O2 roaming in NI and UK

Mayo Exile · 04-04-2006 1:30pm #1

Does anybody know when O2 personal customers will be able to have free roaming ability (for incoming calls) in NI? Was it meant to be sometime this month? Business subscribers have had it for a while now.

Also will O2 extend their roaming offer to cover the rest of the UK for personal customers since originally it was only meant to apply to NI. They might change their mind since Vodafone did this in the middle of March.

Mayo Exile · 05-05-2006 1:16pm

Anybody have any info? O2 seem to be dragging their heels on this. Anytime you ring them up they always seem to say "should be in a week or so". Surely its in their best interests to launch it since Vodafone had it up and running in the middle of March.

ardmacha · 10-05-2006 10:05pm

I guess they are using a Dublin Bus approach to this service arriving. :mad:

Random · 11-05-2006 9:21pm

I've rang them up a few times over the last month and got various different replys too. Wish they'd sort it out soonish

Mayo Exile · 12-05-2006 9:15am

Emailed O2 customer care yesterday. According to them I have had this service since May 8th. Also it seems you have free incoming calls when also roaming in England, Scotland and Wales. Business tariffs have been like this since Feb. Not sure about Speakeasy customers though since i have a billed O2 account. Anybody with a Speakeasy phone living near the border want to pop across the border and get somebody to ring them to see if their credit is deducted to see if these changes are in effect? Must be on the O2 UK network though.

It's strange though isn't it that O2 seem to have launched no advertising campaign to trumpet what seems like a good thing for its customers in terms of saving money...........

jamesozzie · 12-05-2006 9:35am

Mayo Exile wrote:

Emailed O2 customer care yesterday. According to them I have had this service since May 8th. Also it seems you have free incoming calls when also roaming in England, Scotland and Wales. Business tariffs have been like this since Feb. Not sure about Speakeasy customers though since i have a billed O2 account. Anybody with a Speakeasy phone living near the border want to pop across the border and get somebody to ring them to see if their credit is deducted to see if these changes are in effect? Must be on the O2 UK network though.

It's strange though isn't it that O2 seem to have launched no advertising campaign to trumpet what seems like a good thing for its customers in terms of saving money...........

I just rang o2 there now, its only for Northern Ireland that roaming has been abolished and thats for all customers. My god they are some shower of *****.

I asked them -again- when are they abolishing UK roaming charges for normal paymonthly customers. Apparently there is no date set, he wasn't even sure if they would.

So to end the story they havnt applied they're roaming offer to pay monthly customers. just if your in the north.

Mayo Exile · 12-05-2006 10:02am

True enough! On this issue you seem to get different info on whoever you talk to at O2. Interesting about roaming in the rest of the UK though. They definitely dont seem to know whats going on there though. However the roaming page for Speakeasy customers going to the UK has been updated though, saying you get free incoming calls when in NI and get charged 39c a min if calling back south.

See it here: http://web.o2.ie/personal/services/travelling_abroad/process.jsp?billType=speakeasy&country=UK&Submit=Show+details

No change to the post-paid page for UK roamers yet though.

ardmacha · 23-05-2006 8:37pm

This service was supposed to require registration. I registered and was supposed to receive a text when the free roaming was operational (contract). I haven't received such a text. I can't find anything on this on the new O2 website. If they have such a service you'd think they would allow you find out about it!

neilled · 25-05-2006 12:17am

Dial 1909 and ask for the All Ireland add on - its free for all billpay customers.

dingding · 25-05-2006 11:08pm

I think I heard a while back that one of the operators were giving free roaming throughout the EU. I am out of contract at the moment with Meteor, the only operator to have no free roaming at this stage. I am wondering what the best value is for a bill pay. I would go to NI a couple of times a month and france / spain for 2-3 weeks a year.

Anyone any ideas. I got hit with 100 euro when I was in Spain at Easter with Meteor on roaming charges.

Confused and Fleeced. :eek:

Mayo Exile · 26-05-2006 12:57pm

I can't find anything on this on the new O2 website. If they have such a service you'd think they would allow you find out about it!

Its in the add ons page in the new O2 website. It seems you can roam only in NI to get the free incoming calls etc. See here:

http://www.o2online.ie/wps/wcm/connect/O2/Home/Personal/Price+plans/Pay+monthly/Add+ons

jonny68 · 26-05-2006 3:27pm

I assume us speakeasy customers will be waiting a long day before roaming is abolished:mad:

Random · 26-05-2006 4:25pm

@jonny68
All-Ireland roaming is active for Speakeasy customers. Free to recieve calls within Northern Ireland. 39c to Irish mobiles or NI landlines while roaming.
Source: http://web.o2.ie/personal/services/travelling_abroad/process.jsp?country=UK&billType=speakeasy&Submit=Show+details

ardmacha · 26-05-2006 11:36pm

When roaming in Northern Ireland, calls received are free, and calls made to Irish mobiles & landlines & landlines in Northern Ireland are charged at one flat rate in accordance with the chosen price plan. The flat rate applies while roaming on the O2 UK network only. Excludes calls made to premium rate numbers, international numbers, directory enquiries, voicemail & UK/Northern Ireland mobiles. Compatible with all new Life price plans only. All calls made when roaming in NI will not be deducted from price plan minutes. Flat rate for Active life 40 is 35c, Active life 150 is 30c, Active life 250 is 25c, Active life 500 is 20c, and Easy life 150, 500, 2000 & Text life is 35c.

Two things here. "Compatible with all new Life price plans only" suggests there are some people excluded from this, including me. Secondly calls made in NI are additional to your minutes, so they charge you for a whack of minutes, but if you lock on a O2 UK signal they still charge you extra. Free incoming calls is good, but for outgoing calls you simply need a situation where there is no small print, where ever you are in the country they should simply charge you the same, in your minutes if you have them, taking account of all of the evening and weekend rates etc.

If this is what O2 customers are getting it is not quite what was suggested. The original reports stated "The price they will pay for calls made in the North will be the same as their domestic rate, depending on what price plan they are on", if you have free minutes your calls would be free, which is not true in this case. O2 are not really willing to give up their roaming revenue.

O2 roaming in NI and UK

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