Business roaming: using your work phone abroad

How business roaming works after Brexit

When a phone leaves the UK, it connects to a partner network in the destination country and the UK network bills you for the calls, texts and data you use. Before Brexit, EU rules meant surcharge-free roaming across the EU. gov.uk says that surcharge-free roaming in EU and EEA countries is no longer guaranteed, including for employees of UK companies travelling for business, and advises checking your operator's roaming policy before you travel.

In practice, each UK network now decides:

• Which countries sit in which roaming zone
• Whether roaming in a zone is included in the plan, charged per day you use the phone, or charged at standard roaming rates
• What fair use limits apply to data used abroad
• Which add-ons or passes are available for destinations outside the main zones

Terms vary by network, by plan and by when the contract started, so two people at the same company can have different roaming on different lines.

Types of roaming charge

Most business roaming falls into one of these patterns:

• Included roaming. The plan lets you use your UK allowance in a set of destinations at no extra charge, subject to fair use.
• Daily charges. You pay a fixed charge for each day you use the phone in a zone, and only on days you use it.
• Passes and add-ons. A daily or monthly add-on, chosen before you travel, for destinations outside the included zones.
• Standard roaming rates. Pay-as-you-go charges for calls, texts and data where no plan, pass or add-on applies. These are where unexpected bills come from.

gov.uk says UK law keeps an obligation on networks to apply a financial limit on mobile data use while abroad, so you cannot keep using data beyond it unless you actively choose to, and to send alerts as you reach 80% and 100% of it. It also says networks must give customers in Northern Ireland information on avoiding accidental roaming near the border and take reasonable steps to protect them from it. Even so, spend caps and a roaming policy are the reliable way to manage a business account.

Roaming on each network we supply

Each network has its own roaming options. We describe them separately and in each network's own terms, and confirm rates at quote, as they depend on the plan.

EE Business EE Business groups its European destinations into a Europe Zone, and how roaming there works depends on the plan and when it started. EE Business says no plan includes mobile data outside the Europe Zone as standard, so data further afield needs a roaming option, such as a daily passport, set up before travel; it says a passport can take up to 24 hours to set up. EE Business customers can text ROAMING to 150 to check how roaming is set up on a line. See EE Business mobile phones and plans.

Three Business Three Business's roaming is built around Go Roam: your team can use their UK allowances in over 160 Go Roam destinations. Unless roaming is included in the plan, a daily charge unlocks the allowance, and fair use policies apply. A 24-month unlimited UK data plan can include roaming on just the SIMs that need it, and Go Roam Passes cover occasional trips. Larger businesses (over 75 employees) on Three Business Enterprise plans have separate Enterprise Go Roam roaming. See Three Business roaming.

Three's small print: "Roaming in the Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man is excluded from the daily charge. Unlimited data, minutes and texts are UK only, our fair use policies apply in Go Roam destinations. See our current price guide for full details."

O2 Business O2 Business uses three roaming zones: Business Roaming Europe, Business Roaming Plus, which adds destinations such as the USA, Canada, Mexico and South Africa, and Business Roaming World. Depending on the plan, a zone is included or charged per day, with usage coming out of your UK allowance. We can supply O2 Business; see O2 Business mobile phones and network.

Vodafone Business Vodafone Business groups destinations into Europe zones and a World Zone, with roaming and calling add-ons for business travellers. When we supply Vodafone Business, roaming terms are confirmed at quote. See Vodafone Business mobile phones and network.

Before anyone travels

A short checklist saves most roaming surprises:

1. Check which zone the destination is in on the traveller's plan, and whether roaming there is included, charged per day or needs an add-on
2. Add any pass or add-on before departure, as some take time to activate
3. Make sure roaming is switched on for the line and in the phone's settings
4. Set or review spend caps and usage alerts for the trip
5. Download maps, documents and presentations on Wi-Fi before travelling
6. Turn off automatic app updates and cloud photo backup over mobile data
7. For long or frequent trips, ask us which roaming option on the line's network fits the destination and length of stay

Do not assume Wi-Fi Calling will work abroad: EE Business, for example, says its Wi-Fi Calling is available in the UK and that it has launched it in the USA, so check each destination with the network. Standalone 5G features may not apply either; Vodafone Business says its 5G+ is not available when roaming at the moment. Check with the network or ask us before relying on either.

Controlling roaming across a team

For a business with more than a few travellers, roaming needs a policy as much as a plan:

• Decide who roams. Bar roaming on lines that never need it, such as data SIMs in UK-only equipment and phones for office-based staff.
• Match plans to travellers. Give frequent travellers plans or add-ons that include their usual destinations, rather than paying for roaming on every line.
• Use spend caps. EE Business and Three Business offer spend caps that limit charges beyond the plan, and Three Business suggests reviewing a line's cap before travel, as daily roaming charges count towards it.
• Use device management. Mobile device management software can restrict data roaming, push travel settings and enforce updates.
• Watch the bills. Bill analytics show roaming usage by line; Three Business's Three Analyst is one example, and we can help you review usage across networks.
• Write it down. Include roaming rules in your company mobile phone policy, so staff know what is allowed and who to ask before travelling.

Tablets, laptops and hotspots on business mobile broadband need the same controls, as data used abroad by a laptop adds up quickly.

Choosing a network for roaming

If your staff travel often, roaming terms can matter as much as UK coverage. When you compare networks, look at:

• Where your people actually travel, and which zone each destination falls into on each network
• Whether roaming in your main destinations is included, charged per day or needs an add-on
• Fair use limits on data abroad
• How easily you can add passes, cap spend and bar roaming across the account
• Whether the network's roaming partners support 5G in your main destinations

We supply EE Business and Three Business, and can also supply O2 Business and Vodafone Business, so we can look at your travel pattern and set out the options on each network. See our guide to business mobile phone providers.

How we help

We can help you work out which roaming options suit the way your team travels, set up passes, caps and roaming bars across the account, and build roaming rules into your mobile policy. Roaming rates and terms depend on the network and plan, so they are confirmed at quote.

Forever Group's main site also covers business mobile. Our sister site also covers business SIM only plans.

Contact us to talk about business roaming.