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Conexus alliance pledges to lower international roaming charges
While pay-per-use texting rates are on the up-and-up, at least the world is coming to grips with those bloated roaming charges and kicking rates down a notch. Of course, there's always the option of using a mobile flavor of Skype to bypass the whole "using minutes" thing altogether, but for those not up to speed on WiFi calling, it's still good news. The eight operators of Conexus -- Asia's largest alliance of mobile operators -- have pledged "to lower tariffs for global roaming" and is planning budget-friendly "international data roaming packages" as well. While further details (like when we can expect these cost-saving changes to take effect) were scant, forward progress is always good, so keep an eye on those (hopefully declining) roaming charges when traveling abroad.[Via Textually]
SK Telecom gets with European operators for 3G roaming
Roaming agreements for the world's WCDMA networks aren't nearly as comprehensive as they are for their 2G / 2.5G equivalents, occasionally leaving 3G customers in the lurch when traveling abroad (we're having difficulty working up any tears here, but we're doing our best; please pardon our bitterness). Case in point: handsets on SK Telecom's WCDMA network could not be used in many European countries, despite the fact that Europe is flush with the 3G goodness. That's about to change, thanks to a new agreement between SK, Vodafone, and Denmark's Hi3G that will allow the Korean carrier's handsets to be used in as many as 12 European countries' UMTS networks, including video calls. Yeah, video calls. Are those crickets we hear?
You can't escape: Carnival brings cellular to the open sea
Some of us take cruises to escape the crushing reality of being within reach at all times, but for everyone else, Carnival Cruise Lines has announced a partnership with Wireless Maritime Services to outfit its entire 21-ship fleet with cellular networks. WMS is a joint venture of Cingular and Maritime Telecommunications Network, but despite Cingular's affinity for GSM, the system supports both GSM and CDMA handsets and has roaming agreements in place with Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile, among several other major carriers. Staying in touch from the middle of the Atlantic ain't cheap, though: even Cingular's own customers can look forward to paying $2.49/minute for the privilege.[Via Mobiledia]
Big Four allegedly gouging rural carriers on roaming
Excuse our lack of shock on this one, but if you believe what the nation's rural carriers are saying, the Big Four aren't playing nice with roaming agreements. Thanks to extensive build-outs, the days when Cingular, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile relied heavily on mom-and-pop companies to provide rural coverage are long gone. The opposite, however, is not true: customers of rural carriers are virtually always roaming when they venture into civilization. The inequity is leading to some unpleasant pricing schemes that are making business tough if you don't own a national network. USA Today specifically cites NTCH, SouthernLinc, and Leap Wireless as getting the shaft from Sprint, Nextel (both pre-merger), and Verizon respectively, all of whom have made roaming prohibitively expensive or disallowed it entirely. So far, the FCC hasn't put its foot down, but an investigation is underway and rural carriers are calling for the enforcement of consistent, reasonable roaming rates. Hey, FCC, while you're at it, can you enforce a consistent rate of $2/gallon for gas? No?
