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EU roaming drama continues, tentative pricing agreement reached
In Europe? Want cheaper international roaming? Of course you do -- if you don't you're either a carrier or a sick puppy -- and it looks like you just might get your wish. Members of the European Parliament have agreed in principle to reducing the caps on international voice, text, and data roaming to €0.43 per outgoing minute, €0.19 per incoming minute, €0.11 each, and €1.00 per MB wholesale, respectively, on July 1 of this year. Voice minutes further reduce to €0.39 / €0.15 and €0.35 / €0.11 on July 1 of 2010 and 2011, while data ends up as low as €0.50 per MB in two years from now. Furthermore, carriers will be required by law to warn customers when they get close to hitting 50 worth of data roaming, at which point they'll need to consciously agree to bust the cap -- by SMS, for example -- otherwise they'll automatically be cut off to prevent insane, unexpected bills. If all goes according to plan, the proposal will be brought to a full vote next month.
Telefnica and Vodafone reach pan-European deal to share network infrastructure
Good news, Europe. Telefónica and Vodafone have just made public a milestone pan-European agreement that will enable the two to share network infrastructure in Germany, Spain, Ireland and the UK, with detailed discussions ongoing in the Czech Republic. The collaboration will supposedly deliver efficiencies of hundreds of millions of pounds for each company over ten years, and for customers of each, they can look forward to better coverage across each of those nations. Oh, and subscribers should also expect rates to remain lower compared to what would happen if each operator were forced to build out individually, but it's not like either of these guys are coming out and saying that. At any rate, we figure there's some serious celebration in order for those in the region, no?
GeoSIM's Dual IMSI SIM to boast UK and US numbers, reduce roaming fees
While we've seen some pretty novel advances in the SIM card space, few have rivaled this in terms of sheer functionality. In a beautiful effort to cut down on roaming charges, GeoSIM has just announced that it's preparing a Dual IMSI SIM that will initially include a US and UK phone number, making it remarkably easy for those who travel frequently between American and the United Kingdom to call back and forth without racking up absurd roaming charges. We can only assume that future cards will enable any two countries (or more, maybe?) to be programmed in, and while we're still not totally clear on what the fees will actually be while using this card, we're kosher for now just knowing they'll be lower.[Via Boy Genius Report]
Man charged $28,000 for using data card, Slingbox to watch football game
While waiting for a Caribbean cruise liner to set sail from the Port of Miami last November, a Chicago native with an AT&T wireless card and Slingbox decided to catch the Bears vs. Lions football game on his laptop. The end result? A $28,067.31 bill from for international data charges, despite the ship never leaving the harbor. Apparently the card was picking up a signal it shouldn't have, and while the bill was eventually dropped to $290.65 after a considerable number of calls to customer service, let that be a warning to mobile users traveling on the fringe of international roaming areas -- and in case you were wondering, the Bears ended up winning 27 to 23.[Via The Register]
T-Mobile produces official statement regarding international G1 data roaming
Okay G1 owners, so here's the end-all answer to your data roaming quandaries. For those not caught up, there has been quite the hubbub going around about the G1's inability to not suck down data whilst traveling aboard. Allegedly, the handset would continue to digest pricey bits and bytes overseas even after users had selected that data roaming be disabled. Now, T-Mobile has issued an official response (posted in full after the break) to clear things up, and the gist of it is this: for users with a bone stock G1, the "Off" selection in data roaming should work fine, but third-party applications can essentially override this command and wreak havoc on one's phone bill. From the horse's mouth: "Some third-party applications available for download on Android Market require access to the internet and have the ability to turn on data roaming when in use. Customers are informed whether an application will use this feature prior to downloading, but should also be aware when traveling outside the country."
