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EU Negotiators Agreement on Roaming Charges from June 2017

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  • 02-02-2017 1:18am
    #1
    kerry4sam
    Registered Users Posts: 15,127 ✭✭✭✭


    Mod Note:

    I saw on our EU Commission site about an agreement made on Roaming Charges :
    End of roaming charges: EU negotiators agreed on wholesale prices, the final piece to make it happen

    Info was seen here.

    Thanks,
    kerry4sam


«1

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    #2
    da_hambo
    Registered Users Posts: 274 ✭✭da_hambo


    http://m.independent.ie/business/technology/news/going-abroad-irish-phone-users-fork-out-20-more-for-roaming-35433476.html

    Does this open the floodgates for cheap plans from other countries?

    Eg buy a sim bill plan from Estonia and use it permanently in Ireland if it saves money? I hope so.


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    #3
    AngryLips
    Registered Users Posts: 2,681 ✭✭✭AngryLips


    No, because there is a requirement that the user lives in the home country of the network in question. The EU did mandate how this would be defined but, due to the uproar this caused because people were saying that it placed restrictions on true free roaming across Europe, the EU then backtracked and said they'd leave the question for the individual networks to define ...which, in my opinion, is a step backwards. The original hoopla was totally overblown as far as I'm concerned


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    #4
    kerry4sam
    Registered Users Posts: 15,127 ✭✭✭✭kerry4sam


    Just an FYI Update

    Free roaming: Parliament clears final hurdle. From 15 June same cost at home & while travelling in other EU country.

    Taken from here.
    Parliament removed the final hurdle - wholesale price caps - by endorsing an informal deal on them, already informally agreed with the Council, by 549 votes to 27and 50 abstentions.

    Thanks,
    kerry4sam

    More Info here :)


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    #5
    kerry4sam
    Registered Users Posts: 15,127 ✭✭✭✭kerry4sam


    https://twitter.com/EP_President/status/875311480731774978

    Thanks,
    kerry4sam


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    #6
    kerry4sam
    Registered Users Posts: 15,127 ✭✭✭✭kerry4sam


    https://twitter.com/EU_Commission/status/875296116207751169

    Thanks,
    kerry4sam


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    #7
    k123456
    Registered Users Posts: 2,180 ✭✭✭k123456


    A question for anyone that has been abroad in the EU recently.  Have you noticed any roaming fees, when using phone for data or calls
    What happens if your phone "latches " onto to another network, other than your preferred network

    https://www.google.com/search?q=roaming+fees+abolished&oq=roaming+fees+a&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0l5.6512j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

    I am on Three Ireland, and will be shortly using Google Maps with data switched on (in France) , don't want to see a large bill on my return


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    #8
    Fred Swanson
    Closed Accounts Posts: 21,730 ✭✭✭✭Fred Swanson


    This post has been deleted.


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    #9
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,353 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    k123456 wrote: »
    A question for anyone that has been abroad in the EU recently.  Have you noticed any roaming fees, when using phone for data or calls
    What happens if your phone "latches " onto to another network, other than your preferred network

    Check your network's website, unless they instruct you to manually select a specific network in France, you can assume that it doesn't matter or that your phone will stay on the preferred network.
    k123456 wrote: »
    I am on Three Ireland, and will be shortly using Google Maps with data switched on (in France) , don't want to see a large bill on my return

    Consider downloading offline maps before you go to cover the areas you'll be travelling in. Before you do this, change the settings in Google Maps to store the offline maps on your (microSD) memory card - saves phone memory. Make sure that it's set to only download updates over wi-fi.


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    #10
    RoYoBo
    Registered Users Posts: 856 ✭✭✭RoYoBo


    I have 'Preferred Network' ticked on my phone - have only been in UK since the roaming change and all has worked perfectly. with no extra charges.

    Well worth downloading the relevant map onto the phone's SD card as coylemj said. You might find yourself in an area with poor network coverage, or even run out of data. I find Here maps good, too.

    Ditto for Spotify - having a downloaded playlist or two is worth it when travelling. Much of the data allowances are reduced in the EU - think 3 only allows a percentage of what you have at home? Vodafone lets you use it all.


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    #11
    theteal
    Registered Users Posts: 7,593 ✭✭✭theteal


    No charges but I was working in Paris last week and my data signal was continually dropping. Multiple times each day I'd need to use uber or hotspot etc on my phone and no data signal. Sometimes a restart fixed it but not always. Phone is fine since back in the UK.


