Ref:    74/01
Date:  7 November 2001

UK mobile phone users are paying twice as much as other European consumers to use their pre-pay mobile abroad a new study by Oftel shows today.

The study shows that UK prices for pre-pay international roaming - the service that allows you to use a foreign mobile network when travelling abroad - are much higher than for customers in France, Germany, Sweden and Italy.

As well as paying higher prices for outgoing calls, UK consumers can pay up to £1.50 per minute to receive incoming calls whilst travelling in Europe.

Oftel research shows that many consumers may be getting caught out because they are not aware of the high prices. Less than a quarter of consumers, when they bought their phone, had any knowledge of the price of using a mobile phone abroad.

Oftel has today set out measures to improve consumer awareness and to help customers save money when using their mobile on holiday or when abroad on business.

The advice includes:

• if you travel often, consider swapping your SIM card when abroad and use the SIM card of an alternative provider – either a foreign network or a dedicated provider of international mobile phone services – you can buy these at mobile phone shops in the UK and abroad;
• change to a different tariff - if you travel frequently, the cost of monthly line rental may be offset by cheaper rates for international roaming;
• consider using use text messages instead of voice calls as this can be cheaper, but do check the charges first;
• check how much your phone operator will charge you before using your mobile phone abroad.

Oftel has also announced an agreement to work with the Irish regulator (ODTR) to jointly address the problems of consumer awareness amongst travellers to and from the UK and Ireland and help in building a better understanding of the costs involved for international roaming.

Chris Kenny, Director of Regulatory Policy said today:

"There appears to be no clear reason why UK pre-pay consumers pay twice as much as their European counterparts to use their mobile phone abroad.

"The extremely high prices for pre-pay international roaming suggest that the UK operators are able to exploit a lack of consumer awareness. Better consumer information is vital if prices for pre-pay international roaming in the UK are to come down.

"Well-informed consumers that shop around will put pressure on the mobile operators and will lead to lower prices in the future.

"Oftel advice issued today suggests ways that consumers can make savings by taking simple measures such as shopping around for cheaper tariffs or swapping their SIM cards to use foreign mobile operators when abroad.

"Oftel has already begun discussions with mobile providers, retailers and consumer groups to address consumer awareness issues, and I expect to see the industry taking action to improve consumer information and reduce prices over the coming months.

"Oftel will also continue to work with the European Commission and other European regulators on the scope for Europe-wide regulatory action on roaming charges."

The Oftel study shows that overall UK prices for mobile services are broadly in line with the rest of Europe.

Notes to editors

1. Oftel’s advice to consumers on getting best value when using your mobile abroad is available from Oftel’s website at www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/mobile/roam1001.htm.

2. Oftel’s international benchmarking study of mobile services is available on Oftel's website at www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/research/2001/benc1101.htm. Hard copies are available to the press from Oftel's press office, tel 020 7634 8991, or to the public from Oftel's research and intelligence unit, tel: 020 7634 8761.

3. This report looks at mobile services (including both domestic and roaming services). Countries considered in the study were France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

4. The analysis and drafting of this report has been carried out by Oftel. The models developed by Oftel used to generate the results contained in this report have been audited by an independent consultant, Analysys Ltd. The tariff data used in this report has been collected by consultants Total Romtec. The results presented are based on a snapshot of prices as at 10/13 August 2001 for mobile domestic/roaming services respectively.

5. The study was carried out to benchmark UK prices against those of a number of other countries and should not be seen as recommended 'best buys'. When making a purchase decision, consumers will want to have the latest pricing information, as well as taking into account other factors such as service features, personal usage patterns, terms and conditions and any other factors that they feel are relevant to their needs.