Phone billing rules may vary by country. Better to know them to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Even on vacation abroad, it is difficult to do without your phone. In some cases, additional costs, sometimes significant, can be applied or consumption limited. The rules vary by country and plan, but certain practices can be adopted to avoid unpleasant surprises on the invoice.
As regards the countries of the European Union, for several years, operators are no longer allowed to charge roaming charges or “roaming” (surcharge for calls made from abroad). “Your calls (to landlines and mobiles), text messages (SMS) and data services (web browsing, music and video downloads, etc.) are charged at national rates, i.e. the same price than calls, texts and data within your country of origin”, specifies the EU website.
Limited mobile data
It concerns both calls and texts sent and received and applies to the 27 countries of the European Union as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Often operators extend this practice to the UK despite Brexit. In contrast, internet usage may be restricted to a “reasonable” volume of data which depends in particular on the plan. Beyond that, a surcharge may apply.
Outside the European Economic Area, the rules vary by country. Operators regularly include fairly large amounts of calls, text messages and Internet in certain countries. However, it is necessary consult your contract for a list upstream. If the countries are not mentioned, communication costs may be higher.
In any case, the operator must message you when you arrive in the country, detailing the conditions and any additional costs. But it will only notify you again from 60 euros including tax of non-package. It is then possible to deactivate the “data abroad” or “mobile data roaming” option in your phone’s settings.