UK T-Mobile G1s now have option to disable / forge ahead with data roaming
The intarwebz have been ablaze with unruly individuals kicking up all sorts of dust about the G1's apparent inability to disable data roaming when traveling overseas, and now a fix is in effect for those in the UK. According to an official tidbit from T-Mobile UK: "In order to ensure that customers do not incur unexpected costs, roaming is disabled on new UK G1 models; there is an option which allows users to enable roaming, but when this is selected the user will receive a message to confirm that there will be additional costs incurred." That whole "new UK G1 models" has us curious about the "old" models, but hopefully those newfangled firmware updates brought along this functionality -- anyone care to hop a flight and see?[Via modmyGphone, thanks neerhaj]
Verizon brings new bolt-on international data plans to vanilla handsets
Verizon just put the finishing touches on an international data plan rework back in August, but it's now gearing up to offer a pair of roaming options for those without a smartphone / PDA phone. Starting November 16th, VZW customers who own a down-to-Earth dumbphone will be able to pay $19.99 per month for 10MB of international data or $29.99 per month for 20MB; the plan will allow users to access picture / video messaging, Visual Voicemail, mobile IM, BREW downloads or the world wide web. Of course, this cheaper data only works in VZW's list of Preferred Data Coverage countries, which includes just Bermuda, Canada, Israel, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Saipan, Guam and South Korea. Wait, is that GSM we hear laughing in the corner? Oh, it is.
Merger aside, Leap and MetroPCS put together roaming deal
Just because MetroPCS' unsolicited advances to Leap got rejected doesn't mean it can't check its damaged ego at the door long enough to get some other business put away. The two regionals sat down recently to hammer out a pretty comprehensive package of collaboration, throwing in a new 10-year roaming agreement, a spectrum swap whereby Leap gets coverage in San Diego, Fresno, Seattle, and parts of Washington and Oregon while MetroPCS picks up Dallas / Fort Worth plus some Louisiana and Florida territory, and a mutual agreement to drop any pending litigation against one another. Can't you just feel the love in the air?
TerreStar gets in bed with AT&T for roaming
That crazy hybrid satellite / terrestrial mobile phone network being erected by start-up TerreStar just got a nice boost by signing a reciprocal roaming agreement with a rather sizable partner: a scrappy little carrier going by the name AT&T. Recent releases on TerreStar's site indicate that its first satellite won't be ready to launch until April of next year -- a bit of a delay from the end of 2008 estimate they'd been suggesting before -- but at least they'll be riding on the coattails of a nice, fat footprint on the ground when the time comes to flip the switch.
Verizon, AT&T retool international data plans, still heart-stoppingly expensive
Seems like every time we're out of the States, we find ourselves fighting an overwhelming urge to whip out our phones every five to ten minutes, restore our cleverly disabled data APNs, and submit to the kind of punishment that only international data roaming can deliver. Giving into those kinds of urges can quickly lead to bills in the hundreds or thousands of dollars, thanks to data roaming packages that have historically been very weak and involve some insanely meager monthly allowance followed by a per-kilobyte fee high enough to make even the hardened business traveler beg for mercy. Seems AT&T and Verizon are both finally realizing that faster data speeds and more capable phones mean that users want at least a few fleeting moments with those services while abroad, though, introducing a series of new packages that should make roaming just marginally more palatable. For its part, AT&T's new offerings include a $60 add-on smartphone plan for 50MB in 67 countries around the globe -- up from 41 previously -- and another that bundles 5GB of domestic laptop data plus 200MB internationally for a sobering $230. On the Verizon side, the big news is a $130 laptop plan that gives users 5GB in the US and Canada, plus 100MB in Mexico and a handful of other countries for $20 per megabyte. In other words, you still need this service to justify the cost, but at least it won't put you as deeply into the poor house as it did last month. No YouTubing from China, y'hear?
NTT DoCoMo users find their phones just a little too good at roaming
Is there really such a thing as too much signal strength? For residents of Tsushima in Japan, the answer is a solid "yes." Folks in the area are a mere 33 miles from the South Korean shore, and NTT DoCoMo customers with international roaming enabled are finding themselves roaming on those powerful airwaves across the Korea Strait -- naturally leading to some rather unpleasant charges. The carrier reports that 38 models are affected by the problem (presumably every handset that's capable of roaming in South Korea), and unfortunately, their only solution is to have affected customers manually configure their phones to use the local network. It'd be awesome if they just juiced the towers to be, like, ten times more powerful, but we suppose that maybe that's not the healthy thing to do.[Via IntoMobile]
European carriers about to see data and SMS rate caps?
