a new date that still 2 years down the road. In two years time it could be kicked down the road again.
I have had an EE 4G roaming plan for the past 3 years. Not just an EU roaming plan but valid in numerous countries (all of EU and EEA, as well as loads of others like Mexico and USA etc…). I get unlimited calls, texts to anywhere, I haven’t “paid” for a call or Txt all this time, and I don’t have to pay £3 per day to “take my package abroad”. I do have to pay for data though, but it is pretty cheap, something like £2 for 100MB and £10 for a GB, but compared to the old days of £6 per MB I can handle that.
I do pay about £35 per month for this though, and I can’t find the plan advertised anywhere anymore, so I think I’ll hang onto it!
For 35 quid I would expect something pretty good. There used to be two guys posting on the UK sites who always rubbished all the debates about data costs while travelling. Eventually I found out they were on Vodafone contracts of 98 quid a month 
(plus VAT, IIRC).
Your £10 for 1GB is quite significant, too, in that there is a lot of difference between what you get on a 20 quid contract and a 30 quid contract.
EE’s current contract offerings are no good – last time I checked.
I remember in the good old days of Orange, where you would pay £1.50 pm and £6 per MB in the USA. I once had a £500 bill because it billed me £1.50 ever time I went to check my messages too, and I could never remember my PIN number so kept trying. So for me free calls in the USA and a Gig of data for a couple of weeks out there is plenty to keep the Google Maps up to date. Plus my employer pays my bill (at the moment)
I considered the local sim option and did this a while back with an AT&T PAYG sim. But it is not always that easy to get one. I remember me and my buddy trying to get one for his iPad when we were over there, and after a load of hassle we came out empty handed. Can’t remember the reason but it was something like not having a US address or credit card. It is also hassle having a bunch of different sims for different countries which invariably don’t work the next time you are over there.
But I am looking to see what is around now. Most of the companies offer pretty good roaming packages, with Three including the likes of the USA too. But my wife is with Three and she is not particularly impressed – coverage seems sketchy. My main requirements are being able to use it here and abroad for a reasonable cost, but every plan I have looked at always has something missing. If you could use you current contract in EVERY country by paying say £3 that would do me too, but there is always the exception, like Brazil, another place i go a fair bit, where calls are about £1.75 per minute whatever plan you are on.
I doubt it will ever apply to the Isle of Man (or the Channel Islands). These days for the UK, I carry a 4G MiFi for data from EE. The nice thing is I can run all my devices off it and also avoid rip-off WiFi charges. For Spain I have a Yoigo ‘La del ocho’ payg SIM which gives cheap internet access for 8 euro and put it in my phone (sadly I can’t use it in the MiFi as it’s a nano SIM and the MiFi uses the mini SIM format, and I really need it in my phone as I seem to make far more voice calls in Spain than anywhere else), the only issue is having their roboanswer system understand my accent when I try to activate the 8 euro internet tariff. I suspect I’ll still have to do all of this once this new EU thing comes into force.
If you could use you current contract in EVERY country by paying say £3 that would do me too, but there is always the exception, like Brazil, another place i go a fair bit, where calls are about £1.75 per minute whatever plan you are on.
Vodafone Worldwide Traveller – £5/day
But you are right – no Brazil.
But my wife is with Three and she is not particularly impressed – coverage seems sketchy
It is probably more variable than the others. They set up as a cheap UK network – a sort of Ryanair of the cellular world. My son is with them, £5/month. But he gets zilch outside the UK unless he puts another £5 on his account, which seems to last him about a day or two. It’s basically useless for travelling.
I suspect I’ll still have to do all of this once this new EU thing comes into force.
It’s a pity VOIP doesn’t work over 3G (IME) because there are some very good solutions, which present a (say) UK geographical number and receive calls on that number. I have found 3G+HSPA tends to work but the availability is not good. 4G (availability even worse) works great.
I did the MiFi thing in Mauritius. The Hilton wanted something line $35 per day per connected device to use the Wifi. So I went down the road, bought a PAYG sim with 5GB of data valid for a month and it worked brilliantly.
I’ll look at Vodaphone, cheers.
Peter wrote:
Indeed, but:Whether they can detect it is another matter… on IOS they probably can.
True, but I’ve never found this to be a showstopper given everything I need is on the iPhone. If I really must use my iPad then I switch my sim into that if I’m not in a place which has free wifi. FWIW, Three can detect when tethering – I’ve had it cut my service when I’ve done so abroad. A restart of the phone was needed to get it going again!
Given I pay GBP 17/month for unlimited data and texts, and 200mins talk time, on 3 – I think it’s fantastic value and have no complaints about the lack of tethering in Europe. Plus I spend reasonable time abroad in NZ, HK and USA – no extra for me to pay!
In respect of the comments on 3 quality – I think it suffers some level of prejudice as a hangover from its ropey launch many many years ago. I’ve not had any significant issues with the network across the UK. at least nothing that doesn’t appear to happen to my peers on vodafone, o2 et al. it probably does have worse 4G coverage than others but the 3G speeds have been more than adequate for all my flying needs.
Peter wrote:
Or who are not on Three (or any other service that already provides free roaming).Indeed, but:
Whether they can detect it is another matter… on IOS they probably can.
Yes, they can, you get a SMS PDQ tell you to stop! That said, Three are far and away the best network to be on for roaming. No caps or time limits either. Hope they don’t introduce that with this EU non-deal.
It is probably more variable than the others. They set up as a cheap UK network – a sort of Ryanair of the cellular world. My son is with them, £5/month. But he gets zilch outside the UK unless he puts another £5 on his account, which seems to last him about a day or two. It’s basically useless for travelling.
Peter, with respect – this is total nonsense. I pay 15 quid /month for unlimited data, 200 (or 300, not sure) minutes and several thousand texts. Works brilliantly and you know me and my travel schedule 
Where they are not as good as, say, O2 or Vodafone is UK rural coverage. But then, I hardly ever need that. Other than that – what Morgan wrote.
