SAN FRANCISCO-Citing increased summer travel, performance measurement firm Telephia reported that wireless customers paid 15 percent more in roaming charges in the third quarter compared with the first three months of this year.
Telephia noted in its Customer Value Metric report that wireless customers spent an average of $14 in roaming charges during the third quarter compared with $12 during the first quarter of this year. The firm added that the rise was driven by an increase in usage from 55 minutes during the first quarter to 62 minutes in the third quarter as average roaming rates remained steady at 22 cents per minute.
“Gone are the days when consumers take a vacation and leave all forms of communications at home,” said Tamara Gaffney, product director at Telephia. “Cell phones allow vacationers to stay in touch in case of emergencies or to check on the kids. And with the proliferation of camera-ready phones, consumers are able to send instant postcards while on holiday.”
Telephia also found that customers on local or regional calling plans paid an average of $30.69 in roaming charges, which was significantly more than the $22.85 in roaming charges paid by customers on nationwide calling plans and the $12.39 in roaming charges paid by customers on nationwide in-network calling plans. Carriers have noted that an increasing number of customers are signing up for their nationwide in-network calling plans, which traditionally do not charge roaming fees for calls placed on a carrier’s native network.
“Compared to hotel charges or using pay phones, mobile phones generally offer much better rates when traveling,” Gaffney noted. “However, unexpected roaming charges still surprise many consumers at the end of the month.”
