Vodafone drops roaming charge for summer

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Roaming charges for calls, texts and picture messages are going to be scrapped for anyone using the Vodafone network.

But only until the end of August when the summer holiday period comes to a close.

The announcement comes after the EU put extra pressure onto mobile operators to lower roaming costs with a vote last month.

Business customers on the Vodafone Anytime or Your Plan price plans will receive the offer, being able to use their phones abroad without the extra cost from 1 June. Both pay as you go (PAYG) and pay monthly customers can get it too if they sign up to the Vodafone Passport.

Ian Shepherd, consumer director for Vodafone UK, said in a statement: "You can sit on the beach with your phone switched on knowing you can take and make a call just as you would if you were in your back garden."

However, users should pay careful attention to the services they use as part of the roaming holiday as internet is still not included.

Vodafone has also announced that from tomorrow overseas calls from the UK will cost "as little as 5p" for customers on the Simply plan or those who chose to opt in to the Vodafone International call plan.

Jennifer Scott

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.