Here I am again in Heathrow’s Terminal 5. Vodafone has updated it’s advertising as you can see. The current message is ridiculously misleading. Unless, perhaps, I didn’t get the memo. It’s certainly possible.
The message Vodafone wants to get across? European roaming mobile internet can be included in your monthly price plan. That sounds pretty good doesn’t it? Indeed it sounds like you can finally get rid of the worry of running up crazy amounts of roaming data fees by having it all integrated into a nice, fair price plan. An extra fiver a month, perhaps? If only.Now then, I haven’t looked at the latest Vodafone offering but long, frustrating experience leads me to assume that — yet-a-flipping-gain — the marketing team at Vodafone has vomited out a beauty. I suspect that when I look closely, I will be able to swap to a price plan that includes, I don’t know, perhaps 50mb of roaming data per month, for an extra tenner? Something like that. Something half useful. Something almost worth considering. Something that enables the marketers to spunk out a different, slightly modified message — but that is wholly pedestrian. I’d like a few hundred meg included at least. At least. But when ‘unlimited’ data on Vodafone tends to defined as a paltry 500mb, I suspect I’m indulging in wishful thinking. I would be delighted to be corrected. I’ll have a look at the Voda site later on. Oh, the suspense. Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
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Looks like this is just the same old tired Passport crap. £1 per MB for the first 5 then £5 for every 5mb after that (which would seem to be the same thing, but anyway)
Marketing sheen then? Deary me…
Well, I can’t see anything new on their website!
Shame. Would have been good to get an open and honest roaming data package.
It’ll come at some point I’m sure…
It makes me angry how roaming on a 100% Vodafone Group owned subsidiary incurs any roaming charges at all. They may say they’re different companies but ultimately the revenue across the networks is getting slung into the same shareholders’ pockets. I have contacted Vodafone UK about this who refuse to justify the charges other than all Vodafone networks are “different” subsidiaries etc etc and the EU who do not seem to want to take this particular issue onboard. If Vodafone UK could have afforded to “drop” its roaming charges (excluding data, which was a bummer) over the summer of 2009, surely this proves that roaming on another Vodafone network costs them next to nothing, no?
I wish this issue would be pushed more because it seems that multinational operators are raking in the profits through costs that cannot be justified. Of course, if I were roaming on a non-Vodafone network I can understand the Passport connection charges and general higher charges overall but not on another Vodafone network.
Telefónica/O2, Orange, Vodafone, T-Mobile, 3 should be questioned on this frankly unfair practice by the EU.
Anyway rant over!
It’s anadvert for Vodafone data traveller.
£2 a day for 25mb in some European countries.