Decoupling to sort out roaming charges?

Forums › ICT Policies and Regulation › Decoupling to sort out roaming charges?

juha

1317 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#96960 8-Feb-2012 10:05

Or do away with roaming charges altogether? Would one or the other be feasible?

Wrote an update on the Aus-NZ govt trans-Tasman roaming inquiry for itnews.com.au ... be interesting to see what the final recommendation will be.

Juha

SaltyNZ

8231 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

2degrees

Lifetime subscriber

#578566 8-Feb-2012 10:07

Well, 2degrees and Vodafone both charge the same amount to make calls roaming in Australia as you would at home; 44c/min to make or receive on 2degrees, [plan rate] to make and $1/min to receive on Vodafone.

I'm not entirely sure how anyone realistically expects roaming calls to be *cheaper* than home network calls.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

juha

1317 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#578568 8-Feb-2012 10:11

Nobody expects that to happen, and don't forget to include data and SMS charges overseas too.

Juha

SaltyNZ

8231 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

2degrees

Lifetime subscriber

#578577 8-Feb-2012 10:22

Well, as far as data is concerned, we charge the same in Australia as we do while national roaming (50c/MB), and for the same reason (it's not free for us). It's better to use a data service for messaging (e.g. iMessage, Viber) even at 50c/MB. And not just because it's cheaper - it's also faster, provides more features (e.g. contactable on multiple devices via single address) and does not suffer from porting issues.

On the network side an IM service uses far less signaling resources than an SMS (especially once the network in question has some smartphone-friendly enhancements like EFD), and the problems of delivery guarantee are pushed off onto Someone Else. So it's a winner all round for us.

Personally I would like to see SMS die off altogether. Yes, there are still a lot of dumb phones out there but they are disappearing quickly in New Zealand. Telecom is about to try and move a million people off CDMA, and most of them will end up with a smartphone. Even if you're not lucky enough to get one for free, basic Android devices are now available for around $150 no-strings-attached. I expect smartphones to be in the hands of the majority of users within the next year or so.

The faster we stop using SMS the better!

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

ajw

1932 posts

Uber Geek

#578579 8-Feb-2012 10:23

SaltyNZ: Well, 2degrees and Vodafone both charge the same amount to make calls roaming in Australia as you would at home; 44c/min to make or receive on 2degrees, [plan rate] to make and $1/min to receive on Vodafone.

I'm not entirely sure how anyone realistically expects roaming calls to be *cheaper* than home network calls.

Sorta makes you wonder why home network calls are so expensive.

SaltyNZ

8231 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

2degrees

Lifetime subscriber

#578582 8-Feb-2012 10:39

ajw:
SaltyNZ: Well, 2degrees and Vodafone both charge the same amount to make calls roaming in Australia as you would at home; 44c/min to make or receive on 2degrees, [plan rate] to make and $1/min to receive on Vodafone.

I'm not entirely sure how anyone realistically expects roaming calls to be *cheaper* than home network calls.

Sorta makes you wonder why home network calls are so expensive.

Well, we don't get those for free either while national roaming. And MTRs aren't zero.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

ajw

1932 posts

Uber Geek

#578702 8-Feb-2012 14:15

SaltyNZ:
ajw:
SaltyNZ: Well, 2degrees and Vodafone both charge the same amount to make calls roaming in Australia as you would at home; 44c/min to make or receive on 2degrees, [plan rate] to make and $1/min to receive on Vodafone.

I'm not entirely sure how anyone realistically expects roaming calls to be *cheaper* than home network calls.

Sorta makes you wonder why home network calls are so expensive.

Well, we don't get those for free either while national roaming. And MTRs aren't zero.

Off net 3.8 cents by 1 April and your competitors charge you by the second plus rounding to the nearest minute. What is the net cost of a in zone, on net voice minute.