Europeans should now be accustomed to reasonable roaming rates when calling thanks to the Eurotariff put in place late last year. Well, round two looks set to begin and this time the target will be data and SMS charges -- and we're fully aware how ugly they can get after having racked up $500 plus bills ourselves. EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding has admitted concern after having read a report on the roaming charges for 150 operators from September to April last year. So, while we're not seeing anything near as granular as numbers, yet, we're betting the powers that be at various providers are going to be under the gun for changes in the near term. Job well done, let that velvet tariff hammer drop we say.
AT&T whips up international iPhone data plan, also adding iTunes radio?
We're not sure what took 'em so long -- reports of unhappy customers who traveled abroad with their surreptitiously email-checking iPhones returning home to bills totaling in the thousands of dollars -- have been de rigueur for AT&T since June's launch. Well, today that changes. Despite Apple's addition of an anti-data-roaming option in later firmware updates, the service side now has a new Data Global Plan, which, for $25 or $60 (extra) per month, gives iPhone users 20MB or 50MB of international data access -- but nothing more on the voice side -- in some 29 countries (including our neighbor to the north, and parts of Europe and Asia). Take that SIM unlockers who would rather just buy an overseas SIM and pay something reasonable for their data rates. Update: AT&T's site also shows an interesting and possibly telling quote: "While using data on iPhone is free within the U.S., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, International data roaming can get expensive quickly. Consider that just 20 minutes of iTunes radio takes 20MB of data. That's why AT&T has created two iPhone International packages with more reasonable rates in 29 countries." (Emphasis ours.) So, iTunes radio, eh? Certainly AT&T isn't talking about downloading tracks over the iTunes WiFi store -- that's only possible via WiFi. Maybe we have something here. Thanks, Ryan.Update 2: Bonus -- we have confirmation from AT&T that it's not contractual, meaning you can sign up for the Data Global Plan before you hit up a trip and then drop it when you return. We don't have pro-rating details, but we're sure you'll work it out.
Cubic Telecom hopes to make global roaming reasonable
Employing a variety of creative techniques, Ireland's Cubic Telecom is looking to take the bank-breaking sting out of carrying your phone abroad. Announced at TechCrunch40 today, the centerpiece of Cubic's strategy is its "virtual PBX" -- up to 50 local numbers of the user's choosing can be linked to a single SIM, making it affordable for callers to get in touch no matter where they may be. Also invloved is the "MAXroam" SIM itself -- toting aggressively discounted roaming rates that are the "result of years of negotiations with GSM carriers around the world" -- designed to be used everywhere a subscriber may be. Finally, Cubic is taking a hybrid GSM / WiFi approach; its handsets will support both traditional calls and VoIP services, with all VoIP calls on its own network coming free of charge. The MAXroam SIM card will be available separately for $40 starting September 24 or you'll be able to get it with one of the company's own handsets, a basic model for $135 (pictured) and a Windows Mobile device for $219; both phones launch October 1 with a MAXroam card included along with $8 in calling credit.
New iPhone class action filed in NY over iPhone SIM lock-in, international roaming fees
You know what they say: let the good times class action lawsuits roll! Or something like that. The latest in what I'm sure is to be a long list of iPhone-related class action lawsuits was filed in New York today over the iPhone's SIM card lock-in, as well as what the plaintiff alleges is Apple withholding of information on roaming data charges. The plaintiff, Herbert H. Kliegerman, wants the iPhone unlock code, and he also wants to restrain Apple from selling iPhones without disclosing both that the included SIM cards are locked to AT&T, and that users could incur roaming data charges when traveling internationally. We have a PDF of the lawsuit (sent to us directly by the plaintiff), but considering the facts that: Kliegerman's complaints seem to have much more to do with AT&T's practices than Apple's US SIM cards, to my knowledge, are always locked to their particular provider, meaning travelers have always had to purchase some kind of other phone service or an international SIM There's plenty of information available at AT&T's site about their international roaming practices, as well as extra plan options to provide for international calls and data usage I don't think Kliegerman has much of a leg to stand on. Plus, he sent this to us himself, which reeks of digging for 15 seconds in the spotlight - but who am I to shoot down his hopes? Anyone, particularly those who travel and know more about US mobile phone company practices, care to place some bets as to how far he'll get with this?
