Can I save money calling a UK mobile roaming overseas using DialAbroad?
Customers often email us to ask whether they can save money calling a UK mobile roaming overseas using DialAbroad.
The answer is 'maybe'.
First, you can call UK mobiles using DialAbroad and the rates for doing so from a UK landline and mobile are here. Whether you will save any money using DialAbroad depends on your existing landline or mobile tariff so you should check with your landline or mobile provider to confirm the rate you will pay calling directly before using DialAbroad. The fact that a UK mobile is roaming overseas does not change the amount you pay to call it from the UK.
Secondly, although you can call a UK mobile roaming overseas either via DialAbroad (if it saves you money) or directly from your landline or mobile, the person receiving the call will pay roaming charges. These range from as little as 8p/min in the EU to over £1/min in other parts of the world. We would, therefore, always suggest that before calling somebody on a UK mobile roaming overseas you consider if there are cheaper alternatives available. A recent real-life example, where we helped a customer keep in touch with her partner, illustrates the point that you should always consider the total cost of the call.
Customer example:
Customer in the UK wants to call her partner who is on business in the USA from her home landline.
Calling her partner on his Orange UK mobile will cost (1) cost of calling Orange UK mobile from a BT landline (11.3p/min during the day) plus (2) the cost of receiving the call in the USA on his Orange UK mobile (70p/min at all times) giving a total cost of 81.3p/min.
We asked the customer whether her partner had a phone in his hotel room and she confirmed that he did. By calling him on his hotel number (a regular US landline number) via DialAbroad, the total cost is just 1p/min from a BT landline with no cost to receive the call.
By considering the total cost of the call, we were able to save our customer 80.3p/min or just under 99%!
usa
2abroad
Posted on 2013-02-19 22:21:00