Vodafone has announced today that it is expanding its class-leading $5 Roaming deal to another six countries, including Canada, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands.
With this addition, Vodafone customers can pay $5 per day to use their mobile inclusions in 58 different countries around the world, meaning there’s no need to worry about outrageous roaming costs, finding a local SIM, or staying in touch with family and friends. Simply activate $5 Roaming and jump on board, and you’ll be told within minutes of landing in your new destination whether $5 Roaming is available or not.
We’ve personally used $5 Roaming in the US, Spain, the Netherlands, and New Zealand and we’ve enjoyed the experience every single time. Some countries offer 4G roaming, so you get blistering speed, while others use 3G roaming which can be (in the case of the US, at least) rather slower.
That said, for $5 a day, being able to access inclusions from home is a welcome thing for the frequent traveller, and something that — amazingly — Optus and Telstra simply don’t offer anything near.
As Vodafone’s Chief Marketing Officer Loo Fun Chee so eloquently says:
“No longer will they have the hassle of picking up a travel SIM, and they’ll still have the same connected experience as if they were at home.
We are proud to continue to lead the change in transforming the way Australian consumers and businesses roam, particularly to popular travel destinations for Australians such as the South Pacific and Canada. To put things into perspective, someone travelling to Canada for a 14-day holiday could save up to $130 off their total roaming bill by switching to Vodafone.
Frequent flying business travellers will have the freedom to fly out for work without any worries about bill shock; it’s just a matter of switching on roaming before they take off. This will allow them to make calls and text and to use their data without the fear of a massive bill when they return home.
There are of course a few things to remember with $5 Roaming, including a cap of up to 90 days a year overseas, and of course you have to make sure you’re eligible to use it — the right plan is needed, and on some older plans, you need to opt-in first. Newer plans have $5 Roaming activated by default.
Optus has the $105 plan that provides unlimited incoming and outgoings calls to zone 1 countries. You also get 1Gig of data every month for roaming. I was recently in China and Singapore and was able to take calls and make as many calls as I saw fit without the fear of a heavy phone bill. Very pleased with this plan outstanding for the frequent overseas traveler.
That’s not a bad deal. When I was over in Scotland a few months ago, my only realistic option was a UK SIM, and tethered it from an old second phone. Telstra wanted a disgusting amount of money for a miniscule amount of data. It was $450 for 2.2GB! Shame on them! At least VF have somewhat decent prices.
Luis Hernandez
$5 roaming, and coverage near our house, is why I’m just about to swap to Vodafone.
Obviously, having their own networks in so many countries makes this an easier thing to offer, but there doesn’t seem to be any reason, in principle, why other carriers couldn’t do the same.
I assume post pay only?