New EU roaming charges.

[Osem]

Hi the missus heard something about these being reduced on the radio this morning but I can't find any mention on the Virgin Mobile website. Could someone clarify if/how these changes will affect existing PAYG customers please? She currently has Simply 8 and Addict Extra SIM cards in her phone if that makes any difference.

TIA

---------- Post added at 12:19 ---------- Previous post was at 12:07 ----------

Well I finally managed to find this:

http://help.virginmedia.com/system/s...&TOPIC_ID=2057

From 23rd June 2014 making calls, sending texts or going online in the European Union will now be even better value and we’re scrapping the charge for incoming calls too.

• Calls will go down to 18p a minute
• Texts to the UK will be 5p a message

So it's now cheaper for her to send a text to the UK from anywhere in the EU than it is to send one within the UK.

[qasdfdsaq]

I've had cheaper calls while roaming in China than in the UK on my EE contract for a few years now...

[Osem]

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq

I've had cheaper calls while roaming in China than in the UK on my EE contract for a few years now...

It's a bit extreme going to China just to get cheaper calls mate!

[Qtx]

So you would be better off signing up to a foreign mobile carrier or using one of their sims now? Say you go for a holiday in france, sign up and them come home, it would be a roaming charge.

If this is the case, might force them to lower the prices here.

[Osem]

Originally Posted by Qtx

So you would be better off signing up to a foreign mobile carrier or using one of their sims now? Say you go for a holiday in france, sign up and them come home, it would be a roaming charge.

If this is the case, might force them to lower the prices here.

That's a good point.

[qasdfdsaq]

Originally Posted by Osem

It's a bit extreme going to China just to get cheaper calls mate!

I didn't. Just an example.

EE's roaming is a silly bugger. When you're in a "roaming" country, you get free calls to that country, free calls to the UK, and free international calls to any other roaming country. In the UK, you get free calls to the UK only, but international calls are all chargeable.

---------- Post added at 23:24 ---------- Previous post was at 23:24 ----------

Originally Posted by Qtx

So you would be better off signing up to a foreign mobile carrier or using one of their sims now? Say you go for a holiday in france, sign up and them come home, it would be a roaming charge.

If this is the case, might force them to lower the prices here.

Unlikely. It's actually the other way round. Our prices in the UK are actually already very low compared to the rest of the EU, or even the rest of the world. I know some people who have actually got an EE UK contract who live solely in the US - since an EE UK contract provides unlimited free calls in the US it's a hell of a lot cheaper than getting an actual US contract with the same allowances. Plus you can use any network. Not only are our prices a third that of the US, we're slightly cheaper than France, and about half the price of those in Germany as well.

[Osem]

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq

I didn't. Just an example.
EE's roaming is a silly bugger. When you're in a "roaming" country, you get free calls to that country, free calls to the UK, and free international calls to any other roaming country. In the UK, you get free calls to the UK only, but international calls are all chargeable.

---------- Post added at 23:24 ---------- Previous post was at 23:24 ----------


Unlikely. It's actually the other way round. Our prices in the UK are actually already very low compared to the rest of the EU, or even the rest of the world. I know some people who have actually got an EE UK contract who live solely in the US - since an EE UK contract provides unlimited free calls in the US it's a hell of a lot cheaper than getting an actual US contract with the same allowances. Plus you can use any network. Not only are our prices a third that of the US, we're slightly cheaper than France, and about half the price of those in Germany as well.

I was only joking...

[Qtx]

Three mobile have just advertised this on tv:

Use your phone abroad at no extra cost.

With Feel At Home. Covering 16 destinations including the USA, Australia and now France.

We don't think roaming charges are fair. Which is why we've introduced Feel At Home.
With Feel At Home you can use your allowance to call and text the UK and use your data without paying a penny more. Post an update beside the pool, upload pics from the beach, or gloat about the weather as much as you like. Go on, make your friends back home jealous.
No extra cost for calls back home.
No extra cost for data.
No extra cost for texts back home.

The 16 Feel At Home destinations.
Australia.
Austria.
Denmark.
Finland.
France.
Hong Kong.
Indonesia.
Israel.
Italy.
Macau.
Norway.
Republic of Ireland.
Sri Lanka.
Sweden.
Switzerland.
The USA.

Travelling to a non-Feel At Home destination?
You can still enjoy our great rates.
Find out how much it costs to use you phone, tablet or MiFi in destinations not covered by Feel At Home.


Check our roaming rates.

What's included.

All calls and texts to UK numbers (within your standard allowance). 08 numbers are included in your standard allowance. If you go over your allowance, or don't have one, calls to 08 numbers will be charged at up to 18.8p a minute.

All your data usage (within your allowance).

It's always free to receive calls and texts in a Feel At Home destination.

You'll be able to stream and connect to Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) while in a Feel At Home destination but both of these will be slower than they are in the UK. You'll be able to stream and connect to Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) while in a Feel At Home destination but both of these will be slower than they are in the UK.

What's not included.

If you have All-you-can-eat data you can use up to 25GB. If you have All-you-can-eat texts you can send up to 5,000 texts. If you have 3,000 or more minutes included in your allowance you can use up to 3,000 minutes.

Numbers that start with 070, 09 and 118 directory services. Numbers that start with 070, 09 and 118 directory services.

Feel At Home is designed for UK residents who are on holiday or business trips abroad, not for extended periods abroad.

You can't use your phone as a personal hotspot (tethering) while you're abroad. You can't use your phone as a personal hotspot (tethering) while you're abroad.

For full details and everything you need to know, please see our Frequently Asked Questions on our dedicated support page.

To benefit from Feel At Home, SIM only phone customers must have been with Three for more than 30 days.
If you're on Pay As You Go, all you need to do is convert your credit into an Add-on. You can then use the allowance in any Feel At Home destination.

[qasdfdsaq]

3 have had that service since mid/late last year I believe, and recently just added a few more countries to it.

Actually they had the same service many years ago and removed it for a few years, before reintroducing it as the above last year.

[downquark1]

Good, it was kind of silly that I was getting better prices outside the EU (Switzerland) than inside.

[Gregsy]

The non EU roaming charges are ridiculous compared to 3's Feel at Home.

When are Virgin Mobile (and other providers) going to be sensible about this.

[qasdfdsaq]

EE had completely free roaming outside the EU before 3's Feel at Home even existed.

MVNOs on the other hand are so cheap in the UK they don't have much option to go much cheaper elsewhere.

[Hom3r]

What ever happens they will get the lost revenue via other charges