Headline, December22, 2013

''' WHEN IN ROAM..= ROMANCE : 

BUT ONLY TECHNOLOGY

 & TARIFFS '''

Before I get on to the main continuing Post, let me delight you first with a great quotation:

We do not live to think, but,  on the contrary, we think in order that we may succeed in surviving. And this true work comes from Jose Ortega Y Gasset.

And now back to the Post:

Technology is also forcing prices down. Historically, operators have limited control over which  network  customers would roam on to when abroad.

But new techniques devised in the past couple of years let operators steer customers on to particular foreign networks. 

They can then direct more roaming traffic on to partner networks in return for lower wholesale prices.

This has led to to wholesale discounts of up to 75% in Europe and North America.

Operators within the same group can go even further. Celtel, an African operator owned by MTC  of Kuwait, charges no roaming fees at all to customers moving between its networks in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Customers can also top up airtime abroad with cards bought at home.

Roaming prices will not fall at the same time and rate everywhere. Operators in countries with fewer competitors   -or globetrotting citizens- are under less pressure to cut prices.

Those with strong regional footprints,  such as Mexico's America Movil and Singapore's SingTel, are better placed to win wholesale discounts from other operators than smaller firms are.

And weaning operators in developing markets off roaming revenues will be hard: in India, for example, foreign visitors pay up to 30 times more than locals do to place the same call.

Analysts and specialists expect eventually to see a two-tier pricing structure, with customers paying lower roaming charges within country groupings and steeper tariffs elsewhere.

With respectful dedication to All the Mobile-Phone Industry of the World. See Ya all on !WOW! the World Students Society Computers-Internet-Wireless:

''' Like No Other '''

Good Night & God Bless!

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless