Click below to
find interesting
information from our
April 2010
newsletter
relating to:
Roaming
Travel
Mobile phones
Roaming
Another
hidden
roaming
cost
Although the
per-minute call
cost of global
roaming is what
really tends to
offend many
Australians
travelling
overseas, there
are other
"quirks" that
are not so
obvious.
One we've
covered
elsewhere is
voicemail
tromboning
(being charged
for two, three,
even four calls
for being left a
voicemail when
roaming). A
second is paying
to receive
calls, a third
is
flag-fall
charges on
either making or
receiving calls.
Yet another
is that on some
(not all)
foreign networks
you will be
charged from the
time dialling is
commenced,
rather than once
the call is
connected. Apart
from adding
perhaps 20
seconds (and
hence cost) to
every call,
there will also
be charges for
non-connected
calls (because
you dialled the
wrong number, or
if the called
number was
engaged or
unavailable).
Unless you've
kept a log of
the exact times
and calls you've
attempted, you
may not notice
the added
charges, but
they might well
add
substantially to
your roaming
bill.
vRoam only
charges from the
time of
connection of
the call...
Travel
Airline
cost
transparency
We've
mentioned
previously the
range of fees
that airlines
have been adding
to various
services (meals,
entertainment,
baggage,
better-situated
seats etc) that
in the past have
been bundled
with the airfare
(one of the
latest we've
heard is Virgin
Atlantic
charging extra
for aisle
seats).
The overall
effect of is to
increase the
cost to
infrequent
flyers (as many
of the services
are included
free for premium
frequent-flyer
members), and
also to reduce
the transparency
of the cost of
air-fares.
Airlines have
noticed that
customers are
increasingly
price-sensitive
(many are
willing to
switch to a
different flight
for a few
dollars cheaper
fare) but are
less
price-sensitive
to added fees
(especially if
they are not
visible at the
time of
booking).
The airlines
also benefit by
shifting revenue
from fares to
added services,
as they do not
have to pay
commission to
travel agents on
the fees (but do
on fares), which
tends to add to
the fees that
agents are
charging
customers.
The end
result is that
we are probably
in for a period
of increased
unbundling (and
fees) and
reduced
price-comparability.
Mobile phones
4G and what it
might mean (band
confusion)
Just as you
thought you'd
got your head
around 3G and
what it means
(decent data
rates, so web
browsing and
mobile e-mail
are practical,
or for the
networks greater
capacity for
their
cell-towers),
along comes 4G.
There's been
a technology war
going on in the
last few years
to see what is
the likely
even-higher-speed
next-generation
mobile
technology. In a
replay of the
CDMA vs GSM wars
to determine the
2G technology
that we're all
familiar with
(basically, GSM
won), two
technologies
called WiMAX and
LTE (and one or
two also-rans)
have been
fighting it out.
Given recent
announcements
from networks,
it seems that
LTE will be the
likely winner
(short summary -
it has higher
data rates than
WIMAX but less
range, which
turned out to be
less important
given that
existing cell
towers are
fairly closely
packed in most
populated
areas).
4G will have
many uses,
including mobile
IPTV/streamed
video, and LAN
replacement.
Funnily enough,
voice calls were
a bit of an
afterthought -
it wasn't sure
until a few
weeks ago
whether if
voice-over-4G-data
failed whether
voice calls
would fall back
to 3G and/or GSM
(2G) or not.
It's been
determined that
it will indeed
fall back to
those
technologies.
Which raises
quite a problem.
New operating
frequencies will
be needed for
4G, and the old
3G/2G
frequencies also
supported. By
one count, that
will mean 13
frequency bands
ranging from
450MHz to
3.5GHz, and
still counting
(as many
countries have
not yet
allocated
frequency bands
yet). It is
unlikely that
current radio
technologies can
actually handle
that range of
frequencies, so
selecting a 4G
handset for use
when overseas
may become quite
an exercise in
compatibility.
In addition, the
initial handsets
are likely to be
quite bulky,
heavy, and have
poor battery
life until the
technology is
refined.
So for now,
unless you have
a specific need,
there's no need
to panic about
4G. We'll update
you as time
passes.
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