Recently I have become more and more of a Vodafone fan (so much so, I think last night I was in some bar somewhere trying to convince Arun Sarin to introduce new data plans that gave high data users such as me a guaranteed service level and data priority over other users. He was bemused but wrote down a few notes and promised to sort it out for me.)

I have always been a fan — although for years, in fact, since the inception of SMS Text News, I have generally been a user of another network (T-Mobile or 3, for example). It took quite a lot of confidence to swap over to Vodafone a few months back.. I wasn’t that impressed at the paltry inclusive internet add-on (7.50 pounds per month for 120mb?) but I expected Vodafone to make some upgrades and lo, it was fortold that now I’ve got 500mb inclusive each month. Very useful for a data fiend like me.

So whilst I am a rather big fan of Vodafone, there is just one thing that really, really, REALLY winds me up.

Let’s be clear: This is a triple-A wind up issue for me.

Vodafone Passport.

Why? Well I can’t move in any British Airport for signs, animations, adverts, the whole shebang, advertising Vodafone passport.

It’s only 75p per connection, the advert tells me. Then it’s your bundled minutes. What a cool deal. Yeah…er…

Not in America. America doesn’t count. Forget that Vodafone OWNS a whopping great chunk of Verizon. No, it costs you at least… AT LEAST one hundred and twenty five sodding pence per MINUTE to call home to the UK.

Not only have I been taken in by the Vodafone Passport advertising, but… guess what, so has my brother.

I was on the phone to him a few minutes ago.

“Hi, I’m in Newark,” he tells me.

“Where?”

“NewarK?” he prompts.

“Is that on the south coast somewhere, Devon or something?” I say. A little bit phased.

“No, Newark, New York, you know… AMERICA.”

“Oh. Right!” I forgot. Martin, who blogs big time on servers and blades at his site, Bladewatch, is off to a blade conference in Arizona.

We had a chat about a few things. He’s been on holiday recently. Catch-up conversation, that sort of thing.

Then I thought I’d better ask, “Are you calling on your T-Mobile?”

“No, Vodafone,” he explains innocently. Oh dear. Here it comes.

“Ah, that’s quite expensive Martin, look, catch you soon, you should go,” I say, thinking of his phone bill.

“No, it’s okay!” he says, uh oh, wait for it…, “I’m on Vodafone Passport!”

I grimace to myself.

“No you’re not. It doesn’t apply to America.”

“Oh?” Now Martin is rather annoyed. We cut short our 125p/min conversation and he went about his business sat in the Continental lounge at Newark Airport whilst I put on my blogging hat.

The fact it’s 125p/min is just plain ridiculous. It’s 55p/min on T-Mobile with their little international add-on deal thing. 125p/min is 1990s prices. This issue needs drastic attention from them.

So, if you’re on Vodafone, every time you see a Vodafone Passport advert at the airport, remember America isn’t recognised on that deal.