Consumers are not fully aware of the cost of using mobile phones while abroad, the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) warned yesterday as it launched a new website showing the cost of making and receiving calls while overseas.
The cost of mobile roaming in the UK, Spain, Italy and Portugal for Vodafone, O2, Meteor and 3 Ireland customers is available at www.askcomreg.ie/roaming.
The regulator plans to add similar information for other countries over the coming months.
A recent ComReg survey found that 57 per cent of users who travelled abroad last year had only a limited knowledge of roaming costs, while a further 20 per cent had no knowledge at all of roaming costs.
The site, which has been established as part of a European Commission initiative, also indicates what the cost of an equivalent call would be at home.
ComReg commissioner Mike Byrne said the information about roaming would enable consumers to make more informed choices.
"Mobile phone users should be aware that they can minimise their roaming charges when abroad by manually selecting the best value network on which to roam," Mr Byrne said.
The ComReg site shows that the cost of making a four-minute voice call from the UK to the Republic starts at €1.96 for 3 Ireland pay-monthly users.
Bill-paying Vodafone and 02 customers roaming on their equivalent networks in the UK will pay €2.36 for a four-minute call to the Republic, while the lowest price that pay-monthly Meteor users can obtain for such a call is €2.88.
