Three Mobile brings back EU roaming today! Beat the fees and use your phone for free

From today, some Three Mobile users will find themselves receiving a big bill for using their smartphones abroad. The UK network has just revived the dreaded EU roaming fees which means using data, texts and calls in places such as France, Italy and Spain will cost some customers £2 per day. That means a family of four – heading away for a two-week break – might find a bill of over £100 waiting for them on their return. Ouch!

This update clearly isn’t going to do down well with those affected but there are some ways to make sure you can continue to use your phones abroad without paying a penny extra. Three confirmed last year that the fees only affect new customers who joined the network or current users who upgraded their deals after October 1 2021.

That means as long as you haven’t touched your account after that October date you’ll still be on Three’s previous terms which allow you to use your data, calls and texts in Europe without paying a fee.

If you’re happy with that existing deal we’d recommend sticking with it if you want free roaming as the minute you upgrade you’ll then need to pay that £2 per day charge.

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So what happens if you do fancy an upgrade to your current plan?

Although Three is charging customers to use their devices abroad, SMARTY still offers completely free roaming. IF you weren’t already aware, SMARTY is actually owned by Three and uses its 4G and 5G technology to keep customers connected.

Right now you can grab deals from this firm which include a generous 100GB of data for £12 per month or completely Unlimited for £20.

Amazingly, these Three-powered plans include totally free roaming which means you won’t get charged a penny when heading on holiday plus you can leave at any time with SMARTY not locking its customers into long-term contracts.

HERE ARE ALL THE DEALS FROM SMARTY

SIM with 4GB of data • £6 • SEE THE DEAL
INCLUDES: Free roaming • 5G data access • No contract

SIM with 8GB of data • £7 • SEE THE DEAL
INCLUDES: Free roaming • 5G data access • No contract

SIM with 12GB of data • £8 • SEE THE DEAL
INCLUDES: Free roaming • 5G data access • No contract

SIM with 100GB of data • £12 • SEE THE DEAL
INCLUDES: Free roaming • 5G data access • No contract

SIM with Unlimited data • £20 • SEE THE DEAL
INCLUDES: Free roaming • 5G data access • No contract

Explaining more about the update, a Three spokesperson said: “Any customers who take out a new contract or upgrade with Three from 1 October 2021 will pay a charge of £2 per day when roaming within the EU applicable from May 23, 2022. PAYG customers and customers who have taken out a contract before 1 October 2021 are unaffected by these changes.

“The new charge ensures that customers are clear on what they will pay when using their phone in another country and only those who roam will pay for the service. It will also ensure that we can continue investing in our UK network.”