Starting 15 June, Vodafone has confirmed that there will be no roaming charges for clients using their mobile in 40 foreign countries, with a Brexit-friendly launching deal. There is, however a catch in the deal as it only applies to new customers joining the mobile provider network. Existing and new customers will pay monthly contract fee for them to enjoy the service.
The new Roam Free deal has come within a short duration of time after the UE set new rules where customers need not hand back their extra calls, data, and texts to their mobile providers within Europe. Customers are, however, apprehensive that their phone bills for using them in Europe will escalate with the exit of Britain from EU. Vodafone seems to be aware of this and has cushioned its customers against paying extra costs after the Exit. It, however, appears as a marketing gimmick, since only new customers will be able to enjoy this new initiative, while the existing once will be left with no choice rather than to upgrade.
Apart from the 40 countries in the list of those which will be exempted from the roaming charges, Vodafone has also included Turkey, Switzerland, and the Channel Islands as some of the non-UE free-use regions as they are hotspots for holiday destinations. This is a great marketing and business strategy that aims at acquiring new clients into the network and compelling the existing ones to upgrade, owing to the summer holiday timing.
uSwitch’s telecom expert, Ernest Doku, described the move by Vodafone to ditch roaming charges as marketing strategy aimed at getting ahead of its competitors by retaining them with promises of cushioned phone bills despite Britain exiting the UE. This is due to anticipated abolishment of roaming charges in the UK starting 15 June. Potential clients are more likely to register with the Vodafone network due to the free roaming plan, as the other major networks have not yet made a move on what they have in store for their customers come 15 June.
Doku compares the move made by Vodafone as what occurred in the 1990s when mobile network providers abandoned the plan of charging their clients for texts, which were under public, price and regulatory pressure. There will also be an effect on the new VAT charges which will be added to non-EU roaming following the cancellation of Vodafone’s tax to its clients in countries like Channel Islands, Switzerland, and Turkey using data. This, according to Doku, is a great initiative that will see the company’s competitors come with their own strategies to retain their customers.
Currently, Vodafone has three types of network plans. Essentials, which is the cheapest, goes for £9.50 per month based on a full year contract and is composed of call time of 250 minutes, 250MB data and unlimited texts. The Red Extra plan offers unlimited minutes, texts and 2GB of data for a flat rate of £18 per month, or £22 for 4GB per month. The Red Unlimited plan comes with 8GB data per month for a price of £27, 20GB for £35 monthly, 40GB for £40 per month and streaming goodies. The company also offers 30-day contracts for clients who are not willing to subscribe to the three packages.
Questions have been raised about whether switching to Vodafone for new customers will be a wise decision. According to uSwitch’s comparison data, many customers have incurred hefty bills after visiting foreign countries without a convenient roaming plan.
People who travel overseas most of the times may consider switching to Vodafone and enjoy the benefits of using low-cost calls and data while roaming. Customers who have no intention of visiting the foreign countries listed on Vodafone’s free-roaming plan may consider waiting a little bit longer, considering that June 15 is only less than two months away.
