Which are the roaming charges for UK mobile operators when visiting Dubai?
Are you one of the almost one million of UK travellers reaching the sandy Dubai for tourism, business or work? Do you have any idea about how much it you will spend in roaming charges to keep in touch with your loved ones from UAE?
Dubai and the other United Arab Emirates are surely among the most frequent destinations for British people. Dubai’s popularity as a destination for UK business and leisure travellers is growing at a healthy rate of 10 per cent per year thanks to a regularly evolving destination offer comprising new hotels, meetings venues and leisure attractions (source: emirates247).
A uSwitch study found that out of 91% of you who take your mobile phones on holiday, 85% aren’t sure of what you’re being charged to use it. While most of you are aware that making calls abroad can end up costing a lot, over 4 in 10 people have been shocked by expensive post-holiday phone bills.
Well, specially if you are visiting the Emirates, you should worry a bit before answering a call.
Or virtualize your Sim with BNE and free yourself from any roaming cost!
Roaming charges for Vodafone UK customers when visiting Dubai:
Standard roaming charges for Vodafone UK customers travelling to the United Arab Emirates are surely not very favorable:
| description | charges |
|---|---|
| Make a call | £1.65 a minute |
| Receive a call | £1.30 a minute |
| Send a text | 35p a text + your home rate |
| Send a picture message | 45p a picture message. (From 23rd July the rate will change to 55p.) |
| Use data | Daily charge of £3 a MB for the first 5MB then £15 for each 5MB after that |
This means that if you will receive just 5 calls lasting an average of 2-3 minutes you will spend around £20 in a day without even using internet. If you are a postpaid customer, a WorldTraveller card will reduce the pain. For “just” £5 in a day, you should be able to use your phone as if you were in your country.
More details
Roaming charges for O2 UK customers when visiting Dubai:
O2 customers are not much happier: roaming charges for O2 UK users when in Dubai or any other emirate are just a bit cheaper than Vodafore. And Data cost is ridiculously high: £6 per one single MB. Sending a single pic or, even worse, a video, can cost a fortune!
| description | charges |
|---|---|
| Make a call | £1.50 a minute |
| Receive a call | £1.25 a minute |
| Send a text | 40p |
| Use data | £6 per MB |
Roaming charges for EE, Orange and T-Mobile UK in the United Arab Emirates:
If you are one of the customers who changed their sim color from Orange or Pink (T-Mobile) to the calm green of EE, be ready to get a bit crazy understanding which are the roaming charges for you, in your Arab vacation.
For sure you are not going to receive or make calls for free: EE rates are as exorbitant as for all the other UK mobile operators:
| description | charges |
|---|---|
| Make a call | £1.50 a minute |
| Receive a call | £1.50 a minute |
| Send a text | 50p |
| Use data | £5 per 10 MB |
Roaming charges for Three UK (H3G) customers in UAE:
Don’t touch that phone!! Not kidding.. better to forget how to make a call if you are a Three UK customer in UAE. Just try to call your mum at home, hear “Hello Dear” and close the call: £3 are gone! Three is surely the most expensive mobile operator when you are travelling to the United Arab Emirates.
| description | charges |
|---|---|
| Make a call | £3.00 a minute |
| Receive a call | £1.25 a minute |
| Send a text | 35p |
| Use data | £6 per 1 MB |
Conclusions:
In the end you realize that there is no luck with any mobile operator: using your UK sim card in UAE is truly expensive. The suggestion is always the same: virtualize your SIM with BNE before leaving, buy a local sim card as soon as you arrive and ask for a data package. Etisalat and Du have almost the same prices. You will be able to answer your calls without worries, call back your friends and relative and enjoy your vacation!