[Hands0n]

There have been several articles in the main media and Internet media about folk getting a rather nasty shock when using their mobile/datacard for data access when travelling internationally. These prices are not always very well published or, while they are on the mobile operator's website, they are not entirely easy to locate or clear.

Vodafone publish their international roaming data access charges here --> http://online.vodafone.co.uk/dispatch/Portal/appmanager/vodafone/wrp?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=Page_BOS_MainContent&pageID=GM_0332

Be prepared to heamorrage a lot of money if you use data abroad.


Edit: Note that even exchanging MMS and Long Text messages incurs data charges

Sending Long Text Messages 15p + Data transfer charge ²

Sending Picture Messages 36p + Data transfer charge²

Sending Video Messages 60p + Data transfer charge²

Receiving Video & Picture Messages Data transfer charge only²

[Ben]

Adding data charges to MMS usage whilst abroad? For pete's sake! Talk about 'stealth tax' :\ It may well be advisable to disable MMS/select an inactive access point for MMS whilst abroad to ensure any messages you do get sent don't get retrieved automatically.

There needs to be a daily cap on data charges both at home and abroad. For example, Vodafone's unlimited data tariff is £45+VAT (domestic). So, if they set a daily cap at £5, for example, a regular user is still much better off opting for the £45 package. When abroad, a dialy cap of, say, £10 would still allow for massive bills, but at least they'd be fully limited and predictable.

Even if what I suggest is not a possible scenario, I think it shows that not too much thought is needed to make data more consumer-friendly. A consumer might not know how much viewing something over 3G, for example, will cost - but they know it cannot exceed a certain value and so are reassured to go forth and explore.