Maritime Charges

[Briden]

Help, I’m at sea and have just  realised my phone was left on when we left dock.  I didn’t see the message that I was on maritime data and although it mentions costs for calls and receiving text it gives no charges for the data roaming.  Does anyone know what sort of cost I could be looking at.  It was on maritime for about 4 hours.  

[Katie_B]

Hello @Briden. 

Thanks for coming here. 

You will be required to purchase an add-on to use your data whilst on the ship using Maritime. 

Katie 🙂

[XRaySpeX]

@Katie_B : The OP asked for the costs of these data add-ons while at sea. What are they? Maritime costs are not given in the Price Guides unlike all the countries.

[Rky]

The cost of maritime data roaming can vary widely depending on the provider and the region. Typical charges can range from £5 to £10 per MB, and in some cases, it can be even higher. Given this, four hours of maritime data usage can potentially result in a very high bill, depending on your phone’s data consumption during that period.

Immediate Actions

• Data Alert: Request EE to place a data alert on your account to prevent further high usage without notification.

• Bill Cap: Inquire if there’s an option to set a cap on your data usage to avoid future surprises.

• EE Support: Reach out via their official support channels immediately for specific advice and potential remedies.

Please reach out to EE to get more accurate information on charges as the above mentioned charges are based on my personal understanding.

[Christopher_G]

Hi @Briden 

You would need an international data add-on in order for your phone to connect to mobile data. So it's unlikely that you've incurred any extra charges for that. Are you looking to add a data add-on, or were you more worried that you've accidentally incurred charges?

Chris

[XRaySpeX]

@Rky : Then why doesn't the same wide variation apply when roaming in countries? For each country EE has a published tariff of costs for buying data add-on in that country. Why do you think the same doesn't apply to Maritime?

[Rky]

Maritime roaming typically relies on satellite networks, which are more expensive to operate and maintain compared to terrestrial networks used for standard international roaming. The costs associated with satellite communication are higher due to the technology involved and the infrastructure required to provide coverage over vast oceanic areas.

There are fewer providers offering maritime roaming services compared to terrestrial roaming services. This lack of competition can contribute to higher prices as providers have more control over pricing without the pressure of competitive rates.

Operating in maritime environments involves compliance with specific regulations and safety standards, which can add to the operational costs for service providers. These costs are reflected in the pricing of maritime roaming services.

[bristolian]

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@Rky wrote:

Maritime roaming typically relies on satellite networks

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Just to clarify, this only applies to the backhaul connection to the central network. No-one's phone is using satellite comms instead of any mobile network.

Although, as an aside, there are some particularly remote mobile network sites that also use satellite connectivity.