# The scam that is mobile data roaming



## Guest (Apr 26, 2011)

Just got my latest Bell Bill. I had my iPhone in the US and, while I knew data roaming rates off a "data roaming" plan were high, I had no idea how high.

22 MB cost me $127.

*$6/MB*

That's wrong on so many levels I don't know where to start.

It would have been about $50 if I'd thought to buy the $10/month "data roaming" plan from Bell before my billing period/trip.

Thank you for listening to my rant.


----------



## Swervin55 (Oct 30, 2009)

Myself and three colleagues were on a business trip to Rome just before Christmas. Two of the four of us had new iphone4's and unfortunately we weren't savvy to data roaming packages and weren't offered any by Telus when we bought their cellular roaming package. This was at the time Europe was under snow conditions and Frankfurt was having issues. Subsequently, we spent a lot of time on our phones attempting to get out of EU for Christmas. Next month our bill came in at just over $8k. I feel your pain.

Swervin


----------



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

As soon as I get a new phone the first thing I do is turn off the roaming feature. If there is some kind of emergency I will turn it on


----------



## Guest (Apr 26, 2011)

The trouble is, in my line of consulting, I live and die by email, Skype and text messaging. It's how my associates and I stay in contact and it's generally cost effective. There are time when it's unavoidable 

I knew it was going to be a high per-MB charge and kept the phone's data roaming off for the majority of the 3 day trip. I had it on for a total of 2 hours and 22 MB of data over three days. That price is absurdly high.

@Swervin55: $8k. Ouch! It would have been cheaper to buy phones and plans there, then pay to get out of the plans!


----------



## puckhead (Sep 8, 2008)

yes it is an absolutely scam. the highest mark-up among any product.
I remember reading an article on it a while ago, but can't find it now 
---> this one talks about 1,000% markups http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/mobile-...ata-roaming-sees-1000-fold-mark-ups-40092602/
but, they are all in on it, so we are pretty s.o.l.

here's a $37,000 phone bill from a 2 week trip.
http://mobilesyrup.com/2011/03/04/vancouver-woman-racks-up-37k-cellphone-bill-while-visiting-egypt/
1,600 MB, she must have been downloading movies or surfing all day long or something


----------



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

iaresee said:


> The trouble is, in my line of consulting, I live and die by email, Skype and text messaging. It's how my associates and I stay in contact and it's generally cost effective. There are time when it's unavoidable
> 
> I knew it was going to be a high per-MB charge and kept the phone's data roaming off for the majority of the 3 day trip. I had it on for a total of 2 hours and 22 MB of data over three days. That price is absurdly high.
> 
> @Swervin55: $8k. Ouch! It would have been cheaper to buy phones and plans there, then pay to get out of the plans!


I guess the only good thing on your side is the bill is tax deductable. But I know where you are coming from, they hit you hard with this crap


----------



## Guest (Apr 26, 2011)

GuitarsCanada said:


> I guess the only good thing on your side is the bill is tax deductable. But I know where you are coming from, they hit you hard with this crap


Even better: it's a business expense so it comes out of my corporate account. But still: lesson learned on data roaming.

I just called to add the $10/month "data roaming" plan to my account. Drops the per-MB charge from $6/MB to $1/MB when you're in the US. Lady on the phone was all "I see we don't have your DOB on your account -- can I get your date of birth please?" She couldn't give me a good reason for why she needed that information so I politely declined to provide it. She really didn't know how to respond to that! Pretty funny actually.


----------



## Guest (Apr 26, 2011)

puckhead said:


> here's a $37,000 phone bill from a 2 week trip.
> http://mobilesyrup.com/2011/03/04/vancouver-woman-racks-up-37k-cellphone-bill-while-visiting-egypt/
> 1,600 MB, she must have been downloading movies or something


Whoa. That's pretty scary.

I do jump on to free WiFi spots whenever I can to do the longer Skype calls.


----------



## Fane (Aug 23, 2008)

It keeps coming up that Canada's internet and data services are priced higher and are slower than many third world countries.
It's all a little ridiculous, I'm sure we all know someone that's racked up a $1000+ bill in the states, even. Whenever I've traveled out of the country, I haven't even bothered bringing my phone.


