Reviews:
 ·Time Warner Cable
 ·Verizon FiOS
 ·Clearwire Wireless
·AT&T U-Verse
| Lets be real people... I can only talk about AT&T since that is what I have for service. According to the international section for wireless all GPRS pay per use is .0195/KB except for Canada which is at .015/KB. This alone tells you that AT&T sets the price for all roaming carriers outside the USA not the roaming carriers. So the responsible party here is AT&T not the roaming carriers.
I have an AT&T aircard and cellphone. Every time I go to Europe and use my services over there I get several text msgs on my phone telling me I will be charged for the usage and about 2-3 phone calls doing the same thing. On my laptop I get the same text msgs plus emails. They make sure to let me know they are going to charge me. If I choose to ignore it then that is my own doing.
While on the subject they even text me several times as I get closer to my 5GB cap. Once I go over they block it and force me to call in to see what the problem is.
I'm putting it out there as I see it first hand. Do I agree with the rates? HELL NO!!! Do they provide the service I need? HELL YES!!! Can I switch providers? OF COURSE!!! But why would I when all I have to do is make sure I don't ignore the warnings they send me. |
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 swintecPremium,VIP
join:2003-12-19
Alfred, ME
kudos:3
 ·RapidVPS
·Sprint Mobile Br..
 ·VoicePulse
·RoadRunner Cable
| said by megatron266:This alone tells you that AT&T sets the price for all roaming carriers outside the USA not the roaming carriers. So the responsible party here is AT&T not the roaming carriers You think AT&T tells the roaming carriers, who own the networks in whatever area of the world, what the price is for roaming data, or even minutes for that matter? Get real. AT&T makes agreements with these providers. If talks break down over price then so be it....but AT&T certainly does not dictate what the cost per roaming kilobyte is (although there buying power may help them NEGOTIATE a better rate). The figures you quoted are most likely a good average of all costs worldwide, that AT&T feels is a good median. I am sure some less popular areas are a bit more than that, but they make it up in the more popular ones.
Also, it can take several days for roaming partners to update each other. There is no way AT&T or any cell company can expect to monitor usage in real time. Heck, it takes as much as 24-48 hours for Verizon to let Sprint know how many minutes I used in a day....You are expecting a company in Mexico or Australia to forward over data usage in real time?
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 PolarBear03The bear formerly known as aaron8301Premium
join:2005-01-03 | I think you are misunderstanding what megatron is trying to say (I THINK). It appears to me as though he means that AT&T sets the price that YOU pay. Sure, a particular carrier may charge $0.10 per KB when you roam on them, but your contract with AT&T states that roaming data is $0.0195. Thus, you pay AT&T $0.0195 for roaming data no matter what.
By this, AT&T couldn't bill you $30,000 for a few MBs of data claiming that that's what the roaming carrier charged them, even if it was true. Your contract with AT&T states that roaming data is $0.0195 for kb, so that's all they can charge you.
If AT&T loses money on an arrangement such as this, that is their problem. But I think that they do it because they count on it happening very little. I know that their contracts stipulate that if 50% or more of your usage (voice or data) is on a roaming partner for a certain amount of time (something like two or three consecutive billing cycles), they reserve the right to simply cancel your service (sans ETF). (I knew a guy who had AT&T and moved to a Unicel-covered area. Two months later, they sent him a letter and cut him off.) |
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swintecPremium,VIP
join:2003-12-19
Alfred, ME
kudos:3 Reviews:
·RapidVPS
·Sprint Mobile Br..
·VoicePulse
·RoadRunner Cable
| said by PolarBear03:I think you are misunderstanding what megatron is trying to say (I THINK). It's possible. It came off as though he was saying since AT&T charges a flat roaming rate for international data, no matter where you are, it would seem (at least to him) that AT&T can tell the roaming company how much they are paying per kilobyte. I could have mistaken his intent though. Hopefully he comes back to clarify.
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