Swisscom’s budget subsidiary Wingo is updating its data roaming bundles on July 1, 2021 to match new telecom regulations. Wingo’s new call roaming rates will already take effect on May 25, 2021.
What changes is Wingo making to data roaming?
Wingo will offer new data roaming bundles to its customers from July 1, 2021. The new bundles have an expiry period of 12 months – up from the former 30 days – as required by the new regulations.
These data roaming bundles will be available for travelers to countries in the EU/Western Europe region:
- 500 megabytes for 9.90 francs (90 centimes more expensive than the old bundle).
- 1 gigabyte for 15.90 francs (90 centimes more expensive than the old bundle).
- 3 gigabytes for 42.90 francs (2.90 francs more expensive than the old bundle).
Wingo’s Fair Flat plan includes a monthly data allowance of 2 gigabytes which can be used in Switzerland and for roaming in most European countries. Once you have used up the included data, you pay 5 francs for each additional gigabyte up to a limit of 6 gigabytes per calendar month. If you need more data than that, you have to buy one of the above bundles at the standard price.
These data bundles will be available for travelers to countries in Wingo’s World 1 region (Australia, Canada, European countries not included in the EU/Western Europe region, Thailand, Turkey, the United States, and more):
- 500 megabytes for 15.90 francs (1.40 francs more expensive than the old bundle).
- 1 gigabyte for 21.90 francs (1.90 francs more expensive than the old bundle).
- 3 gigabytes for 54.90 francs (Brand new Wingo bundle).
These data roaming bundles will be available for travel to the World 2 region (Costa Rica, Tunisia, Vietnam, and more):
- 100 megabytes for 9.90 francs (2.60 francs cheaper than the old bundle).
- 500 megabytes for 39.90 francs (4.90 francs more expensive than the old bundle).
- 1 gigabyte for 64.90 francs (Brand new Wingo bundle).
This data roaming bundle will be available for travel in the World 3 region (Angola, Madagascar, and many more):
- 100 megabytes for 29.90 francs (9.60 francs cheaper than the old bundle).
What changes is Wingo making to call roaming options?
Like its parent company Swisscom, Wingo will also offer 60-minute call roaming bundles from July 1, 2021. A bundle can be used for calling in any of the countries which fall into its roaming region. The new bundles will only expire after one year, as required by the updated telecom laws.
This is what call bundles will cost:
- EU/Western Europe region: 16.90 francs.
- World 1 region (some Eastern European countries, Canada, the United States, and more): 32.90 francs.
- World 2 region (Costa Rica, Tunisia, Vietnam): 54.90 francs.
- Rest of the World region (Cuba, Malawi, and more): 64.90 francs.
Once a bundle is used up, you can either buy a new roaming bundle or continue to make calls, but at high standard roaming rates.
A price comparison shows that for once, budget mobile service Wingo is more expensive than its parent company Swisscom. Wingo customers will pay 10 percent more for call roaming bundles than Swisscom users.
Wingo is phasing out its Voice Travel Option. For a cost of 15 francs, this option came with 15 call minutes included, with a special low rate for additional roaming calls (25 centimes per minute in most European countries, for example).
What changes is Wingo making to SMS roaming?
Wingo will now offer an SMS roaming bundle with 100 SMS messages for 9.90 francs.
There are no regions for SMS roaming. It can be used worldwide. The bundle is valid for one year.
What changes is Wingo making to its standard roaming charges?
Standard roaming rates are applied when you make calls or use data abroad without first buying a roaming bundle for that region. Because standard rates are very expensive, roaming without a bundle is rarely worth it.
As before, Wingo does not differentiate between different types of calls. Whether you receive phone calls while roaming, make calls within the country you are roaming in, or make calls to Switzerland, you always pay the same price per minute.
These new standard rates will apply to roaming calls:
- EU/Western Europe region: 60 centimes per minute (previously 50 centimes per minute).
- World 1 region (Australia, Canada, the United States, and others): 1.80 francs per minute (previously between 2.50 and 3.70 francs per minute, depending on the country).
- World 2 region (includes Costa Rica, Tunisia, Vietnam, and others): 3 francs per minute (previously 3.70 francs per minute).
- Rest of the World region (Cuba, Malawi, and others): 4.20 francs per minute (previously 3.70 francs).
Wingo is moving to per-second call billing, as required by the new regulations. That means the effective cost of roaming calls will generally be lower, in spite of the higher per-minute rate for Europe. Wingo customers who mostly make short phone calls will likely pay less for roaming calls in Europe after the update.
When is it worth buying a roaming bundle?
If you make more than 28 minutes of roaming calls in Europe each year, then you will save money by buying the Voice Travel bundle instead of calling at standard rates. For other roaming regions, getting a bundle is already worth it if you make 15 to 20 minutes of roaming phone calls per year.
How will Wingo’s updates benefit me?
The change from 30-day to one-year validity periods for bundles is the most important change. Wingo had to make this change to comply with the updated telecom law which takes effect on July 1, 2021. “Wingo customers will be able to use their bundles over a longer timeframe. Data left over after a summer holiday can be used for a long weekend abroad in autumn,” clarifies moneyland.ch telecom expert Ralf Beyeler.
What are the downsides to Wingo’s updates?
The many price hikes across data bundles are an obvious disadvantage. Data roaming in the EU and Western Europe region will cost up to 7 percent more than it did before. Data roaming in other regions will cost up to 14 percent more than it did previously.
“The higher prices are most likely linked to Swisscom’s broader business strategy,” believes moneyland.ch telecom expert Ralf Beyeler. “Swisscom wants to offer the cheapest data roaming rates under its primary brand. Wingo is likely raising its prices because they were too close to Swisscom’s.”
Conclusion by telecom expert Ralf Beyeler:
“The long one-year expiry term will directly benefit customers,” says Beyeler. “But it’s a shame that Wingo is raising the price tags of many data roaming bundles. That’s the opposite of what its parent, Swisscom, is doing. With just one exception, the prices of Swisscom’s new data roaming bundles are identical to those of its current bundles.”
More on this topic:
New Swisscom roaming prices explained
New M-Budget roaming prices explained
Compare Swiss mobile plans (including data and call roaming)
Find the cheapest roaming solution for your existing mobile plan
