We all know that we get screwed by Telcos when using data while roaming overseas, but a new report from the OECD has proven just how bad it is – Australia is the third most expensive country, behind Japan and Chile.
Australian data roaming charges work out at an average of $12/MB, slightly behind the $13/MB Japanese roamers use. But as Dan Warne over at Australian Business Traveller points out, the Japanese have an option to buy 20MB/day for the equivalent cost of $US0.58/MB, something Australian telcos don’t come close to.
What’s worse, as Asher Moses points out in his story on the topic in the SMH, is that there is currently no method for Australian travellers to monitor their data usage while overseas, even if they purchase a prepaid data roaming pack.
The good news is that there are more and more options coming to market to avoid these exorbitant costs. AusBT has a great rundown of them here.
[OECD]
Mat
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 10:05 AMSweet! Thanks for the tips!
Dan
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 10:06 AMAustralian Telcos have a lot to answer for. If it’s not the cost of plans, it’s the lock in contracts- they should be outlawed. I’ve never meet one Aussie telco that can give be perfect serves.
CJ
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 10:41 AM@Dan, might be worth checking out TPG. They have very competitive plans with no lock-in contract. ie a plan that you essentially renew each month when you pay. I used them for a while as the value was unbeatable.
Not sure what they have in the way of international data roaming though.
Mike
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 10:42 AMWhat a narrow and totally misleading article – Nick Broughall obviously did not read the attached OECD report which demonstrates clearly that Australian Telcos are not the most expensive. Was his objective merely to create headlines or maybe to promote dissent?
Dirk
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 11:43 AMThe article clearly states that Australian telcos are among the worst profiteers on global roaming charges. Optus have stung me for $5,000+ in roaming charges over the last few years, so I’d have to agree based on personal experience.
Steve
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 12:36 PMMike, you obviously didn’t read the article, which is surprising considering it’s so concise. The headline clearly states Australia is the third most expensive country of origin for data roaming. This is what is outlined in the report as well.
Frankly, I think you’re not exactly shuffling with a full deck, but then again maybe I’m just ‘promoting dissent’.
chris
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 11:10 AMTell me about it! Im heading to Japan for 6 weeks and the cheapest way to stay connected is to rent a data sim card while im there. It is going to set me back $400, but by using skype I wont have to worry about any nasty Roaming fees when I get back.
The data roaming fees are so ridiculous! I dont know how or why anyone would even bother.
Argon
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 3:24 PMUnlock the phone use whastapp or viber and get a data prepaid works in Thailand perfectly
warcroft
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 6:47 PMThird?
I could have sworn we would be first.
Goddy
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 9:28 PM*Thieves