Football fans travelling to Qatar for the World Cup could spend £969 in a week by using their phone abroad, according to Uswitch.com.

Qatar has one of the world’s highest mobile roaming fees in the world, but of the UK’s major providers, Vodafone is the only one who includes this in its standard international bundle for data, calls and texts.

Most providers use the £45 worldwide cap on data roaming as a monthly limit for data, but there isn’t currently a cap on texts or calls for many networks.

Of the four major providers, O2 is the most expensive, followed by Three, EE and Vodafone respectively.

The table below shows how each provider charges for data, calls and texts over a week.

Source: Uswitch.com; Based on a week’s trip using 1GB a day of mobile data, 20 minutes of calls per day and sending 10 texts per day.

Advice on roaming

UK visitors can access free Wi-Fi in many public areas in Qatar, but it is advised they should use a Hayya card which is a form of ID for overseas fans during the tournament.

This will allow them to get a free pre-paid SIM valid for three days which includes 2GB data, 2,022 local texts and 2,022 local calls and can be topped up during their stay.

Catherine Hiley, mobiles expert at Uswitch.com, comments: “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.

“Download any World Cup apps or maps before you leave the UK, as well as any films, shows and music you might want while there, so you don’t have to rely on finding a secure Wi-Fi connection in Qatar.

“If you want to contact people back home, it’s better to use a messenger app when you’re online, rather than paying expensive call costs. And, if you’re attending the World Cup with friends, consider setting up a group on a service like WhatsApp. This will give you an easy way of keeping in touch without resorting to texts.”

Uswitch.com has launched Utrack– a free mobile app developed by experts that allows consumers to connect to their smart meter to track and reduce energy use and save money.

Utrack has features that enables it to check changes in consumers energy spend, get insights into peak usage times and calculate savings with some household tips.

Along with the app, Uswitch conducted research into how British households are preparing to save on their energy bills this winter. 

Turning off appliances at the wall is the most common way to reduce energy consumption as 53 per cent will do this over winter.

Meanwhile, 47pc will run their washing machine at a lower temperature, 46pc will turn the thermostat down and 44pc plan to use their washing machine less. 

A further 35pc say they will cut down their use of the oven to conserve energym and 28pc will use a more efficient slow cooker and invest in an air fryer.

Uswitch has recently released an article which outlines ways to save energy.

Ben Gallizzi, energy expert at Uswitch.com said: “With the days becoming colder and darker, Brits are already feeling the pressures of rising energy bills combined with the cost of living.

“Making small changes can have a significant impact. Turning off electrical items at the plug sockets, making sure lights are turned off when rooms aren’t being used and using more energy efficient appliances can all help to shave pounds off your bills.

“Using an app like Utrack, alongside simple, cost-saving practices can help provide consumers a better understanding of their energy usage and learn how to reduce bills in a safe, sensible way.” 

Broadband disruption has cost the UK economy £1.3 billion and 11 million consumers were left without internet for three or more hours in the past year, according to Uswitch.

The comparison and switching service released its annual outages report, which also showed that 51 per cent of UK workers work from home, therefore hitting them hardest.

One in ten home workers said poor broadband caused their bosses to complain, and another 10 pc prefer to work on key projects in the office due to bad broadband. 

However, 13 pc said the cost of living crisis means they have to work from home more often despite faulty services.

Out of those who suffered a long outage, 52 pc contacted their provider and 23 pc received compensation for it- meanwhile 14 pc of broadband users have noticed their service getting worse.

Uswitch.com broadband expert Ernest Doku said: “Stable broadband should not be the thing that you worry about when you are trying to impress a new employer.

“When people reach the point that their bosses are commenting on their connection issues, it’s time to consider an upgrade. You may find that better service often comes at a cheaper price when you have been with the same provider for a number of years.

“Many households who took out a broadband deal during lockdown in the 2021 January sales will now be reaching the end of their contract, so it’s the perfect time to shop around, especially if you rely on your home internet to do your job.”

Uswitch have also released advice on what to do if your internet is down.

More than three million out-of-contract customers could save a total of £670 million annually by switching to SIM-only deals according to Uswitch.

These customers could save an average of £207 a year by changing to a SIM-only tariff on a flexible 30-day or 12-month offer.

The cheapest flexible option comes from Lebara, costing £3.95 per month for 1GB data, 200 minutes of calls and unlimited texts.

If customers want a 12-month contract, Three offers unlimited data, calls and texts for £16 a month, and SMARTY offers 60GB of data for £10 a month including EU roaming. 

Uswitch.com telecoms expert Ernest Doku said: “If you’re out of contract on a pay-monthly deal with your mobile provider it’s important to remember that you now own your handset outright and could reduce your bill dramatically by switching to a SIM-only plan.

