The World of Mobile Phones

The press is routinely reporting, Ofcom and the networks themselves see our international call roaming charges prices quickly falling. Are there real changes on the horizon or have we heard this too often?

In our current financial climate the Financial Director or controller of any company, large or small, are seeking new ways of saving money on business mobiles and international roaming.

One of the problems with using business mobile phones abroad is the lack of information we are given as businesses and consumers. What amount would we have to pay for? Can we use our minutes abroad? What are other ways to save money?

Lets have a look on good deals on the market.

It is possible for Oranges business customers to use the minute bundle and call UK and 28 countries, and services which are similar to this are available with 02 and T-mobile. Orange also offer Business World Traveller which will give up to 50% off standard voice roaming rates and up to 25% off roaming data.

Vodafones Passport is very similar. You can also take advantage of reduced call charges when you call from another country. Pay 75pence connection charge per call when abroad, then talk at your usual UK rate. Get your Vodafone sevice today call 5555 and recieve a free Vodafone handset.

o2 have what’s called International Traveller Service which allows customers to call from Europe to the UK for 30pence per minute. However, if you are calling from other parts of the world then the charges can vary from between 81pence to 1pound 20pence per minute.

T-mobile also have competitive roaming offers. T-mobile charge between 38pence and 55pence per minute to call the UK from Europe. Receiving calls with T-mobile have recently fallen meaning the cost is between 13pence to 20pence for Europe.

Depending on your tariff and network, you can often tack on bundles of international minutes for use in a certain country.

If you are regularly visiting a country and using your business mobile phone to call the UK, one option is to buy a local SIM card. You will in turn get a local phone number for the country you are in. Within certain countries it would not be possible because you will have to be a documented resident.

It is also possible to buy international pay as you go or prepaid sim cards at home. These may reduce your roaming charges by more than half.

The business mobile networks are battling for our business, and competition is growing especially fierce in the international roaming market. I am positive that roaming call prices around the world will keep getting more and more competitive. In the end, mobile service providers are competing to reduce prices even more.

Finally, whilst the networks are bombarded with bad press for over charging on roaming I believe they are reacting in a positive way that will benefit business mobile users in the UK.

The information was correct at the time of writing this article. The networks do regularly change tariffs and prices so some of the stated prices and services may not be available or relevant.