Does CTN business mobile include calls to shipping lines in Europe?

Yes. Calls from the UK to all EEA countries (including shipping hubs Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg, Le Havre) plus USA and Canada are included in the monthly international minutes bundle. Over 90% of typical freight forwarder international calls are covered.

Are calls to China or Hong Kong included for Asia-facing forwarders?

Not in the standard international bundle — China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore aren't on the 39-country inclusive list. We can quote add-on bundles for regular China callers or configure alternative tariffs with wider international inclusion.

Do forwarder mobiles include roaming when attending overseas trade shows?

Yes — inclusive roaming in 83 destinations covers the main trade show destinations (IAA Transport Logistic Munich, Multimodal, intermodal Europe, etc.). Your UK allowance works abroad at UK rates.

What tariff suits a small forwarder with 2-5 staff?

Typically 50GB with 500 international minutes per user (around £24-28/user/month on 36-month terms). Suits the average call volume of 20-25 international minutes per day. Heavy callers benefit from stepping up to 100GB with unlimited international.

Business Mobile for UK Freight Forwarders (2026): International Calls Included

Name: Compare The Networks
Address: Unit 3, Battlefield Enterprise Park, Shrewsbury, SY1 3FE, GB
Telephone: +441743598025
Price range: Free comparison service
Rating: 4.3

Last updated: April 2026

Freight forwarding has a specific mobile problem: you spend the day phoning carriers, shipping lines, customs brokers, consignees, trucking operators and forwarders in 20 different countries. Most UK business mobile tariffs include calls to zero of them outside "EEA mobile" and charge per minute for the rest.

CTN business tariffs include inclusive calls to 39 countries from the UK plus inclusive roaming in 83 destinations. For a freight forwarder, that typically means 90%+ of your daily outbound international calls come out of a monthly bundle rather than stacking pay-per-minute charges.

What's typically included for a UK forwarder

Included inclusive calls from the UK cover:

All EEA destinations — your European shipping agents, road carriers, customs brokers
USA and Canada — transatlantic shipping lines, sea freight contacts in Norfolk VA, LA, Vancouver
Switzerland, Norway, Iceland — non-EU European neighbours
Microstates — Monaco, San Marino, Gibraltar, Vatican (occasional cargo destinations)

Roaming covers the full trade-lane routes, so staff attending shipping conferences, supplier visits, or trade shows in the EU or beyond use their UK allowance.

What's NOT inclusive:

China and Hong Kong (major gap for Asia-facing forwarders)
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh
UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar
Russia, Ukraine, Belarus
Most of Africa (except Ghana, Kenya, South Africa on roaming side)
South America

For China/Asia-facing forwarders, we'd quote an international add-on bundle or suggest a different tariff mix.

Who this fits

Sea freight forwarders

Contacting carriers at European hub ports (Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, Le Havre, Felixstowe), shipping lines' EU offices, NVOCC operators in the Med. Most daily calls are to inclusive destinations.

Air freight forwarders

Airline cargo offices — major ones at AMS, FRA, LHR, CDG, MAD, FCO — mostly in inclusive countries. Customs broker contacts in Belgium, Netherlands and Germany are especially high-volume on typical UK ex-work exports.

Road freight forwarders

Mostly calling road carriers across mainland Europe — all inclusive. Drivers in transit benefit from the 83-country inclusive roaming.

Customs brokerage

Calling HMRC (UK — no problem), but also EU customs offices, sister brokerages in Rotterdam or Antwerp for ex-works collection coordination. Inclusive.

Small forwarders with growth ambitions

Startup forwarders running out of a back room typically have 2-5 staff, each making 20-40 international calls a day. A 500-minute or unlimited international bundle covers this without surprise out-of-bundle charges.

Typical tariff for a forwarder

Role	Tariff	Why
Senior forwarder / ops manager	100GB / unlimited international	Heavy call volume, daily video calls with overseas partners
Forwarder	50GB / 500 international	Good balance; 500 mins/month ≈ 20-25 mins/day international
Admin / ops support	25GB / 200 international	Lower international volume

For a 10-person forwarder, roughly 3 on 100GB, 5 on 50GB, 2 on 25GB:

3 × ~£32 = £96
5 × ~£28 = £140
2 × ~£22 = £44
Total ~£280/month for the team on 36-month terms

Beats paying per-minute international rates on a team of 10 calling the EU daily.

The WhatsApp / Teams question

Many forwarders rely heavily on WhatsApp for ops comms — messages to drivers, brokers, consignees. WhatsApp Messenger works over data regardless of country. So does Microsoft Teams and Slack.

But — and this matters — forwarding is still a voice-intensive business. Shipping lines won't accept WhatsApp for time-critical instructions. Customs brokers need phoneable decision-makers. And some contacts (especially older shipping agent relationships) still prefer voice.

You need both. Data allowance big enough for WhatsApp/Teams + international voice allowance big enough for the calls that can't go over chat.

What about calling China?

China (and Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore) aren't on the 39-country inclusive call list. For Asia-facing forwarders, realistic options:

Add an international bolt-on — most networks offer China-inclusive add-ons at £5-15/month
Use a separate VoIP account for China calls — cheaper per minute than mobile international, but requires internet
Let heavy China callers use WhatsApp/WeChat voice — works fine for most informal comms
Specific tariff with expanded international inclusion — some CTN tariffs can be configured with wider country coverage for a small uplift; ask us

If China calls are 30%+ of your team's international volume, flag this at quote stage and we'll structure tariffs appropriately.

Getting a CTN quote

Call 01743 598025 or request a quote. Tell us fleet size (number of handsets/SIMs), rough split of call destinations (EU / USA / Asia / other), and current monthly mobile spend. We'll audit against your current tariff and give you a clear yes-this-saves-money or honest no-this-doesn't answer.