YRoam

What is data roaming?

Data roaming refers to when your phone, or other sim enabled device, uses a mobile network that your providing mobile operator does not own to send and receive data. In most cases your providing mobile operator will charge you extra for data roaming or insist that you purchase add-ons / bundles to enable your device to use data whilst travelling abroad.

YRoam has 6 simple offerings to choose from with no hidden terms and conditions.
For a full range of packages available click here.

What rules are there in place to protect me from excessive data roaming charges?

Within the European Economic Area, which consists of the 28 EU member states, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, data charges are capped at £0.20 per MB. UK based mobile operators range from 17.2p per MB with o2, up to 17.5p per MB with Orange.

Outside of Europe data roaming is disabled by the mobile operators when you've used £50 within a month; however if you sign up for a specific bundle or add-on package then you may be automatically opted out of this limit.

How do the networks compare for data roaming across world?

Unlike YRoam each network has complicated choices for their users to select when travelling abroad; with costs varying depending on travel within the EU, outside of the EU and even in some cases down to the specific country you are travelling to. YRoam offers a flat rate data cost across the globe; meaning we can take one less stress away from you as you plan your trip away.

We're confident that our offering is not only simplistic but more importantly cost effective and therefore have no problem detailing below what exactly your network may offer you when travelling abroad.

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Three's Feel at Home package appears to be a popular choice with travellers; however as with every network offering there are restrictions. Firstly this bundle only allows you to use 3G data abroad; even if you have a 4G contract. This package only covers 18 countries, which are Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Macau, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA.

If you want to utilise Three data roaming in other countries you then have to purchase their Euro Internet Pass which is £5 per day giving unlimited data (subject to their fair usage policies) but once again there are restrictions as for example you are not permitted to use your phone for video streaming or tethering; and this add-on cannot be used in the following locations:

Aland Islands, Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Channel Islands, Cyprus (North), Faroe Islands, French Guiana, Georgia, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Isle of Man, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Martinique, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Reunion, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Turkey, Netherlands Antilles and the Rest of the World.

If you chose not to purchase a pass then you will be charged 19.8p per MB.

So where does that leave you if you're travelling to the excluded countries for business or pleasure? If you use data in any other country you will be charged £3 per MB versus YRoam who charge as little as 2.6p per MB when you purchase our 5 GB and that rate will apply to any of the 100+ countries you travel to where are services are available.

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Vodafone allow their customers to use their UK price plans in Europe for £3 per day with their EuroTraveller add-on, which is only available to those with contracts, and for Pay As You Go (PAYG) customers you will receive 100 MB per day for that price. Let's hope for those with contracts that you have a significantly data allowance to utilise for this additional charge.

For Vodafone customers travelling outside the EU they have the option of paying £5 per day to use their normal UK allowance (including data) with the WorldTraveller add-on or paying the same price to opt for a specific data bundle. However once again this is only an option in 26 countries, which include Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Panama, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands and the USA.

If you find yourself travelling anywhere else, within Vodafone's Rest of the World Zone 1, you can opt for the Data Traveller add-on which is also £5 per day but only provides 25 MB per day. If you use more than this in a single day you'll pay Vodafone's standard roaming rates which are £3 per MB up to 5 MB and then £15 for every 5 MB thereafter. There is a cut-off limit of £36.39 per month (including VAT) and if you want more data, you'll have to arrange it with Vodafone.

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Within the European Union (EU) countries users are only able to use data on their device if they purchase a bundle. There are two options available: £3 per day for 50 MB or £5 per day for 100 MB. It is important to remember however that these bundles can only be activated when you're actually abroad.

Outside of the EU both pay monthly and pay-as-you-go EE customers can sign up for a roaming data add-on. EE again won't allow customers to use data abroad unless you buy an add-on, which they say is to prevent you from running up large bills by mistake. Prices start from £3 per day for 20 MB but bundle costs can vary depending on the country you're visiting. As with the other networks there are some detailed terms and conditions to make yourself aware of before travelling also.

An example of other bundle costs, in this case if travelling to Turkey (EE's Zone A), are £10 for 100 MB with a 24 hour expiry, £20 for 200 MB with a 7 day expiry or £40 for 500 MB with a 7 day expiry. YRoam would offer you 1 GB of data for £40 with a 30 day expiry and even better that data could also be used in any other of the 100+ countries our services are available in if you don't use it all up!

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Orange offer exactly the same as EE within the EU so again users are only able to use data on their device if they purchase a bundle and they can select from either £3 per day for 50 MB or £5 per day for 100 MB. Both of these can be activated when you're abroad and you'll only be charged on the days you actually use data.

For pay monthly customers travelling outside of Europe, Orange offers two roaming data bundles, starting at £3 per day for 20 MB (depending on your exact destination) and there's also a 100 MB bundle which costs £10 per day. Unfortunately they do not offer their pay-as-you-go customers any data roaming facilities outside of Europe.

Some important points to remember with these bundles; if you use more than your bundle allowance within a day, the bundle is automatically re-applied up to 20 times per day. Once you've reached this limit you'll then pay £10 for each additional 100 MB you use within a day rather than Orange's standard out of bundle rates. Orange has placed a limit on what can be charged per day for data which stands at £300. Finally, be aware that by opting into this bundle, the monthly limit of £41.29 for roaming data charges outside the EU will be removed from your account for a period of 30 days.

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Data Roaming explored

How does YRoam compare to its competitors?