EVDO / 1x Roaming to Oz now available

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › EVDO / 1x Roaming to Oz now available

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#17473 3-Aug-2005 08:33

Who was saying it was going to be $3 a meg it was on a thread somwhere and Disenchanted how come telecom don't put all the pricing on there web site would it not be easier for the customer!

timbo

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#17477 3-Aug-2005 10:08

Disenchanted: i wonder i wonder i wonder if anyone from oz got a telecom new zealand card, so they would have had permanent (semi) free mob data in their home city????

Good point! I bet Telstra have been charging Telecom though - so wonder how much this whole fiasco has cost Telecom?

Have also heard that Telecom has a rebilling relationship with O2 in UK (GSM), so for high value international travellers (Execs) Telecom gives them an O2 SIM card for voice and GPRS data and doesn't even bother to bill them, just part of keeping hold of the account.

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#17482 3-Aug-2005 10:53

There was no billing from Telstra to Telecom for the data roaming to date. The Telstra billing system was the limitation.

O2 roaming voice/data is billed.

timbo

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#17483 3-Aug-2005 11:00

So, once again, as you would obviously know Jama:

How much is the now 'official' and 'billable' CDMA 1X/EV-DO roaming going to cost, per MB?

And in the only case where I witnessed the use of the 02 SIM card the overseas use charges were NOT passed on to the customer. I give you the benefit of the doubt that this is not the usual case.

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#17484 3-Aug-2005 11:06

johnr: Who was saying it was going to be $3 a meg it was on a thread somwhere and Disenchanted how come telecom don't put all the pricing on there web site would it not be easier for the customer!

I just got hold of roaming, the official word is $19.95 per MB, "but we are telling people $20 just to be on the safe side". (?!?!?!??!?!!).

I didnt see $3 a meg posted anywhere. Whats the URL ?

Dont forget everything here is un-official, until the companies themselves come out and say it. (Just because I say something, doesnt make that statement true :-))

timbo

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#17486 3-Aug-2005 11:14

I just got hold of roaming, the official word is $19.95 per MB, "but we are telling people $20 just to be on the safe side". (?!?!?!??!?!!).

I didnt see $3 a meg posted anywhere. Whats the URL ?

I may have mentioned $3.00 several months ago as I heard that from Telecom source - obviously wrong. BUT $19.95 - ouch!

Vodafone have got away with $30.00 per MB globally by saying that it is for important information, i.e. e-mail headers/body to handheld devices like Blackberry, and that GPRS is reallly too slow for laptop use - but EV-DO has clearly been pitched as working the same way in the office as out of it. I think this is a big mistake from Telecom, $5.00 would've been the spot. But then it is probably Telstra who set a wholesale rate and Telecom simply add a mark-up.

With $5-$10 Telecom could've owned trans-Tasman roaming and really taken it to Vodafone - this lets Vodafone off the hook, and they'll have UMTS roaming very soon.

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#17487 3-Aug-2005 11:18

johnr: and Disenchanted how come telecom don't put all the pricing on there web site would it not be easier for the customer!

My guess is that some information needs to be backed up with live service -

"yes sir, our data roaming is $19.95 per MB, and can i just check your account to ensure you are enabled for roaming" type of thing...

Its probably unusual for most companies to post the price of every product on their website for various reasons.

It might be easier for you and me to see the pricing there, and hop on a plane and go, but there are plenty of people who require help with that sort of thing.

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#17488 3-Aug-2005 11:25

timbo: and that GPRS is reallly too slow for laptop use -

I have heard the opposite, with Voda saying with GPRS you can take your laptop out of the office and carry on working...

but EV-DO has clearly been pitched as working the same way in the office as out of it. I think this is a big mistake from Telecom, $5.00 would've been the spot. But then it is probably Telstra who set a wholesale rate and Telecom simply add a mark-up.

With $5-$10 Telecom could've owned trans-Tasman roaming and really taken it to Vodafone - this lets Vodafone off the hook, and they'll have UMTS roaming very soon.

