If you have been a regular reader of my blog then you’d know how much disdain I have for the high roaming charges GSM companies place on subscribers. Earlier in the year I was on a BBC program ‘Your Money” discussing this same issue see link
GSM companies have defended this extortionist act for years now squarely putting the blame on interconnection fees charges by respective GSM companies in host countries (reminds me of when MTN used to say per second billing was impossible till Glo unmasked them). This issue is such a problem bodies like the European Commission has made several efforts to reduce the burden on travellers. However, change seem on the horizon going by a recent blog post by respected tech NyTimes columnist David Pogue. In the blog post he revealed that T-Mobile USA has now officially stopped charging, I repeat STOPPED charging roaming fees from their subscribers whenever they travel abroad.
Now, here is the catch!! By putting a stop to roaming charges T Mobile is basically sending the following message through;
- Roaming Charges is a ploy to get more money out of subscribers. Just an incremental revenue that they need not earn
- With improved technology and with a large pool of subscribers, companies can actually drastically reduce interconnection fees for international roaming
- It doesn’t cost a GSM company any much more when you terminate a call locally than it is to make a call abroad
- Transparent competition and elimination of programmed cartels can improve competition and services thus driving down cost
- The Consumer is KING
Lets ups the likes of MTN, Airtel, Globacom and Etisalat follows suit too.
You can read the full David Pogue article here
