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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.
Roaming within the EU has just become cheaper
European decision-makers have been forcibly capping mobile roaming charges in the region for several years now. The last mandated reduction came into effect in July 2014, but today the European Commission has made calls, texts and megabytes that much cheaper once again. The maximum a carrier can now charge you for answering a voice call when you're roaming in another EU country is €0.0114 per minute. Similarly, €0.05 per minute for an outgoing call, €0.02 per SMS and €0.05 per megabyte are the maximum charges you can expect on top of what you'd pay at home.
Roam Mobility deflates roaming charges, teams up with T-Mobile to spare Canadian wallets
Roaming charges are the big, bad wolf of the wireless industry. And if you happen to be a Canadian with a predilection for crossing the US border, you've likely incurred the wrath of those fees. Enter Roam Mobility, a partnership with T-Mobile that aims to offer Canucks a flat, no strings attached fee when visiting the states. The plans range from a $15 offering for three days worth of unlimited voice and text to $20 for a 500MB allotment of data. If you want to take part, you'll need an unlocked GSM handset or you can always opt for one of the company's own featurephones. The service goes live on the 16th of this month, so mark your calendar and adjust those travel plans accordingly.
LightSquared signs roaming agreement with ClearTalk, thumbs nose at industry opposition
For a nascent LTE network beset by GPS interference troubles, LightSquared's rolling right along, snatching up new clients for its wholesale service. The Phil Falcone-backed wireless upstart's just inked a roaming agreement with Flat Wireless' ClearTalk that'll extend nationwide coverage to customers in the small operator's footprint. The deal is the latest in a string of partnerships for the LTE wholesaler that'll see its 4G network roll-out to mostly rural and underserved markets -- barring any industry-mounted obstacles. Behind-the-scenes drama aside, it looks like the company's taking a business as usual approach to its much contested launch. Full PR after the break.
Orange UK offers daily 30MB for £3 roaming option for fee weary travelers
Oh Orange UK customers, you lucky dogs, your carrier is giving you a bit of a break as we enter globe-trotting season. No longer are you chained to absurd per-MB roaming charges or unnecessary monthly plans. Instead, you can shell out £3-a-day (about $5) for 30MB of data -- which is plenty for checking e-mail and doing some light browsing. If you don't use any data then you don't get charged (sweet!), but go over that limit and you're back to the normal £3.07-per-MB rate (not so sweet). It's a perfect option for the traveler who only spends a week or two abroad at a time, and it closes the gap with fellow UK provider Vodafone, which offers a £2-per-day, 25MB option. Now, if only others (especially our friends here in the US) would offer sensible roaming plans of their own.