Who wants to own something that costs you money? They might own it any, by simply matching or bettering Vodas pricing each step of the way, whilst offering higher speeds.

From Telecoms point of view, why should they drop their pants with their pricing now, when there is no need to. If Voda go to $15, Telecom could go to $10, and still be ahead of the game, rather than down to $5 for 500kbps when Voda is still $30 for 30kbps.

Jama

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#17489 3-Aug-2005 11:26

I don't know the pricing - not my area.

timbo

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#17490 3-Aug-2005 11:40

Disenchanted: From Telecoms point of view, why should they drop their pants with their pricing now, when there is no need to. If Voda go to $15, Telecom could go to $10, and still be ahead of the game, rather than down to $5 for 500kbps when Voda is still $30 for 30kbps.

Because Trans-tasman is the biggest roaming market and the only one they have a chance at, perhaps US as well. Telecom began the move to cheap/reasonable data pricing with EV-DO and they had chance to show synergy with Aus roaming - even $5.00 per MB is hardly dropping your pants, it's just that $30.00 has been the ridiculous precendant.

Of course Vodafone will establish an offering with Vodafone Aus around 3G and then Telecom will have lost the initiative.

But the price is probably determined by the Telstra wholesale rate. If Telstra drop it too low then they are discouraging TelstraClear users on Vodafone NZ, and making it difficult for their own NZ network if that indeed eventuates.

The real issue is still that mobile operator data roaming, while being very handy, is priced absurdly high. If these prices continue then users will be encouraged to use other types of access and mobile operators may lose a fledgling market.

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#17491 3-Aug-2005 11:59

timbo: The real issue is still that mobile operator data roaming, while being very handy, is priced absurdly high. If these prices continue then users will be encouraged to use other types of access and mobile operators may lose a fledgling market.

I agree with that, and personally would be using wifi anyway. Although my trips overseas are pleasure trips, not business, and i take great pleasure in being temporarily disconnected from the world! :-)

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#17525 4-Aug-2005 00:32

but............... you are forgetting one thing.... Whom here has ever seen Telstra's Data pricing... It's the same price as the locally offered Casual rate so really not too bad and better than some of the local offereings there at 30 bucks a meg!

22c "session fee" +
20c (per 10kB or part thereof) which is $20 a meg

the plans are for EVDO in Aust
Plan /MB Excess MB

$5 1 $4.00
$10 3 $4.00
$29 10 $4.00
$49 30 $4.00
$99 200 $0.50
$149 500 $0.50
$199 1024 $0.50
$249 2048 $0.50

but they interesting enough offer EVDO timed access!, 10 hours for just $29!!!!! this is good as a dial-up replacement!

timbo

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#17527 4-Aug-2005 07:59

But what's that got to do with roaming rates? There is no link between local rates and what a carrier charges other carriers to allow the other carrier's customers to roam onto their network.

While local mobile data rates around the world have come down to reasonable levels, roaming prices remain insanely high.

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#17528 4-Aug-2005 09:20

It was interesting to note that when Vodafone first offered GPRS roaming it was to Oz only and the pricing was the same as NZ for probably well over 6 months. I recall using MMS and email from my phone in 2003 without a worry in the world, now it's almost cheaper to pop into an internet cafe and pay $1 for 10 mins than even touch your phone!

Does anybody know when Vodafone NZ are going to launch the Vodafone Roaming Passport in NZ other than "soon"?

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#17529 4-Aug-2005 09:24

timbo: But what's that got to do with roaming rates? There is no link between local rates and what a carrier charges other carriers to allow the other carrier's customers to roam onto their network.

I know this on CDMA, but I will digress with a GPRS example...

Check the Vodafone data roaming page. What's the price per MB while roaming in Australia? $30. While in the US on Cingular or AT&T? $30. While in any other country in Europe $30.

I can't believe when anyone tells me that Vodafone sets their data roaming price based on how much the other operators charge for connection - so, Vodafone Australia, Vodafone in Europe, AT&T and Cingular (now just one, the page hasn't been updated for a while), they all charge the same price?

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