Ridiculous phone roaming bills and how to avoid them

Holidaymakers in Corfu have been hit with bills for roaming charges of up to £300 after their phones latched on to Albanian mobile phone masts. At their closest, the Greek island and the Balkan nation are barely one mile apart.

The Mail reports that holidaymaker Maria Pratt wrote on Facebook: “We got caught out 298 pound bill when we got home x.”

This issue is not limited to Corfu/Albania confusion. Most British travellers have some sort of deal for low roaming charges within the European Union, and often the wider Schengen area (including Switzerland, Iceland and Norway). Costs are kept down to perhaps a few pounds per day.

But in border areas with non-EU nations, or on ships connected to maritime satellite networks, travellers can inadvertently lock onto networks where charges are extremely high.

These are the key questions and answers.

I fly to an EU country. I switch on my phone. What could possibly go wrong?

So long as you are staying well away from any borders with non-EU nations, and coastlines where you could connect inadvertently with a maritime network, not much.

Typical roaming arrangements allow you a reasonable deal for Schengen area nations plus Ireland, the Isle of Man, Channel Islands, San Marino and Vatican City. Because a number of remote islands and territories are part of France, the plan often includes some far-flung destinations, including Guyane, Guadeloupe, St-Martin and Reunion.

Notably, though, plans usually exclude some key Balkan, Mediterranean and Pyrenean nations:

These territories are priced at high rates. Maritime tariffs – as applied on some ferries and cruise ships – are even more expensive.

What are the possible roaming risks?

The main problem is connecting to a network in another destination without meaning to. Phones are constantly probing to detect the optimum mast, and that may lay on the other side of an international border – or even on a vessel at seas.

Where are the most likely problems?

Holidaymakers on some Greek islands are prone to locking on to other countries’ providers. Besides the Corfu-Albania example, the northern tip of Kos is only three miles from Turkey, while part of Lesbos is six miles from the Turkish mainland. Little-visited Chios is four miles from Turkey.

In Cyprus,…