FCC requires nationals to offer cheap roaming
Concluding a fight that's been waged by smaller, regional carriers for a good long while now, the FCC has ruled in favor of the regionals by requiring that voice, messaging, and push-to-talk features must be offered at "reasonable" roaming rates between carriers of like technologies. Though the ruling is universal, it clearly benefits the smaller carriers whose subscribers spend more time blanketed by megacarriers' signals than the other way around. We'd be shocked if the nationals didn't get cracking on an appeal right away, but subscribers in rural areas should have an easy go of it in the meantime -- on voice and texting features, anyway; data roaming didn't make the FCC's list of "reasonable" roaming pricing, it seems.
EU to call out carriers not offering cheaper roaming rates
Time's up, dear European carriers! If you haven't made known your plans to offer up cheaper roaming rates by now, you're about to be called out. Reportedly, the European Commission is readying a web site that would "include the names of operators from all EU countries, whether they have offered the Eurotariff, which kind of Eurotariff they have offered, and those who haven't done anything." Additionally, it was reinforced that the new rates were "not a recommendation, but a regulation," and that customers who were unable to receive their Eurotariff could take their operator to court. 'Course, we highly doubt the legal fees would make this approach worthwhile, but let's not forgot to point and laugh at the nonconformists when the telling site goes live.
ATT, NTT DoCoMo partner up on 3G rollout for Hawaii
As more and more companies join in the fight to nix international roaming charges, it's not too shocking to find NTT DoCoMo taking the shortest route to the US and hooking up with AT&T on a 3G rollout. More specifically, DoCoMo has apparently agreed to provide "technical assistance" and shell out "up to $24 million" in financial support for the deployment of AT&T's 3G network in the state of Hawaii. Under the deal, AT&T will launch a 3G network based on W-CDMA technology, and from what we can tell, DoCoMo customers vacationing in Hawaii won't be faced with those pesky roaming rates. Sadly, no hard timeline was laid out, but the island of Oahu should be lit by the year's end, while the rest of the state will get served "in early 2008."
National Geographic's Talk Abroad phone now on sale
So it looks like that so-boring-we-want-to-cry National Geographic Talk Abroad phone we came across a few months back is finally shipping. The specifics are actually pretty complicated -- we recommend going over the pricing with a fine-tooth comb if you think this thing is for you -- but the idea is to offer relatively inexpensive, prepaid world roaming. You can rent the handset (because let's be honest, you don't want a phone this basic in your possession for more than a couple weeks at a time) starting at $70 a week, which includes 30 minutes of talk time in 50 countries, unlimited incoming minutes in 65, and a bunch of adapters for the silly-looking sockets you may encounter in foreign lands. Then again, if you simply must make the Talk Abroad your own, you can scoop it up for $199 and recharge the plan at your leisure, or just buy the SIM (our favorite option) for $79.
Boingo to drop roaming charges on hotspot network
Ah, Boingo just keeps getting sweeter. After showing off its mobile service and partnering with FON, now the WiFi operator is making it even cheaper to hop online via its worldwide hotspot network. The company has announced that it will be hitting us up with a flat-rate service for $39 per month, which will enable users to utilize "more than 100,000 WiFi hotspots" across the globe sans roaming charges. Of course, this won't impact those Boingo users who manage to stay within the confines of the US of A, but globetrotters will certainly appreciate the end of per-minute roaming charges when surfing abroad. [Warning: read link requires subscription]
