Vodafone to charge AU$1 per minute flat rate for global roaming

Vodafone Australia customers will be able to travel to more than 200 countries, including India, Vietnam, Fiji, and Canada, and be only charged an AU$1 fee for a 1-minute call or 1MB of data.

Vodafone chief marketing officer Kim Clarke said this new deal will eliminate any complicated charging structures that previously existed, including being charged different call rates depending on a customer's destination.

"Customers have enough to think about when travelling, and we'd rather their phone bill not be on the list. With Vodafone's simple AU$1 fee for a 1-minute call or 1MB of data, you can enjoy your trip without fear of arriving home to an excessive bill," she said.

The company also announced it will extend its AU$5-a-day international roaming plan that is available in 46 countries to all of its current post-paid plans from next week. Also, from April 23, Red Roaming will automatically be on for all new customers connecting its current post-paid plans.

The plan was launched last year as part of its Red plans, in a move to push back against global roaming bill shock.

"We're opening this up to all our current post-paid plans, because we want them to experience truly worry-free international roaming," Clarke said.

"You shouldn't have to adjust three different settings in your phone or buy a new SIM card to enjoy using your phone like you would at home."

Both Optus and Telstra have made efforts late last year to lower global roaming charges for their customers.

Last August, Optus brought in new pricing plans for 182 countries, which was broken up in to two zones, where the cost for data varies between 50 cents and AU$1 per 1MB used.

Telstra, which was last to market to offer a pricing overhaul on its global roaming charges, eventually introduced 30-day data packs that would give customers more data for less for 50 countries.