Vodafone first to fair international roaming charges

Vodafone Australia has today announced a new approach to roaming charges for international travellers, with a flat $5 fee for using networks in the US, UK and New Zealand.

Dubbed 'Roam like Home', Vodafone customers will be charged $5 per day when using their phone overseas, with calling and data usage deducted from their regular monthly allowance on top of this charge. The fee is only charged on days when you actively use the network, not for just connecting to it.

The new roaming fee comes into effect next month when the Roam like Home charge is included in a range of new Vodafone plans.

At launch, the initiative works in the US, UK and New Zealand, where Vodafone believe 40% of its customers typically travel. Customers will roam to the Vodafone network in the latter two regions, and on to the AT&T network in North America. This despite Vodafone owning a large portion of US telco Verizon, due to it have an incompatible network for use with Australian phones.

Vodafone CEO Bill Morrow said that the company is looking to add new countries to the plan in the future.

With Roam like Home, Vodafone becomes the first Australia telco to offer a truly cost effective solution for Aussie travellers, though it is not the only telco who has made positive moves forward. Optus is part of the Bridge Alliance, for example, and offer affordable data packs to customers who roam on to other networks in the Bridge Alliance. This also includes AT&T in the US, and telcos in a number of other countries.

Joseph Hanlon

Editorial Director | X | LinkedIn

Joe Hanlon has been immersed in mobile phones, plans and the internet for over a decade, having written for publications like CNET, Techradar, Gizmodo and Lifehacker. He steers the editorial ship and makes sure that we are always serving up the most useful guides and recommendations. If you ever bump into Joe on the street, don't be afraid to ask for a phone recommendation. It's embarrassing how much he enjoys talking about this stuff. He also loves listening to podcasts, so feel free to email Joe with recommendations.

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