Re:Carriers Must End Absurd Intl Data Roaming Fees, Before A...
by Someone1234 on Wednesday January 14, 2015 @06:23PM
(#8889876)
> Of course there is no real technical justification for roaming data charges that are many multiples of domestic prices.
No, but there are "technical justification" for why they charge more: It costs them more.
Operating on a first party cell tower is significantly cheaper than operating on someone else's as a guest. Not only in the literal sense, but also the cost of tracking it, and setting up the contracts initially in 190+ countries.
However things are improving massively in the last few years. T-Mobile in the US now gives you free international roaming at 56K modem speeds (no overage), and 4G speeds for only a relatively small fee. AT&T's data roaming packages (that now include unlimited texts) aren't bad either.
Re:Carriers Must End Absurd Intl Data Roaming Fees, Before A...
by mgertner on Wednesday January 14, 2015 @06:38PM
(#8889942)
Fair point about setup costs, but the marginal cost (which is what really counts over the long term) is negligeable in both cases.
Things are improving as I say in the piece, but it's worth noting that here in the Czech Republic I still have to pay nearly $200 for a month of data roaming in the US with a 200Mb cap. And that's if I go to the trouble of signing up for a special roaming plan, otherwise I could easily spent 10x that.
No, but there are "technical justification" for why they charge more: It costs them more.
Operating on a first party cell tower is significantly cheaper than operating on someone else's as a guest. Not only in the literal sense, but also the cost of tracking it, and setting up the contracts initially in 190+ countries.
However things are improving massively in the last few years. T-Mobile in the US now gives you free international roaming at 56K modem speeds (no overage), and 4G speeds for only a relatively small fee. AT&T's data roaming packages (that now include unlimited texts) aren't bad either.
Things are improving as I say in the piece, but it's worth noting that here in the Czech Republic I still have to pay nearly $200 for a month of data roaming in the US with a 200Mb cap. And that's if I go to the trouble of signing up for a special roaming plan, otherwise I could easily spent 10x that.