In a move that uses its global advantage for the first time, Vodafone Australia has announced $5 per day global roaming to New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom.
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The fear of thousands of dollars in global roaming bill shock will soon come to an end for some Vodafone Australia customers as the network launches its new flat rate global coverage service. The rules are simple: if your phone receives a call or grabs some data while you’re away in New Zealand, the United States or the United Kingdom, you’ll be charged $5 per day to be able to use your phone under the same allowances you already expect from your current service plan.
Vodafone Australia has said the deal will be available to customers signing up to new plans to be unveiled in August.
When roaming, customers will use Vodafone’s own networks in NZ and the UK. In the US Vodafone has partnered with AT&T.
As reported by ZDNet, ACMA recently announced a new International Mobile Roaming Standard that requires telcos to alert customers to roaming charges via SMS when they travel overseas. The standards come into effect in September. This is in the wake of TIO estimates of $8,000,000 in complaints from Australians for global roaming charges.
With one of the major three telcos having taken the initiative it will be interesting to see how Telstra and Optus respond to the offer, if at all. Alongside services like Globalgig, TravelSIM, Ready SIM and even Woolworths Global Roaming SIM, amongst others, smart users now have plenty of options to stay connected while heading overseas.