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According to a survey carried out by the ODTR in conjunction with its UK counterpart, Oftel, 43 percent of Irish mobile users do not know how much it costs to use a mobile while overseas. This is despite the fact that consumers can pay up to EUR1.90 per minute when calling Ireland from the UK on a pre-paid tariff.
The survey also found that just 15 percent of users are satisfied with the overall value for their money for making phone calls while abroad. However, less than one third have tried to reduce their roaming charges through various available means.
The ODTR said that in the light of these results, it had suggested ways in which people could better manage their mobile usage costs when in the UK. These included changing from a pre-pay service to a post-pay contract, manually selecting the least expensive UK network, using text messaging instead of voice calls and barring or diverting incoming calls while roaming.
"The best advice for travellers is to check with your network operator before you go so that you know exactly how much you will be charged for mobile calls," said the telecoms regulator, Etain Doyle. "Consumers should pick options that best suit their individual usage patterns."
Market research carried out by the ODTR and Oftel identified several instances where mobile users with different needs could save money while abroad. For example, the two regulators said that a business user could save up to 40 percent on mobile calls by using an International Traveller Service (where users are charged an extra rental fee, but can avail of cheaper international roaming call tariffs), and up to 51 percent by manually selecting the least expensive UK network as opposed to the most expensive UK network.
The ODTR also said that a person who visits the UK once a month could reduce their call costs by up to 85 percent by changing from a pre-paid contract to a post-paid one and around 20 percent by manually selecting the least expensive network.
However, consumers will probably have difficulty discovering which are the less expensive networks, according to research on mobile roaming tariffs that was released last year.
The study, which was carried out by Professor Fionn Murtagh of Queen's University Belfast and Dr John Keating of NUI, Maynooth, found that consumers viewed the pricing structures for mobile roaming as very unclear.
"We would favour the publication of simple tabular data providing the actual cost for calls of fixed duration of every type. This is particularly relevant for roaming costs," said the authors in their report. The study also noted that the difference in price between roaming and non-roaming international mobile calls within the EU can be as high as 500 percent and described such charges as "spiralling out of control."
In response to the ODTR/Oftel report, Vodafone Ireland said in a statement that it supported that recommendations and that it has produced a guide to roaming charges, as well introducing a flat tariff that it claimed could save roamers over 50 percent on their calls while travelling in Europe.
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