Football fans have been warned that just a week in Qatar could land them hefty data roaming charges.
Millions of football fans are expected to travel to the Gulf state for the World Cup, which starts on 20 November. But many may not realise the country has among the highest mobile roaming fees in the world.
According to Uswitch, mobile users could rack up an average £969 bill for just a week's usage at the tournament. This is due to some providers’ sky-high roaming fees in the Middle East.
While Qatar offers free Wi-fi in many public areas, UK visitors wanting to avoid the risk of mobile fees should consider accessing a local network.
Most providers use the £45 worldwide cap on data roaming - introduced by the Government to help travellers avoid huge bills - as their maximum limit for monthly mobile data.
However, there isn’t a cap on texts or calls for most networks, which could lead to many being caught out.
Catherine Hiley, mobiles expert at Uswitch.com, comments: "The thousands of Brits heading to Qatar could find themselves facing an unwanted penalty if they aren’t careful to avoid the huge fees for mobile use in the Gulf state.
"Before you go to the tournament, make sure you know what your network will charge while you’re out there for calls, data and texts. With the majority of providers not including Middle Eastern countries in their standard roaming packages, the charges for mobile data can be severe. So it’s worth turning roaming off on your smartphone for the duration of your stay."
Of the four largest UK providers, O2 is the most expensive at £7.20 per MB, with Three costing £6 per MB.
EE customers can only roam on the network in Qatar by buying a daily Travel Data Pass, which gives 150MB of mobile data for £6.85.
Vodafone is the cheapest UK network for phone use in Qatar, enabling customers to use their domestic monthly allowance of calls, texts and data for £6 a day. The same deal also applies to neighbouring Abu Dhabi, where many fans will be staying during the month-long tournament.
Meanwhile, smaller UK provider Lebara Mobile will charge customers a whopping £14.99 per MB for using data in Qatar.
The Hayya card, a form of identification for overseas fans during the World Cup, will allow fans to get a free pre-paid SIM, valid for three days.
However, Catherine still recommends downloading any World Cup apps or maps before you leave the UK.
Football fans should also consider using a messenger app when online, rather than paying for expensive call costs.
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