Roaming with BT Mobile: All You Need to Know

Going on a trip soon? Sounds like a plan! Got everything sorted out already, except for whether you should roam with BT Mobile or not? Can you use BT Mobile in Turkey? What about in the US or Italy? Is roaming with BT Mobile expensive and even worth it? Let's find out today.

Original publication: 10th of October 2019. Last updated: 13th of February 2021.

Table of Contents

Can I roam with BT Mobile?

BT Mobile customers in 241 destinations around the world. They can Roam Like at Home in 47 destinations where no additional roaming rates apply. Additionally, the Travel Data Pass can be purchased for £6 a day, where you get 500 MB for data roaming in 12 destinations.

No idea how roaming works? I made this comprehensive guide about what roaming is and how it works. It is worth the read – promised!

What do I need to know about roaming with BT Mobile?

BT Mobile customers can roam in 241 destinations, where 47 of them are Roam Like at Home destinations where you do not pay any extra for roaming. Lastly, you have the Travel Data Pass. Let's list all the roaming options below:

• Roam Like at Home
• Travel Data Pass
• Pay As You Go Roaming

Click on the links above to jump to the roaming option you are interested in.

Video Guide for Roaming with BT Mobile

Are you a visual learner? You can watch this BT Mobile Roaming Guide! It is recommended to read the remainder of the review after watching this video (I refer to this article a few times throughout the video). Otherwise, you will be missing key elements related to roaming with BT Mobile. Also, be sure to subscribe to the channel after watching the video!

BT Mobile Roam Like at Home

As of the 15th of June, 2017, the new European Union (EU) regulation applies. It dictates that when you travel outside your home country (UK) to another EU country, you do not pay additional charges when roaming abroad.

Most providers, like BT Mobile, refer to this as Roam Like Home, or a variation of that, which applies to BT Mobile too – Roam Like at Home.

With Roam Like at Home, you can travel to the other 27 EU nation-states without having to worry about additional roaming charges. However, you can visit a further 20 destinations without extra costs. Some of these places are in mainland Europe, while others are in overseas.

BT Mobile's Roam Like at Home allows you to use your plan's allowance while traveling within the EU. If you have 10 GB of domestic data, you can use that allowance in Roam Like at Home destinations as well.

You can use the following services with Roam Like at Home:

• Data
• Calls
  • Calls to the UK (mobile and fixed-line numbers)
  • Calls within the same Roam Like at Home destination (mobile and fixed-line numbers)
  • Calls to another Roam Like at Home destination (mobile and fixed-line numbers)
  • Calls to Customer Care
  • Calls to numbers starting with 0800, 0808 & 0500
  • Receiving calls
  • Voicemail
• Texts
  • Texts to the UK
  • Texts within the same Roam Like at Home destination
  • Texts to another Roam Like at Home destination

Roam Like at Home, however, does not allow you to:

• Make calls to service numbers (starting with 084, 087 & 118)
• Calls and texts to non-Roam Like at Home destinations

There is a data cap for data roaming in Roam Like at Home destinations. If you have a plan that gives you more than 20GB a month, then you may only use 15GB abroad (within the same billing cycle). Else, BT Mobile may apply a surcharge.

UPDATE January 2020: As the UK left the EU on the 31st of January, some have asked what will happen to Roam Like at Home. A BT Mobile spokesperson said the following to Trusted Reviews:

Our customers enjoy inclusive roaming in Europe and we have no plans to change this based on Brexit.

BT Mobile spokesperson, January 2020

Where can I use BT Mobile's Roam Like at Home?

You can use Roam Like at Home in the following destinations:

Roam Like at Home Zone 1a

Zone 1 has 30 destinations:

* Note that when in Northern Cyprus, you may connect to a Turkish network. Turkey is not a Roam Like at Home destination, so you will be charged on standard roaming rates
** Includes Azores & Madeira

Roam Like at Home Zone 1b

Zone 1b has 16 destinations:

Why does Roam Like at Home have two zones?

