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The EU extends its 'Roam-like-at-home' mobile service rule through 2032
The European Commission announced Thursday that it is extending its popular "roam like at home" rule through 2032.
T-Mobile offers 5G in all 50 states through a roaming deal
T-Mobile has struck a deal that lets it offer 5G in all 50 states, though coverage isn't universal just yet.
Vodafone will launch the UK's first 5G service on July 3rd
The UK is finally getting 5G, and Vodafone will be the first network to provide it. The company says its 5G will go live on July 3rd, with 5G roaming following later this summer. And, crucially, it won't cost any more than 4G.
Google Fi adds support for next-gen RCS text messaging
Google is putting its money where its mouth is when coming to support for next-gen texting. It's starting off 2019 by introducing RCS chat to Google Fi. So long as you have a supporting Fi-friendly Android phone (more on that in a bit), you can share higher-quality media, message over WiFi, see who's typing and get message receipts. It'll be automatically enabled if you have a "designed for Fi" phone, and will kick in if you set Google's official Messages app as your default.
T-Mobile's $5 international day pass offers 512MB of LTE
T-Mobile is expanding its One plan to give travelers unlimited data and texting across 210 countries. Those who are on the road can use as much 2G data as they like at no extra cost, and the plan offers flat-rate calling at 25 cents per minute (which is an increase of five cents per minute). There's a new pass you can add to your line which includes unlimited calling and 512MB of LTE data every day you're away at a cost of $5 per day. But,you can still use up to 5GB of data at LTE speeds in Mexico and Canada for no extra charge.
Google's Project Fi now covers 170 countries with international data
Project Fi's same-as-at-home international data is now decidedly more useful -- including before you've even left. The Google-run carrier has expanded its travel coverage from "over 135" countries to 170, including nations like Belize, Monaco, Nigeria and Tunisia. You'll still pay $10 per 1GB up to 6GB (with another 9GB free), with unlimited texting and calls at 20 cents per minute. The additions may not make or break your vacation plans, but they could reduce doubts about whether or not it's safe to document your vacation on Instagram.
Verizon's lower-cost unlimited plan now works in Canada and Mexico
Verizon's latest unlimited plans may have some undesirable... limits, but at least you won't have to pay for the more expensive plan the next time you're on a North American vacation. As of January 25th, the $75 Go Unlimited plan will include calling, data and text while you're in Canada or Mexico. This applies to both new and existing customers, so you won't have to touch a thing to surf the web in Vancouver. As with the Beyond Unlimited plan, though, there are some gotchas to watch out for.
Google's Project Fi international data service goes down (updated)
We hope you weren't depending on Project Fi to stay in touch while abroad this weekend. Subscribers to Google's wireless carrier have reported that international data hasn't been working in many places around the world, including Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, India and Japan. Some users have reported temporary success by switching into and out of airplane mode or rebooting their phones, but it hasn't lasted for longer than 2 minutes.
Vodafone customers given second chance to ditch contracts scot-free
Some Vodafone customers are being given a second chance to ditch their mobile contracts without incurring any nasty early exit penalties, after the provider changed the way roaming fees work earlier this year. Ahead of roaming charges being abolished across the EU, Vodafone announced in April a flat £5 per day fee for using your regular allowances abroad in 60 "roam-further" destinations outside the EU. While that's a pretty common way of doing things these days, as you might know, carriers have to offer affected customers a get-out-of-jail-free card for changing the state of play mid-contract.
AT&T's international data plans are now a little more reasonable
AT&T's international data roaming packs just became slightly more practical... slightly. The carrier has updated its Passport packages to give you 1GB of data and unlimited texting in a one-time $60 purchase, and 3GB for $120. That's a lot more headroom than before (these prices previously got you a miserly 300MB and 800MB respectively), and might make the difference between Instagramming your trip as it happens versus waiting until you return to your hotel. They can certainly be more affordable than an International Day Pass if you're staying for a couple of weeks.
Three expands ‘Feel at Home’ roaming to 11 more destinations
Three has always been ahead of the pack when it comes to international roaming; it abolished charges in Europe well before the European Union made it law last June. The network has also expanded its "Feel at Home" program to other locations outside of the continent, including Australia, Brazil and the US. Today, it's adding another 11 to the roster: Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Vietnam and Mayotte. That brings the total number of destinations to 71, well beyond its UK rivals. Dave Dyson, CEO of Three, says it's his "ambition" to offer "100 percent free roaming worldwide."
