In the year of the smartphone, Vodafone has taken notice and realized we hate mobile data roaming rates. In a move to help ease the pain to our pocket books, the carrier has gone official with new daily and monthly smartphone data roaming rates while traveling Europe, cutting costs up to 60 percent.
Vodafone’s first order of business is cutting the price for the occasional traveler who just wants a daily mobile data rate — that new rate is EUR 2 per day, a savings of nearly 60 percent over existing plans plus an increase in data allowance.
The goal of the new mobile data roaming rates is simple, just ask Vittorio Colao, CEO of Vodafone, who said, “we want our 35 million European data users to feel free to use their devices in Europe in the same way they do at home”.
Smartphone sales are expected to grow from 32 percent to 70 percent by 2013 and Vodafone is taking action now. With the new EUR 2 per day plan all users will be able to access domestic plans in Vodafone’s European countries plus France, Switzerland, Belgium and Austria.
Business monthly customers will be able to include data roaming across all of Europe. Consumer monthly customers can use the new plans in Vodafone countries plus France, Switzerland, Belgium and Austria, just like the daily plan.
The new plans are being rolled out to Vodafone’s major European markets starting today and throughout December just in time for the winter holiday season. By summer 2011, Vodafone expects the plans to be available across their entire European footprint.
Just in case you need a recap, Vodafone’s European countries include: Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and the UK.
So how about it? Anyone up for saving some money with lower mobile data roaming rates from Vodafone? Or is this move too little too late and you want to see free roaming across all carriers? Let us know!
via Cellular-News