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    #12
    suicide_circus
    Registered Users Posts: 19,802 ✭✭✭✭suicide_circus


    Yeah was in eastern Europe recently, no roaming charges was great but data signal seemed to drop quite often.


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    #13
    scudzilla
    Registered Users Posts: 11,911 ✭✭✭✭scudzilla


    theteal wrote: »
    No charges but I was working in Paris last week and my data signal was continually dropping. Multiple times each day I'd need to use uber or hotspot etc on my phone and no data signal. Sometimes a restart fixed it but not always. Phone is fine since back in the UK.
    suicide_circus wrote: »
    Yeah was in eastern Europe recently, no roaming charges was great but data signal seemed to drop quite often.

    Guessing the dropping of signal is due to the irish network piggybacking off a local network, when bandwidth is slim then the visiting signal is bumped/reduced.


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    #14
    George Sunsnow
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,043 ✭✭✭George Sunsnow


    Let's be very clear
    The law is very clear
    Roaming in the EU is gone
    There are fair usage limits on data the lowest of which is 5 gigs on the €20 top up deal
    My business bill pay fup on three is 8 gigs
    Ask them what's yours
    Calls and texts are the same as at home
    You can even call French numbers while you are in France Using your home allowance
    If you've unlimited calls in Ireland for example you'll have unlimited in France including calls to French numbers while there that would be charged international if you ran them from at home


    Three cannot charge you extra no matter what network you go on in France


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    #15
    George Sunsnow
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,043 ✭✭✭George Sunsnow


    RoYoBo wrote: »
    I have 'Preferred Network' ticked on my phone - have only been in UK since the roaming change and all has worked perfectly. with no extra charges.

    Well worth downloading the relevant map onto the phone's SD card as coylemj said. You might find yourself in an area with poor network coverage, or even run out of data. I find Here maps good, too.

    Ditto for Spotify - having a downloaded playlist or two is worth it when travelling. Much of the data allowances are reduced in the EU - think 3 only allows a percentage of what you have at home? Vodafone lets you use it all.

    There's actually no difference between three and Vodafone Irl on data in the EU
    Yes Vodafone let you use all your Irish allowance but they mostly only give their customers 5gb anyway so that's all you'd have in the EU whereas three give a minimum of 5 gigs


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    #16
    RoYoBo
    Registered Users Posts: 856 ✭✭✭RoYoBo


    George Sunsnow wrote: »
    There's actually no difference between three and Vodafone Irl on data in the EU
    Yes Vodafone let you use all your Irish allowance but they mostly only give their customers 5gb anyway so that's all you'd have in the EU whereas three give a minimum of 5 gigs

    I found 3 awful for roaming data even before the change in the law. I might have seemingly had plenty available, but it was so slow it was unusable (both here at home and in Spain). Vodafone seems to be a lot better - find it excellent at home and (so far) in the UK.

    And Vodafone X has a great data allowance of 20gb for €20 ... all of which can be used in the EU.


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    #17
    k123456
    Registered Users Posts: 2,180 ✭✭✭k123456


    Thanks form the replies folks,


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    #18
    AngryLips
    Registered Users Posts: 2,681 ✭✭✭AngryLips


    George Sunsnow wrote: »
    There's actually no difference between three and Vodafone Irl on data in the EU
    Yes Vodafone let you use all your Irish allowance but they mostly only give their customers 5gb anyway so that's all you'd have in the EU whereas three give a minimum of 5 gigs

    They give more than 5gb. 20gb on their student deal and average 15gb on billpay


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    #19
    George Sunsnow
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,043 ✭✭✭George Sunsnow


    AngryLips wrote: »
    They give more than 5gb. 20gb on their student deal and average 15gb on billpay

    The voda prepay plans are all 5 gigs on their site
    Bill pay is also 5 gigs for €40 pm

    The 15 gig plans are €60 and €80 pm without a phone
    Madness when 2 other networks are unlimited for a third of that

    I pay 25 pm ex vat business sim only unlimited everything
    They allow me 8 gigs of data in the EU

    I don't know the voda student plans but they'd want to be cheap!


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    #20
    RoYoBo
    Registered Users Posts: 856 ✭✭✭RoYoBo


    The student deal is €20 for 20gbs of data - also has options for free Spotify, Sport, unlimited weekends, call minutes etc. It's Vodafone X and there's a thread here on Boards about it.

