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Going abroad? Don't get stung for mobile broadband bills

Just because you've gone in search of the sun and sea, doesn't mean you want to give up surfing. But beware. Nothing gives you the post-holiday blues quite like a big mobile broadband bill. Your new dongle may have changed your life, letting you surf and download wherever you go, but don't forget mobile broadband isn't cheap when you're doing it abroad. Ofcom has published a list of ten top tips to keep your phone and mobile broadband costs down when you travel.

You might be interested to know that your mobile and mobile broadband providers are under pressure from people like Ofcom to reduce their charges. So make sure you know what you're entitled to.

• 1. Enable your mobile phone. Check with your provider that your phone has been enabled for use abroad.
  
  
• 2. Check your handset. Check with your provider that your handset will work in the country you're travelling to.
  
  
• 3. Check the prices before you leave.
  
  
• 4. Ensure you are getting the best deal. Shop around to make sure your provider offers
  you the best international deal.
  
  
• 5. The Pan-European tariff only applies to voice. The tariff has been designed to help reduce the costs of your phone only. Texting and mobile broadband data download aren't covered.
  
  
• 6. Check your bundles. The price of phone calls while you're abroad may not be included in your package.
  
  
• 7. Don't forget voice mail. Calling your voicemail from abroad can cost just as much as a UK call. Check with your provider and if in doubt, switch off your voicemail before you go away.
  
  
• 8. Using mobile broadband abroad. If you're using a mobile handset, dongle or something called a data card - a portable modem that hooks you up to mobile broadband via the 3G network - then mobile broadband can cost you an awful lot more than it does at home. You might want to hold back on using mobile broadband too much if you want to avoid a big bill when you get home.
  
  
• 9. A local SIM. It might be cheaper to buy a local SIM card if you're going to be away for a long time.
  
  
• 10. Alert your operator immediately if your phone is lost or stolen. Make sure you've got the number with you. You don't want to be liable for a whole lot of expensive calls.
  Know your rights too! Some sorry mobile broadband tales include one person who used his mobile to surf the net in France - and got charged £400 for 15 minutes of access.
  
  And another got a whopping mobile broadband bill of over £4000 after a trip to Austria where they'd been using a 5GB data roaming card and the limit was actually only 50Mb.
  
  If you do get a shocker of a mobile broadband bill, tell Ofcom.
  
  15/07/2008
  Author: CompareBroadbandUK staff writer
  
  
  

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