Q // What changes to mobile roaming charges are planned in 2022?

Networks EE, Three and Vodafone will be reintroducing roaming fees on most of their tari s this year, charging £2 a day for those travelling in the EU, with cheaper multi-day passes available. In August 2020, O2 introduced a di erent policy whereby customers are charged £3.50 per gigabyte when they go over a 25GB limit.

But British holidaymakers can already face exorbitant charges or see their phone blocked when roaming with some network providers in countries outside of the EU. Customers who have adjusted their phone’s settings to automatically back-up photos onto the cloud, for instance, could be hit unwittingly with costly charges.

As the UK continues to negotiate post-Brexit trade deals, there’s hope that there will be opportunities to lower the cost of roaming. Which? has been calling for provisions to be included in these negotiations to put an end to mobile operators chipping away at the roaming benefits customers have become used to, and to prevent people from facing excessive charges when travelling.

In the meantime, there are things you can do to avoid a nasty surprise when you get home. Turning o mobile data before you arrive is always a good idea. Putting your phone on Airplane Mode also turns o all wireless connections, including your mobile data. You can then switch it o again before connecting to wi-fi. Download documents and media to your phone before you travel, and be mindful of any apps that sync automatically, as this could end up using data in the background. Which? has free information on this at which.co.uk/ mobileroaming