Vodafone is cutting the cost of mobile roaming around the world, acknowledging that as more customers use smartphones, the price of data roaming has become more of an issue.



The Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealand (Tuanz) has been pushing for a solution to "horror" stories about bill shocks from mobile roaming, especially with data use.



"Roaming charges and the bill shock that results are a blight on the telecommunications industry landscape and a travesty that causes extreme hardship for the customers who unwittingly get caught up," Tuanz chief executive Ernie Newman said recently.



Vodafone today said it was cutting mobile roaming costs around the world from $30 per megabyte (MB) in some places to a standard $10 per megabyte on any network.



As a promotion for the offer, Vodafone customers visiting Australia would be able to use data at $2 per MB from the start of the offer on May 26 for three months.



Kursten Shalfoon, Vodafone's general manager of products, services and internet, said smartphones were the fastest growing market segment, and the price cut for roaming was seen as a way to help increase demand for mobile data abroad.