Vodafone reduces roaming charges by up to 60 per cent

Vodafone Malta Limited will launch the Vodafone Travel Promise tomorrow, offering customers simplicity and better value for roaming services. Vodafone customers will be able to call home at local rates with only a connection fee added per call.

For the same connection fee, Vodafone customers will be able to receive calls at no additional cost. The received call duration period is of 10 minutes per call.

"The Vodafone Travel Promise is extremely simple and transparent since the customer's home prices will apply plus a 50c charge per call when abroad. So if the customer's Malta price plan is 10c a minute for local calls and he or she uses the phone on Vodafone UK to call Malta, the charge will be just 50c plus the 10c rate a minute. When the customer receives a call the charge will be 50c after which the call will be free for up to 10 minutes," Vodafone's Chief Commercial Officer, Paul Bahia said.

These new charges form part of a group-wide reduction in roaming charges, launched with the introduction of Vodafone Passport in May. As a result of these changes, Maltese customers using their Vodafone to call Malta from the United Kingdom will be saving 60 per cent, with the price of a three-minute call for an Options Extra customer falling from Lm2.01c to 80c. A customer receiving a three-minute call in Italy will now be charged 50c instead of Lm1.35. The Vodafone Travel Promise is designed for people who intend to make longer calls. For those customers who opt-in for Vodafone Travel Promise, the longer the customer talks on a call, the more cost effective the call becomes.

"Initially The Vodafone Travel Promise will only be available to post-paid customers, with the service becoming available to all Vodafone customers in the near future. Pre-paid customers will, however, be able to use a new temporary contract service, which is being used for customers who are travelling abroad," Mr Bahia added.

The Vodafone Travel Promise is available to Vodafone customers in Albania, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, UK, Australia, Japan and New Zealand.

To activate the Vodafone Travel Promise, customers can contact Customer Service on 247 or visit any Vodafone Retail Outlet. Terms any conditions apply. To benefit from the Vodafone Travel Promise, customers must choose the Vodafone Network or partner as soon as they arrive at their destination. For more details on Vodafone's new roaming charges call Customer Service on 247 from a Vodafone or on 2148-2820 from any other number. Details can also be found at www.vodafone.com.mt