Don't get stung by roaming costs this winter

You can also use this page too: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mobiles/cheap-roaming-calls/. We used BT in Italy & Austria in September and experienced no problems or extra bills! One to be aware of is not using your phone onboard a ferry - buying a pass for the journey is cheaper than accidentally leaving your phone active.......Best thing is to turn the phone off for a few hours whilst you're out at sea.

O2 are still “free” in roam in Europe. 
 

I also switched to Plusnet last year.  However, although roaming was free in Norway, I was never able to get a 4G data signal in my two weeks there, both in Oslo and up north..  Phone calls and texts were fine,  Reading the forums, including the Plusnet community forum, it appears that I am not the only one to have had this problem - other people have reported it in Germany, for example.  Plusnet do not acknowledge that there is a problem, but from the number of people experiencing the same issue, there clearly is.  

My wife had exactly the same problem in Norway with Lebara.  The common factor is that they are both 'cheapo' providers, Plusnet using the EE network and Lebara the Vodafone network.  Both work fine in the UK, but it has been suggested that their contracts with providers in some countries, such as Norway and Germany, mean that they are not given the same priority as other providers.  

I am going to Norway again next month, and will try again then - if the same happens, I will move to another provider.  I am also going to take an EE SIM, and try that to see if there is a difference.  EE Pay-as-you-go includes free roaming, but their monthly contract deals do not.

I live in the Highlands near Skye, and interestingly tried a Plusnet contract last year, to find that although they use EE's transmitters they do not have access to all of them.  In short after speaking to Plusnet to discuss they let on to me that in more remote areas such as where we are the coverage is less than that EE themselves provided on the same transmitter network.   I'm guessing then the same applies abroad, and perhaps to a certain extent you 'get what you pay for'.  Note some existing EE contracts do include roaming, I transferred to them May 21 and mine does until renewal next May.  May be it is only the new contracts that don't include it.  Best to check before travelling

I do a lot of sailing on the west coast of Scotland and in the Outer Hebrides.  I chose Plusnet because it uses the EE network, which is generally regarded on the sailing forums as providing the best coverage in those areas.  However, I have found some gaps in coverage, and Graham's comment provides a possible explanation.  I think I will be switching to EE.

Vodafone have a roaming pass - £8 a week, £15 a fortnight - which allows you to use your data allowance (the daily charge for same is £2). That's not a huge price to pay for everything to be pretty seamless (which it is, once you've worked out how to access the pass - not an option in the My Vodafone app, for some reason!)

BT use EE as well but we’ve been happy so far and if you use BT for your Broadband the family deal is excellent. I gave up on PlusNet because they don’t do Wi-Fi calling - and living in a house wrapped in silver paper that meant I had no phone signal unless I hung out of the window! They don’t tell you the negatives in the marketing. 

Currently one of the cheapest contracts is

Importantly, even for those of us travelling via Geneva , Switzerland is not included in roaming and is quite expensive. See https://mobile.lebara.com/gb/en/rates

"Following countries are included in the roam like home proposition

• EU member states (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, UK)
• EEA Countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Gibraltar and the Aland Islands) &
• The EU outermost regions (Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Reunion, Mayotte, Saint-Martin, the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands)"

ASDA also uses Vodafone and is relatively cheap but it looks like most European countries cost 1.5p per min and texts 10p.

Unfortunately, no free roaming.

Further research required!

P.s. Has anyone tried selecting a French network at Geneva airport by turning off automatic network selection on their phone?

O2 and Utility warehouse free in EU and Switzerland.