Getting the best deal when using your mobile phone abroad

Background

This guide gives specific advice to UK consumers on using mobiles abroad, a service known as ‘international roaming’. The issues covered are:

• what UK consumers pay to use mobiles abroad;
• how to make savings; and
• how big those savings can be.

This builds on advice in 2001 (www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/mobile/roam1101.htm).

To show the kind of savings available, Oftel has looked specifically at what UK consumers pay to use their mobiles in the Republic of Ireland, as part of a joint project with the ODTR, Oftel’s equivalent in the Republic of Ireland. Although the savings available to UK consumers vary according to the country visited, it is expected that for any destination it is worth considering action to cut costs. How much you can save by taking different steps will however vary according to the country being visited and how you use your mobile abroad.

Oftel has used four different customer usage patterns to indicate what different types of customer might do to save the most money.

What UK customers pay to use their mobiles in the Irish Republic: the basics

• pre-pay charges are higher than contract (post-pay) ones;
• you pay to receive calls and listen to voicemail - up to £1.50 a minute (on pre-pay);
• on post-pay, some providers offer "international traveller service" (ITS) packages, with lower call charges in return (generally) for an extra fixed monthly fee.

Table 1 shows that February 2002 charges varied a lot with provider and tariff. Services also varied. Notably, Orange did not offer ITS options or pre-pay roaming, and BT Cellnet and One2One did not have pre-pay roaming text messaging.

Table 1: What UK consumers pay to use their mobiles in the Irish Republic

Figures are based on peak time calls at February 2002 prices, off-peak calls are slightly less

How to make savings when using your mobile abroad

You can cut your costs in various ways, but the best one for you depends on how you use your mobile abroad. Your provider or retailers can provide further advice.

• Change from pre-pay to contract. Especially if you travel frequently, the monthly line rental cost may be offset by cheaper roaming rates. Whether this is worthwhile will depend on UK as well as roaming prices and usage – but many contract packages also offer ways to save on some domestic services;

• Use international traveller services if you have a contract phone, getting cheaper calls (which may include calls to abroad) for extra monthly rental (which may be waived for high users). You may be tied to ITS services for as little as a month;

• Use text messages instead of voice calls. UK customers in the Irish Republic would generally pay less to send one SMS than to make a one minute voice call – but exchanging information using more than one SMS might cost more;

• Check if it is cheaper on your tariff to make calls than receive them;

• Select a different network to roam on. When abroad your phone may select a preferred network or one with the best signal, which may not be the cheapest. Some UK mobile providers may have ‘partner’ networks abroad that are cheaper to use – in Oftel’s calculations some UK consumers in Ireland can save up to 30% by roaming on the partner network rather than the dearest alternative. It takes under a minute for you to change the network - consult your handset guide or UK provider for the process. Your UK provider can also advise on charges;

• Change the ‘SIM card’ in your phone. The SIM card is a small electronic chip that links your phone to a particular mobile network. It normally takes under a minute for you to replace your normal SIM card with one for a foreign network (some of which are sold in the UK). You can also make savings on your UK calls by using a SIM card for a different UK provider. However, your UK mobile service provider may need to unlock your phone first (and may well charge you for this). Also, when abroad you would have a different number (unless you forward calls from your UK number), and it will cost more to call you from the UK;

• Buy or rent a different mobile phone to use abroad. You may be able to do this in the UK. You may have to, as many mobiles do not work in all countries;

• Use payphones instead. From the Irish Republic a 1 minute call from an Eircom payphone to the UK mainland costs about 50p. Charges within Ireland (including Northern Ireland) are lower (eg 25p for a weekend call over 4 minutes). But potential savings may be very different for travellers to other countries;

• Get incoming calls diverted directly to voicemail (or to someone in the UK) and do not access voicemail whilst abroad. Alternatively, get incoming calls barred completely. Speak to your UK provider about this before you travel.

How much can be saved on roaming costs?

The best option will always depends on an individual’s usage pattern. Oftel has therefore used four different profiles for UK consumers visiting Ireland to calculate what kind of savings might be made by using various ways to cut costs. Customers on some UK networks may not make any savings from using some of the methods, so all the figures below give averages for those customers who can make savings.

Table 2: Average savings available to UK consumers in the Irish Republic

For all of the profiles, using text messages or not receiving/accepting incoming calls can make big savings. But the savings from other steps, for example selecting a different roaming network, can depend a lot on the individual usage pattern. These are some of the particular points about the individual profiles:

Profile 1. Only for higher usage levels may subscribing to an ITS scheme for the month of the holiday be worthwhile. Changing to contract or new SIM cards are unlikely to be worthwhile for single visits.

Profile 2 customers should also consider switching to contracts, and using other SIM cards. Call savings could cover the costs to buy the SIM card and unlock the handset, but the choice of Irish network is important as charges vary significantly.

Profile 3 customers’ costs can vary significantly according to the option chosen. As well as buying an Irish network’s SIM card, using an ITS should be strongly considered as potential savings are very high. Even customers with half the usage of profile 3 should save from pursuing these two options.

Profile 4 customers’ costs can also vary significantly according to the option chosen. Using an ITS should be considered, particularly if your usage is a bit higher, although potential savings are lower than for profile 3 customers.

Disclaimer: The purpose of this report is to advise UK consumers on using their mobile phones abroad. It is not intended to be a quality of service report. The report should not be seen as a recommended buyer's guide to mobile services in the UK and Ireland. Any reference to a company should not be seen as endorsing that company or any services that company may provide. It should not therefore be relied upon when making purchase decisions. While Oftel considers the data in the report to be accurate and up to date at the time of publication, Oftel accepts no liability in respect of any of the information and data provided to it by the companies reported on, or any decisions taken by any person in reliance on the report.