Quote:
Originally Posted by snidely
what do they really pay ATT or T-M when a customer of theirs roams here?
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Well, consider what T-Mobile Germany pays when a customer of theirs uses T-Mobile USA? At the end of the day they are both owned by Deutsche Telekom!
Truth is roaming rates are very complex, and based on a lot on factors including reciprocity. However there is a huge difference between what the customer pays and what the network may have to give up as a result of that customer roaming. Roaming is still a huge cash cow to the networks... and nothing they want to get rid of in a hurry! Those who pay less still pay enough! Your 29c "grandfathered" rates still make a profit as do my termination fees when I roam within Europe on a fixed plan from Telfonica/o2 with so called "free incoming".
It is all the more like blatant profiteering when "roaming" costs are incurred across networks that are ultimately owned by the same company. In the parts of the world were people frequently travel around in, a lot of brands are ultimately owned by some huge companies like Vodafone, Telefonica, Telenor, TeliaSonera, T-Mobile, Orange etc.
Of course the EU is sick to the teeth of what they say was nothing more than a money-making rip-off, and after networks refused to self-regulate they stepped in to set caps! Of course, the networks went crazy, saying they would need to increase costs on ordinary domestic calls, and monthly access fees to cover their costs. It is a very sour and controversial issue here, but at the end of the day, the customer has benefitted somewhat. However, let's not forget how much these networks had to pay to the same governments who are now regulating them. Vodafone UK for example paid almost 6 billion pounds to the UK government for their share of the 3G spectrum!!!
Anyhow, international regulation of this type can only occur in something as bizarre as the EU. These things cannot really occur across the world!