If you’ve been abroad lately you’ll probably have that text message arrive when you land…
Calls will cost a crazy amount here, texts will be just about bearable, but please don’t even think about using data unless you want to re-mortgage your house.
Sure, some networks are doing special packages now. They might let you use unlimited calls and texts for a certain amount or you might get a certain amount of data. Trouble is, sometimes this involves a bit of advanced planning as you’ll need to set it up before you go and… to be honest, why can’t it just be cheap without having to faff around?
That’s where Three, who have promised me a holiday on the Gold Coast of Australia (one of their “Feel at Home” destinations) to test their system, come in. Just by being a Three customer you can head out to America, Spain, Hong Kong, Italy, France, Sweden, Norway and many other countries WITHOUT having to worry about your allowances. When you’re in one of their locations you can use your phone just like you do at home. All your allowances will be the same, whether you’re in Birmingham UK or Birmingham Alabama.
So far Three gave saved their customers a whopping £1.3 billion in the two years that the system has been in operation, with customers saving £330 per year on average.
Three tell us that the average customer uses 500MB abroad, so from that you can tell just how bobbins some of the existing “50MB per day” roaming packages are.
Three tackles great roaming rip-off saving customers £1.3 billion
• £1.3 billion in roaming charges saved for Three customers since it introduced roaming at no extra cost just two years ago
• Three customers are saving on average £330 each in roaming charges per year
• The average Three customer now uses 500MB of data on each trip abroad, an 84% increase year-on-year
Three, the network that gives people the freedom to use their phones abroad at no extra cost [in 18 destinations], has today (August 25, 2015) announced it has saved customers more than £1.3 billion in roaming charges since launching its Feel at Home service two years ago.
The service was introduced to protect customers from unfairly high roaming charges. Since its launch, Three has saved customers £330 on average every year allowing customers to make the most of their holidays. The average Three customer now uses 500MB of data on each overseas trip.
Three took a stand against roaming charges not just in Europe, but also in key destinations outside of Europe, by launching Feel at Home in 2013. Currently Three customers can use their phones and tablets abroad at no extra cost in 18 destinations.
This now includes Spain and France the two most popular holiday destinations for Brits, with 12 million* UK visitors to Spain and 8 million to France predicted in 2015.
It is no surprise that the Feel at Home service has proved extremely popular since its launch, and is still gaining momentum, with two million Brits using their phone abroad at no extra cost on Three in the last two years. In June alone, 538,000 people benefitted from the service, and it’s set to continue as more people head off on holiday this August and September.
Lianne Norry, director of brand & comms at Three, said: “Three was the first UK network to allow customers to use their phones abroad at no extra cost, to banish bill-shock and improve peoples’ holiday experiences. We continue to lead the way in making roaming charges fairer. The fact that we’ve saved our customers a whopping £1.3 billion proves the true extent of the great roaming rip-off, people are being treated unfairly by other networks, so we will continue to make it right for them with Feel at Home.”
Feel at Home is available in 18 destinations worldwide: Spain, France, Switzerland, Israel, Finland, Norway, USA, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Macau, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Austria, Hong Kong, Sweden, Denmark and Republic of Ireland.
It couldn’t be simpler to use your phone abroad at no extra cost with Three. As soon as you arrive, your phone automatically activates with Feel at Home, allowing your phone to pick up a local network so you can chat to family and text your friends back home, post status updates and share holiday spam to your heart’s content. If you go out of bundle, you will still benefit from reduced roaming rates – a no brainer for the modern traveller.
