By Venkata Vemuri, IANS,
London : English fans planning a trip to South Africa for the soccer world cup have received a warning – not against hooliganism, but about their mobile bills.
Cost of roaming is so high there that English supporters could be charged anywhere between 200 pounds and 400 pounds a fortnight just for calling and texting home.
A cell phone price comparison website, Billmonitor, says the costs were calculated on the basis of the average British customer making 125 minutes of calls, sending 90 text messages and receiving 90 minutes of calls in the space of two weeks.
Adding in the cost of sending two picture messages a day for a fortnight, the likely roaming bill for fans spending a fortnight in South Africa will range from 201 pounds for users of the cheapest network, Virgin Media, to 410 pounds for customers of the costliest, Three.
T-Mobile had the highest charges for incoming calls while abroad, at 150 pounds for the two weeks, while Orange was the costliest for sending picture messages, at 1.50 pounds each or 20 pounds for 14.
Those with iPhones or similar smartphones could face even higher charges as some firms charge as much as 9.77 pounds for sending the equivalent of 50 emails through their mobile internet service.
Reacting to Billmonitor’s caution, a spokesperson for mobile phone regulator Ofcom said: “It is really important that consumers check the costs of international calls and texts before they leave.”
A spokesperson for Three said the company would be introducing new tariffs in time for the World Cup, reducing the costs analysed in the survey to 309 pounds.
A spokesperson for T-Mobile, the second-most expensive overall, said it was recommending its customers reduce costs by connecting only to its partner network, MTN South Africa.