Using my mobile data in Turkey didn't cost me a penny and here's how I did it
17.08.2022 - 16:49
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Since Brexit many UK network providers have introduced expensive roaming charges for using phones abroad. It means sharing holiday snaps with friends and family now comes at an added cost, which is something I was very cautious of as I set off on a recent trip to Turkey.
I've had a contract with Vodafone for five years and before now roaming charges never crossed my mind, as majority of the time they were included. When I landed in Turkey this time I was expecting a text of charges to come through, but the message I got took me by surprise.
It read: "Welcome to Turkey. Good news: it's one of our Zone C worldwide destinations. So you can use the calls, texts and up to 25GB of data from your plan here at no extra cost. If you run out, it's 0.31p per MB, £3.13 per GB."
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This was music to my ears as I expected to be relying on glitchy public Wi-Fi for the whole week, and was happy to know I could use up to 25GB of data...or could I?
Don't be fooled by the large amount of 25GB free roaming as this is not for an individual trip, it's split up over any country you visit within the year, you can check your usage pretty quickly in the 'My Vodafone' App.
Even so, I could use my phone as I normally would, and as long as I didn't exceed my normal UK contract allowance, which is the Unlimited data Xtra Airtime Plan, then I wouldn't have to pay extra.
This plan costs me £13.50 each month and includes Xtra benefits, which is the key to being able to use your UK allowance abroad, if you pick a plan without Xtra benefits then you will only be able to roam free in Vodafone's Zone A (Ireland and the Isle of Man).
Vodafone splits global data into