Smartphone use in Portugal - no roaming costs
The 2017 holiday season is coming to an end, and with it the first summer in Europe without roaming costs for calling and using the mobile Internet within the EU.
Making calls abroad without roaming costs
The use of a mobile phone or smartphone on holiday, for example in Portugal, has in the past sometimes been a costly pleasure, but in a ten-year process the European Union has finally eliminated this uncertainty. Since 15 June 2017, mobile users in Portugal and another 27 countries in the European Union (EU), as well as in Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, can use their cell phones or smartphones in the same way as at home without incurring additional costs for calls or mobile Internet.
Mobile surfing – data volume included
The tariff structure is simple, because calls are calculated the same way in other EU countries as they are in the UK. The volume of data for the mobile Internet is the same: volumes that are included in the domestic contract can also be "surfed" in Portugal. If there are limits to data volumes in the (UK) contract, then you should check in advance whether they can be used abroad. In case of doubt, it is best to contact the network operator before departure or to read the info text message that you will receive when you cross the border.
According to a survey by the European Union [Link] of September 2017, called "The end of roaming charges within the EU", in August 2017, 71% of respondents already knew that roaming costs were abolished and 72% of interviewees questioned said that they or someone they knew would benefit from the new legislation.