OT - Cellphone billing

[Fraser Campbell]

On Saturday 01 March 2008 21:50:37 D. Hugh Redelmeier wrote:

> Any kind of mandatory option is pretty annoying to customers, not just
> phone customers.  The "network access charge" on cell phone bills
> smells like that.

My understanding of the network access charge is that is pure money in the 
pocket of the telcos ($800 million per year).  It is money pure money in 
their pocket allowing them to advertise falsely "low" rates, apparently there 
is/was a class action suit regarding the fees (see 
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1099060839961_12/?hub=TopStories).

In 2003 I bought a phone in the UK for 20 pounds that came with significant 
pay-as-you-go airtime (I don't recall quantity excactly).  I and relatives 
used the phone on numerous trips over a few years.

Last summer we landed in Germany and the phone worked fine for us throughout 
Germany, Austria and Italy ... it finally ran out of airtime when we got to 
Croatia (roaming charges were rather steep).  In Croatia we bought a SIM card 
for $5 that gave us a Croatian number, 50 minutes of airtime and 50 bonus 
minutes of airtime (mail-in), text messaging was dirt cheap, incoming calls 
were free ... it lasted the rest of our trip (more than 2 weeks).

Cell phone service in this country is of poor quality as far as I see (lots of 
dropped calls, network busy, etc.) and there are no inexpensive options that 
I know of for people who don't need much airtime.  On top of that, rates for 
our crappy level of service seem to be increasing rather than decreasing.

-- 
Fraser Campbell <fraser-Txk5XLRqZ6CsTnJN9+BGXg at public.gmane.org>
Georgetown, Ontario, Canada
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