----------



## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

as much as I agree that we are getting ripped off by phone/internet/tv companies here in Canada, i disagree that you are getting "scammed." Yes, I will agree you are getting ripped off. Do I agree it's wrong? yes and no. 

exhibit A. "I knew data roaming rates off a "data roaming" plan were high"

you knew they were high, you chose to continue using the data. how is this their fault? as the user, it is your responsibility to keep your usage to an affordable amount. they give you all the information on costs when you sign an agreement with them. they've done their part and informed you, whether or not you decided to read it or not.

I too, have no idea what data roaming costs. when i travel abroad, i turn off data roaming. why? because I _know_ it's an absurd amount.


----------



## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

blam said:


> you knew they were high, you chose to continue using the data. how is this their fault? as the user, it is your responsibility to keep your usage to an affordable amount. they give you all the information on costs when you sign an agreement with them. they've done their part and informed you, whether or not you decided to read it or not.


"Ouch....."


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I guess this is where the netbooks come in handy. They might not be as cool as app-packed phones, but the upside is that they are lightweight and most hotels/motels will provide free net access these days.


----------



## Jeff Flowerday (Jan 23, 2006)

Voice, Data and Text roaming is a major issue with corporations as well. My last project was writing a system to help manage the plans needed when staff travel.

It's actually quite complex when you start considering the following:

1) The provider doesn't want notice of travel till 1 week prior to travel.
2) The provider will only allow you to book in 30 day blocks.
3) The provider won't allow you to extend another 30 days till the previous plan has expired. (Giving IT one day to email and get another plan in place)
4) The provider won't allow you to cancel a plan early.


----------



## Duster (Dec 28, 2007)

blam said:


> as much as I agree that we are getting ripped off by phone/internet/tv companies here in Canada, i disagree that you are getting "scammed." Yes, I will agree you are getting ripped off. Do I agree it's wrong? yes and no.
> 
> exhibit A. "I knew data roaming rates off a "data roaming" plan were high"
> 
> ...


The scam is not in the high roaming charges, as you're right, they are fully disclosed should you commit the time required to find and understand them. The scam is the total lack of competition and the process by which they are allowed to charge these rates.

I would agree that they should be able to charge what a fully informed market will bear. However, when that market is artificially controlled, it ceases to be fair.

I don't use roaming, as a rule. I was lost in Costa Rica on a trip a few months ago. Turned on an iphone to use the GPS for a few minutes. $65. I wasn't surprised, but that doesn't mean I'm not offended by it.


----------



## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

I agree the scam is in their ability to charge us like crazy. 

Last time I travelled out of the country, I took out roaming knowing how much charges to expect but it also meant I don't get calls nor I am able to make calls. But I had the phone on "WiFi Only" mode so that when I get into a place where WiFi is free, I still am able to get my emails, messages, etc without any charges.


----------



## mario (Feb 18, 2006)

Chito said:


> I agree the scam is in their ability to charge us like crazy.
> 
> Last time I travelled out of the country, I took out roaming knowing how much charges to expect but it also meant I don't get calls nor I am able to make calls. But I had the phone on "WiFi Only" mode so that when I get into a place where WiFi is free, I still am able to get my emails, messages, etc without any charges.


My wife and I just returned from a mini holiday in Chicago. I did as you mentioned on my BlackBerry. I was not there on business and there were a ton of free WiFi places including my hotel where I could check on things.


----------



## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

iaresee said:


> Just got my latest Bell Bill. I had my iPhone in the US and, while I knew data roaming rates off a "data roaming" plan were high, I had no idea how high.
> 
> 22 MB cost me $127.
> 
> ...


Yes, they are about as big a crook as UPS for brokerage and extra shipping fees on items crossing the USA border into Canada. Both seem to have a licence to steal from the consumer.


----------



## Guest (Apr 27, 2011)

blam said:


> as much as I agree that we are getting ripped off by phone/internet/tv companies here in Canada, i disagree that you are getting "scammed." Yes, I will agree you are getting ripped off. Do I agree it's wrong? yes and no.
> 
> exhibit A. "I knew data roaming rates off a "data roaming" plan were high"
> 
> ...


