Vodafone: ‘We know our roaming data rates stink’
(I’m paraphrasing the ’stink’ bit.)
Link: Vodafone rejects EU call for caps on data roaming charges - International Herald Tribune
The Vodafone chief said he was aware of consumer discontent with high wireless data charges, and Vodafone had been responding by lowering charges.
“Just look at our prices,” Sarin said. “Nobody has to tell me what our customers are telling us. We are talking to our customers every day.”
Should that reply from Arun actually be:
“We are talking to our customers every day and telling them to stick it.”
I wonder.
There’s not much use having a ‘dialogue’ when, simply, customers want much, much cheaper data roaming fees. This opinion is based on the 1,200 pounds I inadvertently spent in Cannes last year, thanks to Big Red.
But if I was Vodafone, I’d listen, smile nicely, tell the regulator to stick it, raise the inclusive amount of roaming data a little to placate the heavy users and do my best to avoid lowering the prices until market pressure absolutely positively requires price adjustment. Exactly what Vodafone appears to be doing — and, well, they’re a business. Fair play.
It’s just not fair 
“….. raise the inclusive amount of roaming data a little to placate the heavy users and do my best to avoid lowering the prices until market pressure absolutely positively requires price adjustment”
That is the traditional model, for sure. And that is also why mobile data is still in the land of Premium and so-called Business user. Only the likes of T-Mobile and 3 have broken the mould followed by all of the UK incumbents. Even now Orange insist on charging punitive rates for mobile data, and you would have to be utterly stupid to even consider data roaming with them.
What all the mobile operators have missed with International roaming [period] is that by keeping the prices high they have artificially dampened the market. Ordinary people are too scared to use their mobiles when abroad in all but extraordinary circumstances. However, imagine if you will a day when mobile roaming [of voice, text and data] are at ordinary rates, or even out of contract bundles. The market for use will explode beyond the operators wildest dreams. They saw it happen with SMS (anyone remember when it was £0.60p a pop?). As soon as the price was brought down to £0.10p the use of it took off - the rest is history.
The trouble is, the mobile operators keep looking for killer apps while not realising that it is right under their own feet. The network is their killer app, and it will make money for them if only they would let it happen.
Hope is in the wind. Now that £15/3GB mobile data contracts are becoming de facto there will be some takeup in the UK. I expect Europe to drag along behind as they are still in PTT land monopolistic mentality. Now let Ms Reding give the mobile operators a very hard time indeed and get them to trash their roaming rates all round, voice, text and data. They won’t do it by themselves - they’ve proven that. Right now they’re drip-feeding us lower rates just to see how Ms Reding responds. I hope that she is not bamboozled by this show of crocodile tears. Rather that she says “Nice try boys … now lets go for gold” and forces them all to reduce the tariffs to levels that the man in the street can readily afford.
Then, and only then, will the mobile operators actually make any real money out of people roaming around Europe [the World even] without fear of having to sell their first born upon arrival back home!
Posted by Hands0n on February 13th, 2008 at 11:24 pm.10p a pop for a SMS abroad. Its 50p for tmobile customers on contract. The only work around is 20p MMS message.
Posted by Ricky C on February 13th, 2008 at 11:35 pm.We are launching a data roaming data with £1.50 per mb at the moment. It’s on a trial only basis, and you can contact us for demos and trials
Also when you compare the roaming rates on all the networks and roaming sim providers, and it’s chocking how expensive it still is to roam on your normal operator, the eurotariff really is just what they adhere to.
Data roaming will be the next big thing and we are working on data only sims at the moment, there is three of foour providers with competitive rates, so far only US, Canada, European data roaming though, but more countries added at the moment.
Posted by Rune on April 10th, 2008 at 11:30 am.