sutty27 Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 And then get charged a bid fee for data usage? It looks like the EU may have saved you from a potential big bill if you went abroad. Aren't we lucky that we have a government who's happy to take on big businesses and stand up for the little guy! It didn't cost us anything and we called home every night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzijlstra Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 A quick google shows that iPhones have data roaming off by default. I can't find similar information on Android or Windows phones. Maybe they vary. I can recall receiving texts in the past on my phone whenever entering a foreign network. They included a statement of the various charges I could expect amongst them the data charges. Are these not standard? Have they stopped? Those messages? EU regulation. Yep, not sure what all the fuss is about I thought everyone would have been using Skype to call home from abroad. Euhmmmm...... It didn't cost us anything and we called home every night. That was because you used your hotel or another form of wifi. This isn't necessarily about holiday makers (although they were the most regular victims of excessive charges) this is about people that work across borders in the EU, of which there are plenty. You can/could have a T-Mobile phone in the Netherlands and if the T-Mobile 4G mast was in Germany (outside of your choice of course) whilst you were in the Netherlands you would be charged 20 times what you would normally be charged. I know plenty of UK business/science people who travel a lot and get caught out by charges that they didn't expect, it makes working across Europe more difficult, hence it is subject to scrutiny by the EU. I still haven't heard any feasible arguments why slashing these charges is a bad idea other than the fictional notion that it interferes with the free market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I1L2T3 Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 We don't have free markets. Everything just about is regulated. Sometimes the regulation is good. Sometimes it is bad. Sometimes too little. Sometimes too much. With the roaming charges it is a good piece of regulation. Good for consumers and good for telecomms providers too: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/oct/27/europe-abolishes-mobile-phone-roaming-charges Jennifer Kyriakakis, co-founder of telecom systems provider Matrixx said: “The fact is that most customers – approximately 90% – don’t use their mobile devices while they’re abroad, especially for data services, and when they do they reluctantly pay a premium for it. “With more subscribers using their phones abroad ... operators could have a much larger revenue stream that’s both predictable and sustainable, while simultaneously driving customer loyalty instead of driving them away.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeFrank Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 And then get charged a bid fee for data usage? It looks like the EU may have saved you from a potential big bill if you went abroad. Aren't we lucky that we have a government who's happy to take on big businesses and stand up for the little guy! Unless you are staying on a caravan site plenty of hotels have wifi. If they don't go to an internet cafe. They're all over the place. The Remanians are really scrapping the barrel with this argument as a reason to stay in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzijlstra Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Unless you are staying on a caravan site plenty of hotels have wifi. If they don't go to an internet cafe. They're all over the place. The Remanians are really scrapping the barrel with this argument as a reason to stay in Funny, I see it as the Brexiters really scraping the barrel using this as an argument to leave. I like the expression Remanians though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutty27 Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Funny, I see it as the Brexiters really scraping the barrel using this as an argument to leave. I like the expression Remanians though. They are not saying its a reason to leave, they are saying that its not a reason to stay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFKvsNixon Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Unless you are staying on a caravan site plenty of hotels have wifi. If they don't go to an internet cafe. They're all over the place. The Remanians are really scrapping the barrel with this argument as a reason to stay in Most people don't spend their holidays abroad cowering in their hotels scared that they might meet someone foreign! I'm also slightly surprised that you cannot recognise that having a government that stands up against big business is an argument for staying in the EU. I'm only slight surprised though the you're struggling to recognise this. ---------- Post added 03-05-2016 at 08:46 ---------- I still haven't heard any feasible arguments why slashing these charges is a bad idea other than the fictional notion that it interferes with the free market. Actually, isn't it arguable that the only people interfering with the free market in this issue were the network providers with their profiteering and maybe even collusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzijlstra Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 I've always maintained that competition is a far better means of getting good value from the market than regulation. Therefore my instinct is that this regulation is needless meddling. It's going to reduce roaming costs for those who roam at the expense of everybody else. Nice of course for people who work for the EU who probably get hit by it a lot. Most people however rarely use their phones abroad. Those who do use their phones abroad routinely are more likely to be affluent. Where as phone users in general are not. So in fact what's been done here is a regressive step using law to make everybody pay for a service used far more by an affluent minority. Still in favour? I missed this earlier post. You assume prices are going up elsewhere, I'd argue they won't because the market is competitive enough as it is, and there is plenty of profit to be made still. Your point is also pretty backwards I have to say. I don't know anybody in my generation who doesn't travel frequently, they aren't an affluent minority, they are just normal people that go abroad for work or pleasure. You have a PhD, did you not attend any conferences abroad? Actually, isn't it arguable that the only people interfering with the free market in this issue were the network providers with their profiteering and maybe even collusion. Yes, very arguable, in fact the reports produced by the EU on this topic state, time and time again, that the phone-companies are profiteering due to a lack of regulation on this front - they knew they were getting away with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unbeliever Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Your point is also pretty backwards I have to say. I don't know anybody in my generation who doesn't travel frequently, they aren't an affluent minority, they are just normal people that go abroad for work or pleasure. You have a PhD, did you not attend any conferences abroad? Almost everybody has a mobile phone these days and only a relatively affluent minority, including me, will benefit from this significantly. I'm not talking about the super-rich. I'm talking about primarily professionals on above average incomes who are routinely affected by roaming charges. Okay so a family that goes abroad to Europe once a year on holiday may also gain. But they'll also lose on other charges. This legislation is clearly of the greatest benefit to regulate travellers, and where do you suppose the money to fill the gap will come from if not everybody else who has a mobile phone? Once again. Not really the point. The EU was not needed for this and it could have been arranged without it. I just wanted to make sure that you'd thought it through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzijlstra Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Almost everybody has a mobile phone these days and only a relatively affluent minority, including me, will benefit from this significantly. I'm not talking about the super-rich. I'm talking about primarily professionals on above average incomes who are routinely affected by roaming charges. Okay so a family that goes abroad to Europe once a year on holiday may also gain. But they'll also lose on other charges. This legislation is clearly of the greatest benefit to regulate travellers, and where do you suppose the money to fill the gap will come from if not everybody else who has a mobile phone? Once again. Not really the point. The EU was not needed for this and it could have been arranged without it. I just wanted to make sure that you'd thought it through. I thought it through alright, which is why your last statement makes no sense to me at all. The EU was needed for this, it provides the legal framework in which it pushed this legislation through. Without that framework nothing would have happened. Just have a look at how ridiculously expensive it is to use your mobile in Boston, with a company that has its own coverage in the USA. Who is going to take T-Mobile on regarding these extortionate charges? Nobody, there is no framework to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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