Telecom slashes transtasman txt rate - but will it be enough?
The procession of roaming cuts from Telecom, Vodafone and 2degrees continues - but will it be enough to head-off regulation of roaming costs?
The procession of roaming cuts from Telecom, Vodafone and 2degrees continued today.
But will it be enough to head-off regulation of roaming costs, currently the subject of a combined Australia-New Zealand government investigation?
The latest move comes from Telecom, which is now offering 100 txts for $10 to pre- and post-pay customers (or 10 cents per message if the full allocation is used; Telecom and Vodafone have been charging 80 cents for individual transtasman txt messages; 2degrees recently cut its rate from 80 cents to 79 cents for a symbolic market lead).
In terms of transtasman data roaming, Vodafone recently cut its rate to $1 a megabyte (or $1000 per gigabyte; much, much cheaper than before, but still breath-takingly more expensive than domestic mobile data, which can be as "cheap" as $20 ber gigabyte) .
The move followed 2degrees slashing its rate from $30 per megabyte to $2.50 (or $1 per megabyte in pre-pay blocks), and a Telecom cut to $1 per megabyte (though with the hook that data is charged at a runinous $8 per megabyte after the first 100MB).
2degrees denied its cut was made with one eye on Mr Joyce. Rather, it put its move down to customer numbers swelling to 580,000, and a concomitant increase in bargaining power.
Nevertheless, as Mr Joyce and counterpart across the Tasman Senator Stephen Conroy mull their regulatory options, prices just keep tumbling.
Mrrs Joyce and Conroy might be inclined to keep mulling a while longer.
NBR staff
Wed, 15 Jun 2011
Wed, 15 Jun 2011
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Telecom slashes transtasman txt rate - but will it be enough?
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