This guide provides advice on:

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

How much do UK customers pay to use their mobiles in France?

Charges can vary a lot between providers and tariffs (see table 1). Services also vary.

Table 1: Charges for using UK mobiles in France

Figures are based on peak time calls at February 2003 prices, some off-peak calls are lower. Check with your provider before travelling as these charges may have `changed.

How can you make savings when using your mobile abroad?

You can cut your costs in the following ways. The best option 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 your UK usage as well as roaming prices and usage abroad. However, many contract packages also offer ways to save on some domestic services;

• Use international traveller services. If you have a contract phone, some providers offer an ‘international traveller service’ (ITS) with lower call charges in return for an extra fixed monthly fee. You can choose to be tied to an ITS package for as little as a month;

• Use text messages instead of voice calls. UK customers in France generally pay less to send one text message than to make a one minute voice call – but bear in mind that exchanging information using several text messages might cost more.

• Check if it is cheaper on your tariff to make calls than receive them. If it is, when you get called it should be cheaper to call the person straight back if you are expecting to make a fairly long call;

• Select a different network to roam on. When abroad your phone may automatically select a default network, for example the 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 France can cut costs by up to a quarter by roaming on the partner network rather than the most expensive 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 which foreign network would be cheapest for you;

• Change the ‘SIM card’ in your phone to a SIM card from a French mobile network. The SIM card is a small electronic chip that links your phone to a particular mobile network. You can get these SIM cards from some UK mobile retailers or ask mobile phone retailers when you get to France. It takes just a minute or two to switch the SIM card inside your phone. However, your UK mobile service provider may need to unlock your phone first (and may 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. UK mobiles do not work in all countries, so in some cases this may be your only option;

• 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 you save when using your mobile phone in France?

How much you can save personally by taking different steps will vary according to the country being visited and how you use your mobile abroad. Oftel has therefore used four different profiles of UK consumers visiting France to calculate what kind of savings might be made using different ways to cut costs. Not all customers will make savings using all of these methods, so all the figures below give averages for those customers who can make savings. Oftel has calculated savings for lower and higher usage customers.

Table 2: Average savings available to UK consumers in France: LOW USAGE

Table 3: Average savings available to UK consumers in France: HIGH USAGE

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 your UK network and individual usage pattern.

These are some of the key points about the individual profiles:

Profile 1. Changing to a contract or to new SIM cards are only likely to be worthwhile options for single visits if you are a higher user.

Profile 2. Customers should consider switching to contracts, and using other SIM cards. Call savings for one or two months could cover the costs to buy the SIM card and unlock the handset, especially for higher users.

Profile 3. Customers’ costs can vary significantly according to the option chosen. As well as buying a French network’s SIM card, using an ITS should be strongly considered as potential savings are very high.

Profile 4. Customers can make significant savings, given the long period abroad. Benefits from changing to a contract or using alternative SIM cards should be higher for regular visitors (eg those with a second home in France), partly as customers who need to pay to get their handsets unlocked first will only incur a one-off fee.

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 France. 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 collecting the relevant data, 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.