New EU wireless roaming rules should encourage similar practices in Canada, say observers

New data-roaming rules designed to reduce “bill shock” for wireless users in the European Union should encourage the Canadian wireless carriers to consider similar measures, industry observers say. The EU is enacting new wireless data roaming rules to curtail incidents of “sticker shock”—surprisingly high price tags—for customers who travel. Under the European regulations introduced March 1, service providers must allow customers to set limits on data roaming. When a customer reaches 80 per cent of the chosen threshold, the carrier must alert the client, indicating that if the customer continues to surf the Web or access email, they could face a higher-than-planned wireless bill when they get home. “Protection against data-roaming bill shocks is a useful step towards building customers’ confidence to use mobile networks to surf the Internet when travelling across Europe,” European Commissioner for Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes, said in a release. The EU says the new rules should do away with billing nightmares such as the one that one German traveller experienced in France. Unaware of the high roaming charges, the visitor downloaded a TV show via a wireless handset and received a bill for 46,000 euros. The rules apply a 50-euro limit on all wireless accounts, effective July 1. Customers can raise or lower the threshold as they see fit, the EU says. The new measures in Europe come as wireless customers in Canada complain about high mobile bills. CBC program Marketplace recently ran a feature on “Canada’s worst cellphone bill,” investigating carrier costs and mark-ups. While Telus, Virgin Mobile and Bell Canada customers took the top-three spots for the worst bills, Bell took the top spot. The show identified one Bell customer who was overcharged by nearly $4,000. Bell and Rogers Communications Inc. didn’t respond to requests for comment for this story. Kyle McInnes, editor-in-chief of BlackBerry Cool, an Ottawa-based blog about Research In Motion Ltd.’s (RIM) popular mobile device, said he would like to see Canadian carriers implement data-roaming thresholds similar to those in Europe. He said he recently returned from Scandinavia and found that his mobile service bill had hit $5,000. A threshold alarm would have been welcome, he said. “Something like this is crucial for the telecom industry,” McInnes said, adding that he would switch from Rogers, his current service provider, to another carrier if the alternative operator offered data-roaming limits. “I don’t think so,” Shawn Hall, a spokesman for Telus Corp., said when asked if European-style roaming limits are a good idea in Canada. “Canada is well served by the wireless industry now in terms of roaming.” Canadian customers can choose from a range of roaming services that effectively limit new bill charges, Hall said. He said Telus offers a roaming plan that gives customers access to international networks for set periods of time, like 30 days, affording coverage when it’s needed. Some observers say that while the EU measures are sound, their execution may not work in Canada. Roberta Fox, president of Fox Group Consulting, a telecom analysis firm in Mount Albert, Ont., said the latest billing and operations systems allow wireless carriers to apply customer limits. “There’s more flexibility to set thresholds and triggers,” she said. But it wouldn’t make sense for the government to introduce roaming regulations, Fox said. Canada doesn’t have a wireless-industry regulator like that in the EU, and in Canada, the CRTC has a hands-off policy for the mobile market. The commission would also have to work with the FCC south of the border to enact rules covering both Canada and the United States. International technology standards applied by organizations such as the GSMA and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) cover North America, but they do not operate international billing management systems. “They’re more about how a call would be done,” Fox said. “They don’t ... set standards on how your bills are done.” Now that carriers can access threshold-setting technologies, they can begin setting data-roaming limits according to customers’ requests, Fox said. Roaming alerts and limits could emerge as a benefit of competition. The big national wireless providers Telus, Bell, and Rogers could use them as a feature to keep their current customers, and new wireless entrants Mobilicity and Wind Mobile could use it to draw new ones. Rogers last month introduced its North American One Rate plan, which allows users to email, browse the Web, and download data without paying roaming fees across Canada and the United States. Rogers says the new plan would cost customers about $10 more than Canada-only plans. Competition keeps service providers like Rogers on their toes, said Amit Kaminer, a telecom industry analyst at SeaBoard Group in Toronto. But competitive pressures may not be as intense as they seem. Recent news reports suggest that Wind has had a tough start. The carrier, which began operating in late December, has parted ways with senior staff, and has faced reports of spotty service. Fox said the carriers are probably considering data-roaming limiters, but it’s up to customers to know where companies’ stand on data roaming thresholds. “You have to understand your patterns and plans so you don’t get sticker shock.” news@thewirereport.ca

New EU wireless roaming rules should encourage similar practices in Canada, say observers

News | March 10, 2010

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