The two zones are relevant in case you go over your allowance. You will be charged extra, and the pricing differs depending on the zone. Below are the surcharges:

	Zone 1a	Zone 1b
Calls	35p/min*	29.1p/min*
Texts	12p/message	10p/message
Data	10p/MB	8.3p/MB

There is a 30-second minimum call charge. After that, you will be charged per second.

BT Mobile Travel Data Pass

The Travel Data Pass gets you 500 MB of roaming data for £6 a day in 12 destinations. Once enabled, it will automatically renew every 24 hours for as long you are in a Travel Data Pass destination. It will turn itself off if you stop data roaming or leave the destination.

You can use the Travel Data Pass in the following 12 places:

You can get the Travel Data Pass by visiting My Mobile.

Looking for an international sim instead? Check out my comparison post where I analyse the offering of 10+ international sims.

BT Mobile Pay As You Go Roaming

If you are in a place where Roam Like at Home does not apply or is not covered by the Travel Data Pass, you can roam on standard roaming rates. The Pay As You Go roaming rates are grouped into 8 zones and are shown below.

Notes:

1. Calls refers to calls made within Zone and from Zone to UK mobile and standard landline numbers
2. Calls ROW stands for Calls made from Zone to the Rest of the World
3. Inc. Call in Zone refers to Calls received in Zone
4. Text to Zone & UK refers to texts sent within Zone and from Zone to UK mobile and standard landline numbers
5. Text ROW stands for texts sent from Zone to the Rest of the World
6. All prices are in pence
7. The charges show for Zone 1a & 1b only apply when the action is excluded from the usage allowance for your plan. In most cases, these rates do not have to be paid (Roam Like at Home)
8. Retrieving voicemail within a roaming zone is charged as the prices listed under Calls (excluding Zones 1a & 1b). There is no extra charge for receiving voicemail when roaming
9. MMS costs 40p when roaming
10. Receiving SMS is free
11. The table is best viewed in landscape mode or desktop view (when on mobile)

Zone	Calls	Call ROW	Inc. Call in Zone	Text to Zone & UK	Text ROW	Data
Zone 1a	4.3	140	0	1	30	–
Zone 1b	3.6	140	0	1	30	–
Zone 3	140	140	125	40	40	500
Zone 4	170	170	80	40	40	500
Zone 5	140	140	130	40	40	500
Zone 6	165	165	130	40	40	500
Zone 7	170	170	130	40	40	500
Zone 8	165	165	150	40	40	500

Now that we have the prices out of the way, let's see where we can roam.

Roaming Zone 1a destinations

The following 33 destinations fall under Zone 1a rates:

What are the zone 1a rates again?

Zone	Calls	Call ROW	Inc. Call in Zone	Text to UK	Text ROW	Data
Zone 1a	4.3	140	0	1	30	–

Roaming Zone 1b destinations

The following 16 destinations fall under Zone 1b rates:

What are the zone 1b rates again?

	Calls	Call ROW	Inc. Call in Zone	Text to UK	Text ROW	Data
Zone 1b	3.6	140	0	1	30	–

Roaming Zone 3 destinations

The following 9 destinations fall under Zone 3 rates:

What are the zone 3 rates again?

	Calls	Call ROW	Inc. Call in Zone	Text to UK	Text ROW	Data
Zone 3	140	140	125	40	40	500

Roaming Zone 4 destinations

The following 26 destinations fall under Zone 4 rates:

What are the zone 4 rates again?

	Calls	Call ROW	Inc. Call in Zone	Text to UK	Text ROW	Data
Zone 4	170	170	80	40	40	500

Roaming Zone 5 destinations

The following 30 destinations fall under Zone 5 rates:

What are the zone 5 rates again?

