Less data headaches on holiday - Vodafone simplifies data roaming

Anyone who's thought about using their mobile or their dongle to access the internet abroad will probably have thought twice about it - after all, even if you don't end up being one of the 'horror bill' stories, quite often you still need a degree in higher maths to figure out what you'll be charged for Facebook in France or Googling in Greece.

However, starting from yesterday, if you're with Vodafone things shouldn't be too difficult to work out - you just need to know whether you're in Europe or not. Until recently Vodafone customers were paying £5 per day for up to 25MB of data on handsets, or £10 per day for up to 50MB on a dongle. That's for inside Europe; the rate went up to £15 for 25MB on phones or £30 for 50MB via dongle.

Starting from yesterday, however, getting online via your smartphone inside Europe will cost £1 per MB up to the first 5MB, and then an additional fiver for every additional 5MB chunk thereafter. Outside Europe will be £3 per megabyte for the first 5MB and £15 per additional 5MB. Or on a laptop it's still £9.99 per day for up to 50MB inside Europe or £29.99 for the same amount anywhere else in the world. As a guide, Vodafone suggests that 25MB is roughly 500 mobile-friendly web pages, while 50MB is 100 emails or 4 hours of web browsing - providing you don't get heavy with the downloads.

But while the pricing may be simpler, don't be misled into thinking it's cheaper. If you don't use much data abroad then the new pricing structure will probably suit you - but if you're planning to spend a fair bit of time online you're still going to get stung. And while new EU rules come into force next month forcing providers to issue warnings when certain limits have been reached, it still pays to be smart when using your smartphone or laptop abroad.

Check out our guide to using the internet abroad to find out more.

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