Oh, I understand the contract (or rather, I thought I did -- I did not get the $6/MB rate quoted to me until _after_ I'd racked up the charges), but that doesn't make the contract _fair_. Those charges are massive profit.

The scam comes from having no alternative. If you do business on an international level, and you need your business tools when traveling abroad, the cost is beyond acceptable -- _*and you have no alternatives that aren't incredibly unpleasant and difficult to manage*_. This gouging is very much prolific in mobile data communications, almost unique to this business. And _that's_ the scam.

The scam is the lack of competition. The lack of choice. The absolute impossibility to get a cellular contract that will give you the ability to do business on the continent without it costing many thousands of dollars.

And the interesting thing here is: it doesn't go both ways. Yes, my american co-workers pay data roaming when they come to Canada but _*it's 20 times less than what I pay when I go to the United States*_.

When you work in IT and understand the true costs of delivering 1 MB of data over a 3G network...well, lets just say $6/MB is just the kind of profit padding clause you get when a government has regulated all competition out of a market.


----------



## Duster (Dec 28, 2007)

iaresee said:


> When you work in IT and understand the true costs of delivering 1 MB of data over a 3G network...well, lets just say $6/MB is just the kind of profit padding clause you get when a government has regulated all competition out of a market.


I agree with your entire post, except where you say it's unique to mobile data. This scam is present in a whole bunch of industries in Canada. We generally don't have much competition for major services, from banking to airlines. Even cable and land lines (although now we're talking about the same companies).

As for IT, have you checked out the cost of remote data storage/backup? I've been quoted about $6,000 per year to remotely back up and store 250GB of data. The last 250GB drive I bought cost $50. I could back up my data to a new drive every 3 days, and throw the old drive in the garbage, forever, and I'd still be ahead financially. That just don't make sense to me.


----------



## Guest (Apr 27, 2011)

Duster said:


> I agree with your entire post, except where you say it's unique to mobile data. This scam is present in a whole bunch of industries in Canada. We generally don't have much competition for major services, from banking to airlines. Even cable and land lines (although now we're talking about the same companies).


True enough. I'm just close to the IT side of things. So I see it there.



> As for IT, have you checked out the cost of remote data storage/backup? I've been quoted about $6,000 per year to remotely back up and store 250GB of data. The last 250GB drive I bought cost $50. I could back up my data to a new drive every 3 days, and throw the old drive in the garbage, forever, and I'd still be ahead financially. That just don't make sense to me.


What? That's absurd. Someone is trying to rip you off. I'm intimately familiar with remote data storage costs. One part of my job is building supercomputers based on cloud resources.

I use CrashPlan for 4 corporate machines (all Macs, but CrashPlan works on OS X, Linux and Windows) -- a total of about 1 TB of data between the four of them right now is being backed up in the cloud -- and it costs me about $50/year to do snapshot-ed, cloud-based backups with unlimited snapshot history (I can go back and look at the state of the files on any machine right back to the time when that machine first completed a backup to CrashPlan). I can recover from those backups any time for free over the internet. And for an additional (and completely reasonable) charge they'll dump any snapshot I ask for to a USB drive and overnight it to me on demand.

We're using their CrashPlan+ Family Unlimited. I checked with them first to see if they'd mind if I bought this for a business, not a family, and they didn't mind at all. I bought 4 years up front at USD$288.

There are similar services to CrashPlan if it doesn't float your boat. Carbonite comes to mind.

You could even just mount an Amazon S3 share as a drive and copy your data in to that. There's ingress fees, but they amount to a few cents, and 1 TB in S3 for a year will cost you ~$150/year to store. Fully redundant, always available. Using something like rsync to do an incremental copy-in to the S3 drive and you'll have a nightly backup (but no snapshots) that's not unreasonably priced and fully under your control.

If you're a Mac user there's even a new product called DollyDrive that'll let you do TimeMachine backups to S3 shares. We do TimeMachine backups to an iMac-based OS X 10.6 server in addition to the CrashPlan to-the-cloud backups so we've got local snapshots for immediate data recovery in the event of a machine failure. CrashPlan is for the "oh hell, my house burnt down" scenario.


----------

