Shoppers are looking for new ways to avoid huge data roaming charges which are set to restart next month.
Thousands of Brits will be paying more to use their phone abroad on selected networks.
Mobile networks such as EE, Three, Vodafone and more are scrapping free EU roaming and bringing back the charges.
They say the charges are due to a rise in costs following Brexit and it will mean new and upgrading customers may have to pay up to £2 per day to use their monthly allowance of data, calls and texts in the EU on selected networks.
But not every network is bringing back the charges, and there are ways to get around paying the fees when you're not in the UK.
Roaming is when a mobile phone is used outside of its home network, so overseas, and connects to another available cell network.
Many are now opting for a SIM only contract or 30 day SIM only plan as a cheaper option and to avoid the data roaming charges too.
So if you're looking to upgrade to a better deal and want to avoid data roaming, then a SIM deal that incorporates it may be the best option.
Below we've compiled a list of the current SIM deals that offer free data roaming as well as active sales too.
Smarty
Smarty have a great deal on offer at the moment.
Their unlimited SIM only dea l includes unlimited data, minutes and texts, 5G ready and free data roaming for £16 per month.
There's no contract and you can cancel at any time too.
With Smarty you can use your mobile to call, text and get online while travelling abroad for free in 36 countries.
Everything works like home. Data comes out of your monthly allowance or data add-ons.
Calls and texts are unlimited but you need a cash add-on to make calls and texts from EU countries to the rest of the world.
Smarty's roaming offer covers the following locations: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Comoros and Mayotte, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Réunion, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Three
Although Three is scrapping free roaming for pay-monthly customers, it will still offer free roaming on its pay-as-you-go SIMS.
Three offer Go Roam, this deal lets you use your standard allowance in 71 destinations – 41 additional locations outside of Europe – including Australia and the USA.
Just order one of Three's pay-as-you-go SIMS, top it up and then pop it into your handset while you're away.
Their pay as you go SIM deals include the following:
- £10 for 10GB and unlimited minutes and texts (Go Roam)
- £15 for 25GB and unlimited minutes and texts (Go Roam)
- £20 for 50GB and unlimited minutes and texts (Go Roam)
- £35 for Unlimited data, minutes and texts (Go Roam)
Sky Mobile
Covering more than 30 European countries, Sky has a Roaming Passport which allows you to use your data, minutes and texts as you normally would, with no additional limits or restrictions. Find out more here.
Sky Mobile operates on the O2 network and connection speeds can sometimes be slow when abroad.
Sky are offering 10GB data for £10 a month, with the SIM including unlimited calls and texts as well as free Sky streaming.
For those who want more data, Sky also offer a 50GB SIM for £25 a month with unlimited calls and texts as well as the Roaming passport.
See all of their SIM deals here.
Giffgaff
Giffgaff is currently among the networks that don’t charge a roaming fee when travelling abroad.
For 30-day contracts, you can use your data, calls and texts in over 30 EU countries at no extra cost, while Pay As You Go plans will be charged at standard UK rates. There is a 20GB data cap, however, after which you will be charged 0.36p per MB used.
Their SIM deals range from £10 a month to £35 a month with the option of being able to cancel at any time. Visit their website here for more.
Lebara
Lebara currently has no plans to bring back EU roaming charges.
The SIM-only company also have some great deals on offer too so this network could be the key solution to saving a bit of money on your bills this year.
Their 30 days 5G SIM only plan comes with 2GB of data, 1000 minutes and 1000 texts for just 99p per month for the first three months with code LEBARA5 - find out more about it here.
Tesco Mobile
Tesco Mobile currently has a blanket policy of no additional charges when roaming in any of 48 European countries.
The website also states that the company has “no current plans to re-introduce roaming charges in European countries following the UK’s departure from the EU”.
Their pay-as-you-go SIMS start from just £7.50. See all the deals here.
Free data roaming or not, it's worth checking usage on networks.
Most networks have 'fair use' policies, which means they can restrict your full UK allowance – so you could run out of data quicker than at home, and be charged for using more so it's always worth double checking before you sign up.
