New approach to low-cost roaming arrives

On the face of it, AwayPhone sounds great. It promises to cut the cost of mobile phone usage abroad by as much as 90 per cent. Plus the cost savings sound realistic since the company is routing the calls using VoIP technology.

However, there are a number of snags. Firstly, subscribers need to pay for the SIM card itself. It costs £25 and there's no mention of a refund for heavy users on the site.

Next users need to sign up for the service. The choice is between paying £6 per month for frequent travellers or £10 for a one-off 30 days.

So you've got to spend over £35 on overseas calls before you even save a penny. However, AwayPhone's system means you only pay local call charges in the country of your choice.

Plus those charges for receiving calls while roaming won't apply. Having attended 3GSM Barcelona recently it was receiving calls from UK phones which doubled the INQ's usual phone bill.

Somewhat puzzlingly, the list of compatible handsets on the company's web site is minute. In theory, any handset which is Tri-band GSM (which is most handsets these days) will work. Although it has to be unlocked.

Unlocking the phone will cost another £10-£20. But before the EU manages to pressurise European operators to substantially drop their roaming charges, for the regular traveller this is worth investigating. µ

L'INQ
Awayphone