British fans in Qatar for World Cup could spend £1,000 in a week on mobile phone roaming charges

British football fans heading to Qatar for the World Cup face spending almost £1,000 in a week on mobile phone roaming charges.

Thousands of Britons arriving in the Gulf state for the tournament could be handed a hefty bill of £969 if they use their phone abroad, as Qatar has among the highest roaming fees in the world.

Only Vodafone includes data, calls and texts in its standard international bundle, meaning those with other UK network providers could risk eyewatering mobile bills during their stay, according to new research by USwitch.com. 

And whilst most providers impose the £45 worldwide cap on data roaming – introduced by the UK government to help travellers avoid huge bills – there is no cap on texts or calls for most networks. This could mean that many Brits could be caught out by high charges.

The worst hit will be customers of network provider iD Mobile as they face data costs of £9.60 per MB. The network also has the highest rates for making overseas calls and texts from Qatar, with phone calls to the UK charged at £6 per minute and each text costing £1.20. 

This means that a British football fan using 1GB of data, making 20 minutes of calls and sending ten texts a day could end up with an eye-watering £969 bill for a week’s trip. 

Only Vodafone includes data, calls and texts in its standard international bundle, meaning those with other UK network providers could risk eyewatering mobile bills during their stay, according to new research by USwitch.com (file image)

Meanwhile, Virgin Mobile customers will face data roaming charges of £5. They will also be charged £5 per minute for a whole call to the UK and each text will cost £0.60. 

Over a week, Virgin Media customers could be charged £788 for using 1GB of data, making 20 minutes of calls and sending ten texts from Qatar.

Of the four largest UK providers, O2 is the most expensive with data roaming costing £7.20 per MB. Meanwhile Three customers will be charged £6 per MB.

EE customers can only roam on the network in Qatar by buying a daily Travel Data Pass, which gives 150MB of mobile data for £6.85.

Vodafone is by far the cheapest UK network provider for Brits travelling to Qatar. The provider allows customers to use their domestic monthly allowance of calls, texts and data for £6 a day. 

This means that over a week, Vodafone customers could spend just £42 on using their phone abroad.

While Qatar offers free Wi-fi in many public areas, UK visitors wanting to avoid the risk of mobile fees should consider accessing a local network, experts war.

The Hayya card, a form of identification for overseas fans during the World Cup, will allow Brits to get a free pre-paid SIM which will be valid for three days. 

Catherine Hiley, mobiles expert at Uswitch.com, said: ‘The thousands of Brits heading to Qatar could find themselves facing an unwanted penalty if they aren’t careful to avoid the huge fees for mobile use in the Gulf state.

‘Before you go to the tournament, make sure you know what your network will charge while you’re out there for calls, data and texts.’

She added: ‘With the majority of providers not including Middle Eastern countries in their standard roaming packages, the charges for mobile data can be severe. 

‘So it’s worth turning roaming off on your smartphone for the duration of your stay.’

Hiley continued: ‘Download any World Cup apps or maps before you leave the UK, as well as any films, shows and music you might want while there, so you don’t have to rely on finding a secure Wi-Fi connection in Qatar.

‘If you want to contact people back home, it’s better to use a messenger app when you’re online, rather than paying expensive call costs. 

‘And, if you’re attending the World Cup with friends, consider setting up a group on a service like WhatsApp. 

‘This will give you an easy way of keeping in touch without resorting to texts.’