T-Mobile puts 5GB cap on high-speed data in Canada and Mexico
T-Mobile has been a tempting option for travelers, and for good reason: if you've traveled to Canada or Mexico, you've had as much LTE data as you wanted without fear of returning to a giant phone bill. Unfortunately, the party's over. T-Mobile has revealed that, as of November 12th, it will cap the no-extra-charge LTE data to a maximum of 5GB per month while you're visiting the US' neighbors. You won't run into overages (this is T-Mobile), but you'll have to make do with speeds as low as 128Kbps if you go over your high-speed allotment. One subscribers can tack on unlimited LTE by adding One Plus International, but that's another $25 per month on top of the base plan.
O2 eases roaming strain by secretly throttling data speeds
On June 15th, mobile roaming was more or less abolished across the EU. Great news for anyone wanting to drum up Instagram envy with their holiday snaps, but it's easy to forget the technical challenges -- all of a sudden, cell towers have to deal with domestic traffic and countless non-native phones vying for an uplink. It's something O2 seems ill-prepared for, having recently been caught throttling the life out of roaming connections in Dublin, Ireland.
Mobile roaming is (mostly) free across the EU
It's been a long time in coming and had plenty of trials and tribulations, but it's finally here: mobile roaming is now free in the EU. As long as you have service in a member state and live there for at least 8 months each year, you can use your phone's voice, messaging and data in other EU countries at the same rate you'd pay as if you were at home. Well, mostly. There are a number of exceptions to the rule that could leave you paying more, although the likelihood of coming home to a gigantic bill is relatively small.
EE is trying to take credit for the EU's free roaming law
On June 15th, UK mobile operators will be forced to abolish roaming fees for customers travelling across Europe, thanks to a European Commission directive that's been two years in the making. Britain's biggest carrier, EE, must abide by the new law, but it won't let that stop it from taking some of the plaudits. Today, the company announced that it will "launch European roaming for all customers at no extra cost". The launch date? June 15th.
Vodafone scraps mobile roaming charges for 40 countries
In roughly two months, the European Union will scrap roaming charges for smartphone users across the continent. While the impact on the UK remains hazy -- there's that whole Brexit thing to take care of -- mobile carriers have started falling in line and abandoning the fee system for Brits. Today, Vodafone has announced a new set of plans and obliterated roaming charges for all new and upgrading customers. That's an improvement over last year's offer, which offered 'free' minutes and calls for Red and Red Value customers, but capped data at 4GB or lower.
AT&T adds an international roaming day pass with catches
AT&T subscribers haven't had the greatest international roaming options. The carrier's Passport plans give you a tiny amount of data even at the highest tier, which could make it cheaper to unlock your phone and use a travel-friendly SIM card. At last, though, the network is offering something for travelers who don't want to scale back their usage while abroad. It's introducing an International Day Pass that lets you use your domestic plan (including data) in over 100 countries for $10 per day. It goes a little further, too: you can make unlimited calls to both the US and any Day Pass country, and as many texts as you like anywhere in the world. Passes will be available starting on January 27th.
Ofcom fines EE £2.7 million for overcharging customers
Oh dear. Ofcom has caught another mobile carrier failing in its duty to provide decent customer support. The villain this time is EE, after it overcharged more than 30,000 customers for calling its "150" service line. These subscribers had calling while roaming in the EU -- the problem is they were charged £1.20 per minute, rather than EE's promised 19p per minute rate. That "carelessness" and 'negligence," as Ofcom describes it, led to a combined overcharge of £245,700 between July 2014 and 2015. EE is now being fined £2.7 million for the mess, which needs to be paid in 20 working days. Ofcom will then transfer the money to the UK's Treasury.
Europe's free roaming law won't have time limits
The European Union is back with a second shot at a free roaming plan... and while it addresses key complaints, it's raising concerns of its own. The newly proposed rules would ditch the unpopular time limits in favor of letting carriers compare your roaming habits with how you use service at home. Networks could only ask for surcharges (which top out at €0.04 per call minute, €0.01 per text and €0.0085 per megabyte) if it's clear that you're abusing your roaming access. You'd raise a warning flag if you consume way more data than you do at home, for example, or get SIM cards that remain eerily inactive until you start traveling.
European commission pulls free roaming plan after complaints
The European Commission has pulled down its free roaming plan for European residents, just days after it first posted it. "In light of the initial feedback received, President [Jean-Claude] Juncker has instructed the services to withdraw that text and to work on a new proposal," the EC said in a statement. Consumer groups had assumed that free roaming in Europe would come with no strings attached, so were surprised to see relatively short, strict limits. "The Commission is setting the bar too low," consumer group BEUC told Politico.
