PrePaidGSM.net Forum (Archived) - View Single Post - United Mobile - dead, CallBlue - dead, FreeGlobalSim

MATHA531 · 13-05-2009, 12:23

A total guess by me....

This business has been very gravely affected by the push by the eu to cap roaming rates. Europeans (and I'm not so perhaps some of them here can chime in) used to cross borders a great deal and when roaming rates were asininely high, it was very advantageous for them to have cheaper alternatives. A Brit might take a holiday in Spain and with vodafone and the rest charging an arm and a leg (well maybe just an arm) to roam, they were a very fertile market for these sim cards.

But with eu roaming rates coming down, down, down, well the need became far less. That left who? Well we Americans, stuck with the near criminal roaming rates charged by our gsm carriers (the cheapest rate is 99¢/minute to make and receive calls say in Western Europe, found the ability to receive calls for free and to call back to home for 0,29€ to be a bargain (same is probably true for Canadians, Australians) when holidaying in Europe and other places......also a factor became the high termination fees for calls to such out of the way areas as Estonia, Liechtenstein where many of these cards were based....

Another factor, and I plead guilty, were the cheapskates like me who used the free reception of calls and found ways with the help of callback firms such as Enlinea to not make any calls using the international cards. After all, who can pass up a bargain eh.

Now if only something were done to stop the near criminal roaming rates charged by T Mobile USA to roam on T Mobile UK (although I think I read somewhere that T Mobile UK is getting out of the business) where it pays itself for roaming, well then maybe our need for international cards will die completely (perhaps one reason for the push to have a dual UK/USA card).

	(#2)
MATHA531 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Specialist Posts: 869 Join Date: 15 Oct 2004 Country:	13-05-2009, 12:23 A total guess by me.... This business has been very gravely affected by the push by the eu to cap roaming rates. Europeans (and I'm not so perhaps some of them here can chime in) used to cross borders a great deal and when roaming rates were asininely high, it was very advantageous for them to have cheaper alternatives. A Brit might take a holiday in Spain and with vodafone and the rest charging an arm and a leg (well maybe just an arm) to roam, they were a very fertile market for these sim cards. But with eu roaming rates coming down, down, down, well the need became far less. That left who? Well we Americans, stuck with the near criminal roaming rates charged by our gsm carriers (the cheapest rate is 99¢/minute to make and receive calls say in Western Europe, found the ability to receive calls for free and to call back to home for 0,29€ to be a bargain (same is probably true for Canadians, Australians) when holidaying in Europe and other places......also a factor became the high termination fees for calls to such out of the way areas as Estonia, Liechtenstein where many of these cards were based.... Another factor, and I plead guilty, were the cheapskates like me who used the free reception of calls and found ways with the help of callback firms such as Enlinea to not make any calls using the international cards. After all, who can pass up a bargain eh. Now if only something were done to stop the near criminal roaming rates charged by T Mobile USA to roam on T Mobile UK (although I think I read somewhere that T Mobile UK is getting out of the business) where it pays itself for roaming, well then maybe our need for international cards will die completely (perhaps one reason for the push to have a dual UK/USA card).