“Even if you’re on a ‘split deal’ where you have one plan for your handset and another for minutes, texts and data, you will find that once that ‘airtime’ contract expires, you can likely make additional savings by opting for a SIM-only deal in its place.   

“If you’re not sure when your current pay-monthly deal ends, check your paperwork from your network and make a note of the end date so you’ll be ready to switch should you see a better deal.” 

Uswitch urges anyone out of contract with their mobile provider to run a comparison online to check their options and see if they can save with a better deal.

New research from Uswitch reveals households across the UK are hoarding 22 million unused broadband routers which are failing to be recycled.

Of 2,000 UK adults surveyed, 76 per cent said they want a universal router in a bid to cut e-waste as 87 pc of consumers receive a router whether they need it or not.

The research also showed that 42 pc of households currently have an unused router in their home, and 14 pc have two or more.

Many are unaware of how to recycle a router with 59 pc saying they don’t know how to and 15 pc said their broadband provider has sent them a new router despite already having a working one at home.

Sky has been voted the worst offender when it comes to informing customers about recycling their old router, and 60 pc of those surveyed believe providers could do more to save the planet. 

Over one million tonnes of electrical waste are generated annually by UK households and businesses, estimates e-waste research organisation Material Focus.

Uswitch.com broadband expert Nick Baker said: “Broadband providers are currently under no obligation to help their customers recycle unused routers, but with the majority of routers coming from the providers in the first place, they need to step up and play a bigger role in tackling this issue.

“Providers must bridge this gap and ensure their customers have all the information they need to dispose of old routers in an environmentally friendly way.”   

Consumers who want to learn more about the scheme can consult Uswitch’s recycling guide.

BT will be boosting EE 5G coverage through an “enhanced” 700MHz band that will be available to its users next month. 

The MNO revealed it is combining 5G, fibre, and Wi-Fi to deliver convergence that will deliver business opportunities to itself and its customers. 

Redditch, Morecambe and Cramlington will be the first towns to benefit from the service and the MNO plans for it to reach 90 per cent landmass by 2023. 

BT Consumer CEO Marc Allera said: “We’re building and bonding two next-generation networks simultaneously to create a single smart infrastructure available in every part of the UK.” 

Uswitch.com mobiles expert Ernest Doku said: “This announcement by EE is great news for its customers, and is another step towards making 5G access easier across the UK.

“The extra spectrum it won in March will help improve 5G access indoors – which can be weakened by higher-frequency signals being blocked by thick walls.

“EE recently broke the bad news that it would be reintroducing mobile roaming charges in the EU, so this goes some way to soothing the sting for customers.

“EE can rightly be proud of its extensive 5G network, and with plans to cover 90 per cent of the UK by 2028, these improvements could encourage hesitant mobile users to adopt the fifth-generation technology.”

Our homes are holding 184 million pieces of out-of-date tech worth more than £7 billion according to research from Uswitch.com.

The average household has seven unused gadgets with almost one in three (28 per cent) hanging onto old laptops.

A similar proportion (27 per cent) are storing out-of-date TVs and digital cameras (27 per cent). More than three million are still holding onto old brick-style phones which were popular in the early to mid-90s.

Unwanted laptops are worth an estimated £2 billion while spare televisions could be worth around £900 million. Digitals cameras are worth £2 billion and DVD players could bring in £133 million.

One in seven (15 per cent) have held onto an old gadget for more than ten years with nearly a million homes still holding on to old fax machines and almost four million having a video player collection dust.

Almost two-fifths (39 per cent) of customers say they are holding on to the unwanted tech in case it becomes useful in the future, while 23 per cent are too lazy to throw it out.

Around eight million people (19 per cent) say that they haven’t got rid of old gadgets because they are worried about personal data stored on them.

More than a fifth (21 per cent) don’t know how to recycle the device properly, and one in six (17 per cent) say it is because the tech has sentimental value to them.

Among the pile of old gadgets are 35 million mobile phones, of which 22 million are smartphones worth an estimated £1 billion.

Uswitch telecoms expert Ru Bhikha said: “Millions of us are hoarding old, unwanted tech that could be worth a small fortune to its owner or recycled to reuse the precious metals inside.

“Mobile phones, laptops, games consoles, cameras, and TVs all hold a lot of value and can be exchanged for cash with minimal effort. 

“Many of us have a habit for upgrading our phone and holding onto our old one in case they become useful at a later date. They often end up collecting dust when they could benefit somebody else or help reduce the impact of waste on the environment.”

Material Focus executive director Scott Butler added: “Discarded electricals are one of the fastest-growing sources of waste. 