    Vodafone also has a PAYG offer of €20 that includes 5gbs of data - you keep €10 of your credit. A €15 add-on buys you another 5gbs of data - using the €10 credit plus €5 more, means you have 10gbs of data and the calls/texts for a total of €25 per month.

    You can use the entirety of your 10gbs roaming if you want, but the biggest part of the deal IMO is that Vodafone has far and away the better coverage nationally and internationally and is much faster and more stable both home and away.

    I had a few Three network sims (both ie and uk) in the recent past and the speed and coverage was abysmal. Seemed like great value until you wanted to actually use the data! Maybe where you are it has good coverage, but if you do any kind of travelling here or abroad, it's horribly inadequate.

    In my home, for example, I get minimal Three coverage when I stand at my bedroom window only and practically nothing elsewhere in the house! I've never lost coverage with Vodafone yet. Not lauding them by any means, but they're the best of a bad lot IMO


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    #21
    AngryLips
    Registered Users Posts: 2,681 ✭✭✭AngryLips


    George Sunsnow wrote: »
    The voda prepay plans are all 5 gigs on their site
    Bill pay is also 5 gigs for €40 pm

    I'm just pointing out that your comment about there being no difference between VF and 3 for roaming to be completely incorrect, because Vodafone let you use your full data allowance and 3 don't. You've just intentionally attempted to mislead everyone here by making an apples and oranges comparison specific to two of their prepay plans.


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    #22
    George Sunsnow
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,043 ✭✭✭George Sunsnow


    Ok ok ok ,I should have said practically the same :D Boards.ie and its pedantry:D
    That's a student deal,what are the non students supposed to do?
    Most Voda customers won't be aware of the top up add on you mention but then most won't need it
    Point taken though
    Their Bill pay customers are paying 60 and €80 pm from what I can see for similar data to that student offer

    Regarding the quality of service abroad
    Roaming means you can use all networks so there should be absolutely no difference in service in the EU
    But ostensibly there is eg look at the Tesco mobile forum
    I've found no problem at all on three abroad
    Problems are illegal and need referral to comreg after a complaint to your service provider

    Voda allows you 4G though which three don't
    They also win on outside the EU roaming,but that's still expensive,just other networks are way more expensive

    I won't comment on threes coverage nationally versus Vodafone because the latter does definitely have less black spots but three where they are good they are just as good as voda
    I'm getting 4G + in Arklow for instance and speeds of up to 150Mb
    Anyway thread starter has been answered,My point really was just on how roaming is an every network service despite what three say
    If I had a guess I'd say their 'preferred ' networks are just changing them less


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    #23
    RoYoBo
    Registered Users Posts: 856 ✭✭✭RoYoBo


    George Sunsnow wrote: »
    Ok
    That's a student deal,what are the non students supposed to do?

    Have a look at that thread I mentioned - it might be worth your while ;)


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    #24
    George Sunsnow
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,043 ✭✭✭George Sunsnow


    I doubt it
    Even my young lads are aul lads now :D


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    #25
    RoYoBo
    Registered Users Posts: 856 ✭✭✭RoYoBo


    George Sunsnow wrote: »
    I doubt it
    Even my young lads are aul lads now :D

    As are mine ... and I have it! ;) Seriously, have a look!


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    #26
    George Sunsnow
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,043 ✭✭✭George Sunsnow


    To be honest I am in a Vodafone black spot,it wouldn't touch 3 here
    I've a PAYG voda alright for outside eu so I might try X on that if I'm ever going

    One of our three phones was roaming in Holland all last month with perfect data speeds on 3G only but 4G in Ams funnily enough


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    #27
    .......
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,057 ✭✭✭.......


    This post has been deleted.


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    #28
    Blacktie.
    Registered Users Posts: 2,903 ✭✭✭Blacktie.


    There's no roamijg charges in the EU. As far as I know it should work fine with Internet. With Google maps you can just pre download the area you'll be in if needed.


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    #29
    Kintarō Hattori
    Registered Users Posts: 14,968 ✭✭✭✭Kintarō Hattori


    ....... wrote: »
    This post has been deleted.

    You can download the area you want to traverse and it'll work offline.


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    #30
    cruizer101
    Registered Users Posts: 3,205 ✭✭✭cruizer101


    Google maps has an option to download maps for offline use so you wouldn't need to use your data.
    Most phone plans these days have decent enough roaming data included mind, some you can buy extra bundles so you could look into that too.


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    #31
    .......
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,057 ✭✭✭.......


    This post has been deleted.


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