Warning for iPad users over high bills abroad

Using tablet computers such as an iPad while travelling overseas can be as much as 1,000 times more costly than in the UK, consumer champion Which? has warned.

Data use such as checking e-mails, watching videos and downloading music on a tablet can cost as little as £7.50 a month in the UK for a gigabyte of data.

But researchers found equivalent use could cost Britons travelling abroad several thousand pounds.

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It would take several hours of watching video online to run up such astronomical charges – but simply using GPS to get around, browsing the internet, or checking emails could lead to a bill of several hundred pounds.

Also, smartphone and tablet users could find their devices racking up big bills without them knowing as the gadgets access the internet to conduct automatic updates.

Although data charges are limited to about £40 in the EU due to EC regulation, and some operators have caps for use further afield, others do not have a limit on how big a bill a customer can run up.

Which? found that using a mobile phone to make and receive calls, send texts and browse the web while abroad can be extremely costly too.

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Unlike within the UK, mobile users must pay to receive calls as well as to make them.

Prices are capped in the EU, but calls made elsewhere can be up to 10 times more expensive.

Trying to save money on calls by using text messages can still cost four times as much as in the UK.

It can cost up to £3 per minute in Russia for a pay-monthly customer on the network 3 to make calls while travelling outside the EU. The same customer could pay as little as 12p a minute if making calls in the UK outside their free monthly allowance.

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It can cost up to 50p (Orange) for a pay-monthly customer to send a text in countries such as South Africa and Turkey.

Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith said: “Until data costs come down, anyone considering their tablet or mobile for using the net abroad should steer well clear of 3G data roaming and use free wi-fi access where available instead.”