“Many everyday electricals such as mobile phones, TVs, laptops, and baby monitors contain small amounts of precious metals that can be extracted and given new life if they are recycled.  

“Recycling your old tech is not only good for the environment, but there is also a huge amount of value in unwanted electricals – whether you sell them so that they can be reused, donated so that someone else in need can benefit, or recycled. 

“If you’re having a clear-out, remember that anything with a plug, battery, or cable can be recycled. You can find your nearest recycling or donation drop-off point by visiting the recycle your electricals website.”

Research from Uswitch.com has revealed that around 29 million people regularly suffer problems with the signal inside their homes.

According to the survey, over a quarter of people (27 per cent) report having to move to another room because of poor mobile reception, while 19 per cent use a messaging service like Whatsapp or iMessage instead. One in seven (14 per cent) leave the house in a bid to get a better signal.

When mobile users asked their provider for help with reception issues, well over a third (37 per cent) were recommended to make calls over their Wi-Fi instead.

Nearly two-fifths (39 per cent) of respondents regularly use Wi-Fi Calling, while more than a third (35 per cent) don’t know what it is.

Reception issues are worst in semi-detached houses, with nearly one in three residents (30 per cent) enduring a substandard signal.

Rural areas suffer the biggest connection issues and are almost 50 per cent more likely than residents in suburban regions to face failed calls. More than four in ten residents (40 per cent) living in the countryside complain of dropped calls, which falls to a third (33 per cent) for urban areas and a quarter (27 per cent) for suburban regions.

Residents in London, Edinburgh, and Belfast are most likely to endure failed calls due to signal issues (18 per cent).

Mobile users experience the most problems in the living room with almost four in ten people (39 per cent) having signal issues there. The bedroom (31 per cent) and kitchen (29 per cent) were next worse while one in ten people (10 per cent) complained of poor reception in the toilet.

Uswitch.com telecoms expert Ru Bhikha said: “There’s nothing more frustrating than having to march around your home in a vain bid to get a decent signal, but it’s a struggle experienced by 30 million of us.

“The digital divide stubbornly persists, with residents in rural areas almost 50% more likely to suffer dropped calls than those in suburban areas.

“If you’re having problems getting a good signal through your mobile reception, your best bet could be making calls over Wi-Fi instead. It’s easy to do, but you’ll need to check whether it’s supported by your mobile provider.

“The mobile reception in your home will be determined by a huge number of factors including the coverage in your area, the thickness of your walls, and the presence of materials that can block the signal.

“However, the quickest way of ensuring you have the strongest mobile reception possible is to check network coverage maps before you sign up with a provider. It takes only five minutes and could help you find which network has the best signal in your area.”

UK employees are being put off working from home because of poor broadband speeds and cellular coverage.

According to new research from uSwitch.com, a quarter of employees experienced problems with their service and nearly half of those (46pc) didn’t want to work from home again after encountering severe problems.

One in five employees missed out on new business, 16 per cent of employees missed deadlines and 20 per cent were told to stop working from home all together because of a poor telecom and broadband service.

Throughout 2016 43 per cent of employees in the UK worked from home at least once with that figure rising to 55 per cent amongst 18 to 34 year olds but nearly half of those felt that they could not work from home again.

Amongst the complaints, slow broadband speeds (32 pc) and intermittent connections (11 pc) were the most common when it came to broadband speeds whereas patchy reception (32pc) and no reception at all (11pc) were the highest complaints of mobile service.

uSwitch.com broadband expert Ewan Taylor-Gibson said: “Flexible working is more popular than ever and it’s a fact that employees who can influence their work environment have better overall job satisfaction.

“Home workers plagued by patchy mobile signal might look to an alternative mobile provider that can provide a better reception in their area to avoid ongoing problems.

“Before committing to remote working, employees should make sure their home office is ready for use”.

Research conducted by price comparison and switching service, uSwitch.com has found that British holiday makers visiting the United States of America could come home to a bill of £3,022 from a two week trip.

These bills are accumulated if the consumer opts out of a £50 cap on usage to protect customers who could see charges as high as £190 per day however, according to uSwitch.com, some networks will remove the cap if the plan.

Just under a quarter (24 per cent) of consumers were greeted by a bill for roaming charges on their return with one in 10 finding the charges over £100 more than their regular phone bill.

uSwitch.com telecoms expert Ernest Doku said: “There’s a good reason to be wary of roaming charges this summer.

“With a single MB of data – enough for just four minutes of web browsing – costing up to £8 in the USA, it’s well worth looking into roaming deals before you travel.

“Although a holiday should be a time to forget about the mundanity of household bills, the Chancellor has announced that, from August 1 this year, VAT will be applied to roaming chargers, meaning they’ll be 20 per cent more expensive.”