Orange Travel has opened a two-month price war on international roaming, cutting the cost of its travel eSIM plans by as much as 80% across more than 60 destinations until 31 August. For UK business travellers facing another summer of post-Brexit roaming bills, the timing is pointed.
The promotion, branded “Hot Destinations, Cooler Prices” and running from 1 July, applies to both data-only plans and all-inclusive bundles covering data, calls and texts. The deepest reductions land on long-haul markets where roaming has always been punishing: Cuba, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Oman, South Korea, Switzerland and Thailand all sit at the top end of the discount range, with Morocco close behind.
Where the savings actually fall
Half-price plans apply across a broad spread of business destinations including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Turkey, the United States and Vietnam. European markets have not been left out either. France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the UK all carry reduced rates on standard and unlimited plans, which matters for anyone running a multi-country itinerary rather than a single point-to-point trip.
That European inclusion is worth noting. Since the UK left the EU, the “roam like at home” guarantee no longer applies to British operators, and the caps on what networks can charge in EU countries, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein have gone with it, according to the House of Commons Library. Daily passes have partly filled the gap, but for a traveller crossing three or four borders in a week the arithmetic rarely favours the incumbent network.
Coverage, support and the practical test
Orange Travel is the travel arm of the French telecoms group and runs its eSIM service on the operator’s own network plus more than 700 roaming agreements, giving coverage in over 200 destinations. The service is backed by 24/7 human support in 14 languages, available before, during and after a trip.
That last point is the one most likely to matter on the road. A significant share of the travel eSIM market runs on automated support only, which is fine until an activation fails at an airport at midnight. Human assistance in a caller’s own language is a meaningful differentiator when a sales meeting depends on being reachable.
Activation follows the now familiar pattern: buy through the Orange Travel app or website, install the profile and connect on landing. There is no queueing for a local SIM and no dependence on hotel or airport Wi-Fi, which remains the weakest link in most business travel security postures.
What UK travellers should check first
Ofcom’s rules, in force since October 2024, require providers to message customers as soon as they begin roaming and to set out their charges clearly. The regulator’s own research found nearly one in five holidaymakers were unaware they could face extra charges abroad, and its guidance on roaming alerts is worth reading before a first eSIM purchase. Those alerts apply to the home network, not to a separately bought travel eSIM, so travellers running both will want to disable roaming on the primary line to avoid paying twice.
The discounting also reflects how quickly this market is consolidating around distribution deals. Orange Travel recently struck a global partnership with Trip.com to sell eSIMs at the point of booking, while rivals have gone the other way and used free data to seed adoption, as Virgin Connect Roam did with its 500MB giveaway.
The offer runs worldwide until 31 August, with full terms on the Orange Travel website. For travel managers, the sensible move is to price a typical trip against the existing corporate roaming arrangement before the window closes.
