Vodafone Australia will axe free roaming in New Zealand from February 2018, bringing Kiwi country back onto its $5/day scheme

The carrier abolished roaming charges for Australian subscribers travelling to New Zealand in February 2016, allowing trans-Tasman travellers to use data, make and take calls and swap text messages without paying any additional roaming fees.

Two years on, that appealing deal is being scuppered starting February 8, 2018.

New Zealand will go back to being one of almost 60 countries covered by Vodafone’s $5/day global roaming plan, although there remain a few noticeable holes in that roaming map, foremost among them being the UAE.  Vodafone Australia roaming

According to a recent study commissioned by Vodafone:

• The most popular methods for avoiding roaming bill shock are:
  • Buy and use a local SIM (37 per cent)
  • Keep their phones switched off to avoid excess charges (25 per cent)
  • Leave their phones at home when they go overseas (21 per cent)
• Less than one in five Australians (17 per cent) use mobile roaming
• More than 40 per cent have never used mobile roaming because they think it’s too risky and complicated
• Close to 70 per cent of Australians (67 per cent) do not understand roaming costs
• 57 per cent of people are unlikely to use roaming the next time they are overseas
• Over 80 per cent of Australians don’t use their phone as they normally would when overseas
• On average, respondents estimated that the cost of using your phone overseas for a week would cost $108. Vodafone users estimated it would cost $70.30, Telstra $141.50, Optus $106, Virgin Mobile $82.60 and Amaysim $81.80