Good call by telco on data roaming rates

The horrendous data-roaming costs to Kiwis travelling overseas just got a lot more affordable with a welcome announcement from Telecom for a flat daily rate in some major destinations.

“Today’s announcement by Telecom that it will charge a flat daily data rate for customers travelling overseas is not before time and demonstrates a renewed commitment to Kiwi consumers,” Labour’s Communications and IT spokesperson, Clare Curran says.

“This is exactly the kind of initiative that will stimulate more demand and shows that at least one of our telcos recognises the value of consumer loyalty.

“We’ve all heard the horror stories about people returning to New Zealand only to discover they have racked up massive bills through using their digital devices while holidaying in other countries.

“A flat rate charge ensures some sort of certainty. However customers still need to be made aware of the ‘fair use’ policy, which does limit their data use to some extent,” said Clare Curran.