Quote:
Originally Posted by 123456
Same overhere, but i was talking about the Eurotariff which sets limits on the prices mobile operators can charge for mobile calls made or received while roaming within the EU. Same rate now to call a Estonian mobile number while roaming in Spain as calling a French mobile number.
|
Understand your clairification; but then again and we've been beating around this for a while. I believe, and will always believe, that a big reason for the demise of UM, O9 and many of the other international cards are the eurotariffs (while we can argue about degree we surely can't argue this is a big factor).....in the past (pre Eurotariffs) a large segment of clientelle would come from Europe as Europeans cross international frontiers a great deal more than say Americans and the roaming rates when say a Brit went on a short holiday to Spain were large, weren't they. With the advent of very reasonable (and getting more reasonable each year) roaming European rates, the need for the international cards would dramatically decrease.
That of course leads to the people who would want international cards are people perhaps travelling to several different countries such as UAE from North America say or from Australia but then again those people tend not to do a six or seven country trip and for them local sims in the country visited might do the trick. The beauty of the international cards for me as an American who might visit three or four European countries on a trip was one number, no need to acquire three or four local sims (although pre riiing, that's the way I used to do it and still have the French, German and Dutch sims to prove it).....
Now as noted, in its glory days, UM was great and I was fortunate to have found an ld carrier to call forward from my home number at most reasonable rates. But then termination fees, as we know, on +423 skyrocketed. Estonia has the same problem for me at least if I want to call forward although enlinea rates are pretty reasonable but they are a bit unreliable. The +44 rates are okay, nothing great. So at least for most North Americans, Estonia is not really a good option. Yes you could receive for free but when your friends or business associates receive their phone bills, you will probably have one less friend.
Given my pattern of travel (mostly Europe from North America), given the way I like to handle things (call forwarding off my home landline), it is beginning to look like there is really no need for international sim cards any longer...as I said elsewhere this summer during my visits to Germany, France and the UK, I relied on a new vodafone uk sim card because of their roaming free summer rates....how that holds up will go a long way to determine whether I need further international sim cards (although the dual US/UK ekit card looks very viable).