T-Mobile has announced ambitious plans to free its customers of international roaming charges in more than 100 countries.

The provider, part of the EE group, claimed that it is currently too expensive for people to stay connected with one another while travelling over international boundaries.

While Europeans have benefitted by an assault on the worst excesses of roaming charges within the EU, the rest of the world remains something of an expensive wilderness for UK mobile phone users.

The current T-Mobile offer is available to US customers through its Simple Choice payment plan, launching on October 31st, and ensures that data and text costs are capped at local (US) rates, while call costs will also be capped.

John Legere, president and chief executive of T-Mobile US, said: "Today's phones are designed to work around the world, but we’re forced to pay insanely inflated international connectivity fees to actually use them."

For people cruising in North America and the surrounding region, it could well be worth purchasing a US sim card on the plan from T-Mobile before boarding your cruise.

This is particularly useful for those cruising to the Caribbean, with Cruise Fever reporting that Aruba, Bermuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Grand Cayman, Curacao, Jamaica, St Maarten, St Kitts, Turks & Caicos, and Mexico are all covered.

In the meantime, holidaymakers on this side of the Atlantic who wish to roam outside of Europe will need to wait and see if T-Mobile (and others) bring similar payment plans to the UK.