Using mobiles abroadUsing your mobile abroad

You pay to receive as well as make calls abroad  

While you're using your mobile abroad (roaming), you have to pay to receive calls on your mobile, as well as to make mobile phone international calls. 

This is because, when you make international calls while in a foreign country, your UK mobile network has to pay a foreign mobile network to send calls to your mobile phone. 

This cost is passed on to you rather than the person making the mobile call, so charges can be steep –  as much as £2 a minute – depending on which country you're roaming in, your mobile tariff and your mobile network.

Cost of using your mobile abroad

Making international mobile calls from pay-as-you-go mobile phones may be more expensive than it is on pay-monthly mobile contracts. On some mobile networks, £10 pay-as-you-go mobile credit will give you less than 10 minutes’ international call time. 

Even sending roaming text messages is pricey. Sending a text that would cost you 10p within in the UK could set you back four times as much overseas. 

Be wary of surfing the internet on your mobile when you're roaming. If you think mobile internet is pricey within the UK, you'll get a shock when you find out how much more mobile internet costs while you're abroad.

Mobile roaming calls, mobile roaming texts and mobile internet use abroad are almost never included in any 'free' mobile tariff bundles.

Check out the Which? mobile provider review to see how our members rate each provider for the cost of using their mobile abroad.

Lower international call costs in Europe

Charges for making and receiving mobile calls while abroad in EU countries dropped in mid-2007, following regulation from the European Commission.

All mobile service providers were forced to lower their prices for making and receiving mobile roaming calls in EU countries. In some cases, this has meant significant savings on the cost of international mobile calls.

From July 2009, texts home should be no more than 11p

Texting in Europe

The European Commission warned mobile service providers early in 2008 that it thought costs for sending roaming texts were also too high, and if the mobile industry didn't voluntarily drop prices, then further mobile roaming regulation could follow. 

Mobile service providers chose to ignore this warning, so the Commission has regulated mobile roaming text prices too. As of 1 July 2009, mobile service providers were all forced to drop their text prices to 11p per text sent. Receiving texts while abroad is free. 

Using mobile internet in Europe

The European Commission has been concerned that the cost of using mobile internet while roaming in Europe is too high. There have been instances of customers' mobile phone bills being much higher than expected, as a result of poor transparency about the cost of using mobile internet services, resulting in 'bill shock'.

As of 1 March 2010, European mobile phone operators have to offer their customers a cutoff limit facility. This is to prevent 'bill shocks' for accessing the internet on their mobile phone while travelling in other EU countries. 

Under the new EU roaming rules, a cutoff mechanism will, following a warning, cut customers mobile connection to the internet while abroad when their bill reaches a specified limit. The monthly cutoff limit will be €50 (about £45) and will automatically apply to all customers from 1 July 2010.

To see how the latest mobile phone handsets perform, check out the Which? mobile phone reviews.

Planning ahead for using a mobile abroad

Remember once abroad, mobile calls to customer services are expensive, costing as much as £2 per minute, so sorting any issues out before you go will save you hassle and money.

• Before you leave, find out what your mobile service provider charges for using your mobile in the country you're travelling to. 
• Contact your mobile service provider well in advance to make sure you can use your mobile phone in the country you are travelling to. Not all mobile networks allow you to roam everywhere. 
• Check whether your mobile provider has to activate your mobile phone for use abroad.
• Check network coverage of the mobile network in the country you're visiting. It can be patchy, particularly in rural areas of some foreign countries.
• If you need to access voicemail messages while overseas, ask your UK provider if you need to set up a new access code to do so.

Mobile phone frequencies

Check whether your mobile handset will be able to send texts and make calls in the country you are travelling to. This will depend on your phone's frequency band. Phones can be dual, tri or quad-band and this will dictate which frequencies it works on. All phones sold in the UK will be at least dual-band and can be used throughout Europe and many other countries. You will need a tri-band phone for North and South America and some areas may need a quad-band device.

If your current phone is not compatible with where you are going, it is possible to hire a suitable mobile handset from your provider or via a third party before you go.

Most new mobile phones these days are tri-band, but if you've got an older or more basic handset, you may be unlucky.

The Which? mobile phone review highlights which handsets have tri and dual-band capabilities.