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Ofcom finally calls for cuts in data roaming fees 12:05PM, Wednesday 30th January 2008
Ed Richards, the UK telecoms regulator, has called for a reduction in the costs of mobile internet access and sending text messages from abroad.
The Ofcom chief executive has finally woken up, after repeated calls for the cost of mobile data to be examined by regulators. Phone manufacturers BlackBerry and Sony Ericsson voiced their concerns about the high price of mobile data last year, with the latter's Henrik Voight claiming users were "afraid" of mobile data because "they don't want surprises."
The Ofcom boss now shares those concerns, claiming the cost of roaming access to data services hurts businesses' competitiveness, not to mention consumers' pockets. The average price in the UK for accessing 1MB of data is around £1.50, he told a meeting of European regulators, but that rises to £4.11 when a mobile phone is used abroad.
"However you look at this, it is extremely expensive. It could cost tens of pounds to download a single PowerPoint presentation," Richards says.
"These prices represent a significant price hurdle to the use of mobile internet while abroad. My biggest concern is the effect on businesses which increasingly depend on mobile connectivity."
Last year the European Commission resisted industry opposition and introduced new caps on the cost of call roaming. Charges for making calls while abroad fell by 60% on average, and in some cases operators cut prices below the EU's limits.
The Commissioner for Information Society & Media, Viviane Reding, said at the time that she would turn her attention to data roaming prices this year. Ofcom's backing, in common with other regulators, will increase the pressure on mobile operators to reduce prices voluntarily.
Some have already done so, notably O2, which cut the price of sending or receiving 1MB of data from £15 to £3 on its pay-as-you-go data plans, though Richards said that charges need to fall further than that.
Simon Aughton
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[ This Message was edited by: masseur on 2008-01-30 15:42 ]
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Posted: 2008-01-30 16:08:35
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Yes and about time too.
I remember the original outcry last year, some of them charged extortionate rates.
I remember Orange UK being the worst, charging something like £4 per 1MB - horrendous and lord only knows the roaming charges they charged but they are right, people are scared to download a tune fearing it would cost a fortune.
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Posted: 2008-01-30 16:33:00
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On 2008-01-30 16:33:00, goldenface wrote:
Yes and about time too.
I remember the original outcry last year, some of them charged extortionate rates.
I remember Orange UK being the worst, charging something like £4 per 1MB - horrendous and lord only knows the roaming charges they charged but they are right, people are scared to download a tune fearing it would cost a fortune.
You are right; I had to send my boss a PP presentation he had forgotten cost him about £25 to download it in Sweden!
Personally I object strongly to “Unlimited Mobile Broadband" advertising only to find in the small print that what is provided is actually extremely limited, even T-Mobile who are better than most are doing it. I am not sure how they get away with it?
I recently bought a T-Mobile Pay as You Go 3G modem from Expansys nice bit of kit that works really well with my Asus Linux machine.
This was supplied with £4 a day SIM it gives you an "unlimited"! 3Gb per month Limit, which is a total rip off.
So I bought a £1 per day max Web and Walk SIM from eBay which gives me an “unlimited”! 1Gb per month or 40Meg per 24 Hour Period not much but enough to send receive email and do some light surfing but hardly “unlimited”
Or when I am running a Windows machine I can use my phone as a modem and make use of my Web & Walk “Plus” plan that gives me 3Gb per month even this is a stingy amount of bandwidth.
I really hope Ofcom slam the networks hard on all data charges (especially international roaming) they are all way to high, I know they paid lots of money for the licences, but their investors need to be realistic this is a long term investment and stop demanding instant returns.
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Posted: 2008-01-31 13:25:12
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I find that while t mobile and 3 have the best data tariffs in the uk, they are still far too expensive for mobile broadband. I would like to see truly unlimited data packages for £20-25 per month max, while current ones are reduced, eg £5 a month for 2 gig up to £10 a month for 10 gig.
Im just fortunate I get 50% off so I have w+w max for £11.25 a month.
Although t mobile and 3 have no competition from other networks in the uk for data, and after their server merge completes this year, I doubt voda, O2 or orange are going to manage to catch up.
Also T mobile have added wifi use under wnw plus and max for new connections only. Theres no way they would put it on my account with my 50% discount.
[ This Message was edited by: Bhavv on 2008-01-31 15:56 ]
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Posted: 2008-01-31 16:53:49
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Thats goodnews lets hope Mobile networks will offer more GB for less! £5 a month is about right and if the offered £1 a day cheaper that also be good for some of us!
This message was posted from a E65-1
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Posted: 2008-02-01 07:36:05
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