	Calls	Call ROW	Inc. Call in Zone	Text to UK	Text ROW	Data
Zone 5	140	140	130	40	40	500

Roaming Zone 6 destinations

The following 12 destinations fall under Zone 6 rates:

What are the zone 6 rates again?

	Calls	Call ROW	Inc. Call in Zone	Text to UK	Text ROW	Data
Zone 6	165	165	130	40	40	500

Roaming Zone 7 destinations

The following 104 destinations fall under Zone 7 rates:

What are the zone 7 rates again?

	Calls	Call ROW	Inc. Call in Zone	Text to UK	Text ROW	Data
Zone 7	170	170	130	40	40	500

Roaming Zone 8 destinations

The following 11 destinations fall under Zone 8 rates:

What are the zone 8 rates again?

	Calls	Call ROW	Inc. Call in Zone	Text to UK	Text ROW	Data
Zone 8	165	165	150	40	40	500

Can I roam on planes with BT Mobile?

Inflight roaming is possible with BT Mobile. You can roam on planes that have AeroMobile or OnAir roaming facilities on them.

Inflight roaming is charged at Zone 9 rates, which are listed below:

• £5.40 per minute for all type of outgoing calls
• £2.80 per minute for receiving calls
• £0.87 per text for all type of outgoing SMS
• £9.20 per MB
• Receiving SMS is free.

Can I roam on cruise ships with BT Mobile?

Maritime roaming is possible with BT Mobile. If your cruise ship or ferry has MCP, Seanet Maritime Communications, or Thuraya roaming facilities on them, then you can roam.

Maritime roaming is charged at Zone 9 rates, which are listed below:

• £5.40 per minute for all type of outgoing calls
• £2.80 per minute for receiving calls
• £0.87 per text for all type of outgoing SMS
• £9.20 per MB
• Receiving SMS is free.

Is roaming with BT Mobile worth it?

BT Mobile will not charge you extra for roaming in EU nation-states, meaning that roaming in those destinations is always worth it. Just make sure you go not go over your allowance. Otherwise, you will have to pay a surcharge.

The Travel Data Passes seem like a good deal to me. For £6, you get 500MB that can be used in Andorra, Australia, Canada, China, India, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. It would be nice if they would expand the places you can use the pass in the future, but those are sound destinations.

It would have been great if the pass was not limited to data roaming alone. Some minutes and texts would have been excellent. Something BT Mobile can think about, I would say.

I do, however, recommend to take caution with using the Travel Data Pass. £6 a day may not sound like a lot. However, staying in Canada for a week, for example, would cost you £42 for that week alone. You can undoubtedly get a local sim for much cheaper that will give you data, minutes, and texts. You could also consider an international sim if you are willing to spend that much.

Unfortunately, the Travel Data Pass does not offer data rollover, meaning that if you have spare data left from the previous day, those will just vanish – a shame.

Therefore, I would not recommend using the Travel Data Pass for more than 4 or 5 days, as you will be cheaper off with a local sim.

I usually tend to avoid roaming on Pay As You Go Roaming rates, as they are often pricy and add-up quickly. BT Mobile uses 9 roaming zones (including inflight and maritime roaming), which, together with a non-British provider, tops the list with most roaming zones I have seen so far. As a result, it can be a challenge to keep track of what destination is part of what zone.

For example, data roaming is priced at £5/MB, which is just too high. An international sim may be a better option instead.

Then we have roaming on planes and cruise ships. I would never recommend to maritime roam or use inflight roaming services because the prices are almost always insanely high. 

In most cases, airlines that offer inflight roaming offer inflight WIFI as well, which is much cheaper than inflight roaming (not but necessarily cheap – consider the price and the allowance you get). The same counts for cruise ships – some may offer free WIFI. Why pay for a connection when you can get one for free?

In short, roaming with BT Mobile should be done in moderation. Avoid roaming on standard roaming rates and do not use the Travel Data Pass for more than 5 days. A local sim will be much cheaper in that case.