Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris
Well let’s be honest it is a premium feature. In the old regime the additional costs of providing service in foreign countries on third party networks have to be spread across the bills of all users whether or not they travel overseas. That’s an especially raw deal for people on a tight budget who choose a budget mobile operator for basic services. The EU’s roaming charges directive was always about creating the illusion of a single territory, building on the principles of free movement and the single market. The reality is that all of us have been paying for the convenience of the few.
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I would be interested in how much it actually costs networks as opposed to it being easy profit before. Part of the arrangements are reciprocal, our networks piggyback of theirs but then visitors to the UK piggyback of our networks in return. Even if the networks end up paying EU operators they will be then getting payments themselves.
Also, most major networks own European networks too. Vodaphone are global yet used to charge absurd rates to use the same company's networks abroad. O2 are owned by a Spanish operator, Telefónica, who also own other networks in EU nations.
It may be different in some countries which have less developed mobile networks and/or cover more rural communities where the costs become a lot higher but the EU at least has advanced and similar network capabilities.
Anyway, I don't mind it being a premium feature if I get a proper implementation of it. Three used to throttle my connection down to be near unusable whereas on EE I can stream, download and even tether my laptop and get a proper connection.