So we’ve all heard the horror stories of people going abroad and using the data connection on the phone and being charged €5k by Vodafone.

I was in the UK twice recently and on the first occasion had to make a quick data connection so Nokia Maps could figure out where I was. Of course I was then petrified that the 200KB would end up costing €100. However, when I checked my bill online, it showed the connection alright but the charge was zero!

When I was back again last week, I grabbed a ton of mail, twitter messages etc and then checked the bill a few days later. Again, zero charge.

It looks like there are no roaming data charges in UK if [a] you use the shitty Vodafone Live access point [b] you only connect on Vodafone UK [c] you have the 500MB “hamstrung web data” bundle.

The thing is, I don’t know if this is policy or a mistake. Voda’s estimates of my data usage each month are usually a factor of 10 too small so it may just be that the metering system they are using (4 macaws with abacuses) is just screwed up at the minute.

If you want to take the chance, you’ll save yourself a bunch of money on wifi charges or roaming data charges. Note that this only works when accessing the web on the phone itself. Voda Live, because it isn’t a proper APN, cannot be used when you are using your phone as a modem for your laptop. It also cannot be used by your mobile broadband dongle.

Oh and switch to “manual network selection” when abroad since the phone roamed to O2-UK for a short while in the Tube when it couldn’t find a Vodafone signal. I’m pretty sure that will cost you big-time if you connect.