O2 Offers Roaming Deal As Operators Accept EU Vote

Operators are accepting the vote to dramatically cut roaming costs across Europe, as O2 today launched a fresh package for its travelling customers.

The new EU rules mean from July prices for roaming will be lowered to €0.29 (£0.23) per minute for calls, €0.09 (£0.07) per text and €0.70 (£0.56) per MB of data usage. They also give customers the right to choose a different operator for roaming while abroad, whilst operators will also be required to send a warning when the bill for data use approaches €50 (£40.20).

We’re already there…

O2, which told TechWeekEurope it was already offering prices that were compliant with the incoming price caps, has announced the O2 Travel plan. It offers customers 25MB of data per day for £1.99, whilst voice calls will cost 50p a call and then the same charges as a customer would incur for a conversation within the UK.

“With simple charges and a generous 25MB data bundle, O2 Travel provides a great way for our customers to keep in touch and share their holiday moments with family and friends without having to worry about the costs,” said Sally Cowdry, marketing and consumer director for O2 in the UK.

O2 pointed out it has applied a £40 cap to data usage both inside and outside the EU since July 2010.

Vodafone said it was already offering good deals for customers when they are abroad. “Vodafone has led the industry in offering roaming services that are innovative and affordable, whatever the regulatory environment,” a spokesperson told TechWeekEurope. “Recently we introduced smartphone prices which allow customers to pay a fixed daily fee and not to worry about unexpected charges.”

Vodafone offers a similar deal to O2, with its Data Traveller offer, which provides 25MB at £2 a day. As for its self-imposed caps, Vodafone enforces a monthly data spending limit of £38 (excluding VAT) within its European zone and £100 throughout the rest of the world.

The operator had to pay out €400,000 in settlement fees earlier this year, after Irish communications regulator ComReg said it had failed to implement a default spending cap option, which should have helped customers avoid any billing shocks.

Some believe the EU caps don’t go far enough. Some want roaming charges scrapped altogether, but plans to do so were recently rejected by MEPs.

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