Vodafone UK Abolishes Roaming Charges for Summer and cuts long distance cost for good

[andy]

Originally Posted by andy

I am abroad at the moment and unable to check details, but I will say this. The Vodafone cheap international calls from UK to certain countries have been there for some time; this is not something new at all. The variation of Vodafone Passport is a temporary promotion. Other Vodafone offers in UK are not necessarily valid abroad, for example stop the clock. So I very much doubt that there will be 5p calls possible while roaming, and suggest checking the terms before continuing speculation at this hysterical level.

Ok, the Vodafone International tariff is new, and has a lot more countries than the original list of just a few

Originally Posted by babble

Hi Andy,

No one is speculating. At the bottom of the press release from Vodafone UK, it states:

"Vodafone Pay as You Go call costs on the Simply Tariff for Vodafone International are:

USA, Canada, China: 5 ppm cost to call landline, 5 ppm cost to call mobile."

Originally Posted by babble

The following text is also in the press release:

"From June 1, pay as you go and pay monthly consumer customers can talk, text and send picture messages from over 35 countries across Europe this summer for the same price as at home".

Ok, now I'm back at home, and not browsing for rather limited periods on a mobile in wi-fi coverage, I looked at the Vodafone website

The terms and conditions are unambiguous:

UK - About Vodafone UK - Legal Information - Terms and conditions - Vodafone Passport

2. The Promotion: The Offer Period is from 0.00 on 1 June to 23.59 to 31 August 2009 UK time. Whilst registered with Vodafone Passport and within a Vodafone Passport country:

a. voice calls, texts and picture messages made or sent to the UK and within the same originating Vodafone Passport country during the Offer Period will be charged your standard UK rate; and

...



4. Vodafone Passport applies to voice calls made back to the United Kingdom or within the visited country and excludes calls to other countries, premium rate numbers and all data transfers (including text and picture messages).

So I think that is very clear - there will not be 5 pence a minute calls from Europe direct to USA or any other country

[Motel75]

Just being a little cynical here, but I wonder if offers such as Vodafone's are in part intended to obscure the fact that all the UK operators (except the relatively minor player 3) have now raised their baseline prepaid national call rate to 20p/min, with the first minute always paid in full. (By comparison, two years ago, T-Mobile cost 12p to all networks, and Virgin and others had offers in which call costs to landlines and the same network cost 5p/min.)

[Stu]

Correct me if I am wrong, but is is currently cheaper on Vodafone (while in the UK) to call a US landline than it is to call a UK landline?

[MATHA531]

Originally Posted by Stu

Correct me if I am wrong, but is is currently cheaper on Vodafone (while in the UK) to call a US landline than it is to call a UK landline?

Absolutely true...5p/minute to USA (and most other destinations outside the UK)...

[andy]

Originally Posted by Stu

Correct me if I am wrong, but is is currently cheaper on Vodafone (while in the UK) to call a US landline than it is to call a UK landline?

True, but UK calls can be made more cheaply

There are add-on bundles which last 30 days, called Freedom Packs, of 100 minutes for £10, 200 minutes for £15, 300 for £20, load of text messages with each.

The Freedom Packs can also be used while roaming, for UK-bound calls. So for calling other countries cheaply, it would be worth setting up some kind of callthrough account with a UK access number.

[gluz]

Hello, I will be traveling through EU and UK next months.

I want to be able to receive free incoming calls while in UK and EU. I also need to be able to call USA when needed.

My understanding is that all I need to get is Pay As You Go SIM, text INTERNATIONAL to 2345, then Text PASSPORT to 2345.

So, my question is as follows:

Will result be that I will have free incoming calls from anywhere as long as I am in the EU countries?

Will my outgoing calls to US cost 5p per minute?

How much would be the calls made to US and UK be if using my phone while in Germany?

Appreciate your help

[MATHA531]

Originally Posted by gluz

Hello, I will be traveling through EU and UK next months.

I want to be able to receive free incoming calls while in UK and EU. I also need to be able to call USA when needed.

My understanding is that all I need to get is Pay As You Go SIM, text INTERNATIONAL to 2345, then Text PASSPORT to 2345.

So, my question is as follows:

Will result be that I will have free incoming calls from anywhere as long as I am in the EU countries?

Will my outgoing calls to US cost 5p per minute?

How much would be the calls made to US and UK be if using my phone while in Germany?

Appreciate your help

The promotion as was announced was supposed to run from 01 June to 31 August...at this point there has been no annoucement as to whether it will be extended. I suspect not as there have been no annoucements but what I think and what actually happens are two different things.

If it is not extended, with vodafone passport you will be able to receive calls within Germany dialed to the Vodafone number but will pay a flat fee of 75p per call...depending on your calling patterns that might or might not be a good deal...you might be better off, for example, with O2's my Europe bolt on which costs a flat 10 quid per month or pay by the call with O2 or T Mobile or Orange at 19p/minute to receive calls.

On Vodafone UK, I believe the price to call the USA and most other places would be 38p/minute but don't hold me to that either.

Of course, the promotion might have been so successful that they would not want to get rid of it (but as I said, don't hold your breath).

[gluz]

Originally Posted by MATHA531

The promotion as was announced was supposed to run from 01 June to 31 August...at this point there has been no annoucement as to whether it will be extended. I suspect not as there have been no annoucements but what I think and what actually happens are two different things.

If it is not extended, with vodafone passport you will be able to receive calls within Germany dialed to the Vodafone number but will pay a flat fee of 75p per call...depending on your calling patterns that might or might not be a good deal...you might be better off, for example, with O2's my Europe bolt on which costs a flat 10 quid per month or pay by the call with O2 or T Mobile or Orange at 19p/minute to receive calls.

On Vodafone UK, I believe the price to call the USA and most other places would be 38p/minute but don't hold me to that either.

Of course, the promotion might have been so successful that they would not want to get rid of it (but as I said, don't hold your breath).

I should have been more clear.

I will be in Europe throughout this month.

I will return before the end of promotion so my question was what happens while promotion is still in place.

Thanks.

[Motel75]

Calls to the UK and within the country you're in are the normal price, i.e., 20p/min.

Calls to other countries seem to be 38p/min (which is still cheaper than a lot of prepaids).

Yes, you will have free incoming calls, as if you were in the UK.

[Stu]

Vodafone has a friend's and family plan. For I think it is five quid a month, you get unlimited calling to three or five UK numbers (it was ambiguous and I think there is a step here, e.g. 3 for 5 or 5 for ??). I make Asterisks UK portal one of those numbers, will it complain when I dial four digit extensions?