End of data bill shock for mobile roamers

Stuart Corner
Sunday, 11 November 2007 10:55

Your IT - Home IT

The high prices charged for by mobile operators when users roam overseas are notoriously high and the cause of severe 'bill shock' Now a group of Asian operators has introduced a flat rate for roamers across their respective networks. The Bridge Alliance has introduced 'Bridge DataRoam' which offer customers choice of two capped usage monthly subscription plans - $US30 for 15MB (Bridge DataRoam15) or $US60 for 40MB (Bridge DataRoam40). The one-flat rate will apply when customers roam on the alliance's 11 member operator networks: Airtel (India), AIS (Thailand), CSL (Hong Kong), CTM (Macau), Globe Telecom (Philippines), Maxis (Malaysia), SK Telecom (Korea), SingTel Mobile (Singapore), SingTel Optus (Australia), Taiwan Mobile (Taiwan) and Telkomsel (Indonesia).

The service will be launched by some of these operators in November and later by others: it will not be available from Optus until 2008. The service can be used for both Blackberry and general mobile data roaming. To subscribe to Bridge DataRoam, customers sign up with their respective local member operator.

Beyond the 11 territories covered by Bridge DataRoam, the alliance will also seek other collaborations to extend the roaming coverage to more territories for its Bridge DataRoam users.

• Bridge Alliance: new name new logo
The organisation was formed in 2004 as the Bridge Mobile Alliance. At the launch of the DataRoam service it unveiled a new brand identity and a name change to Bridge Alliance. Chairman, Mr Lim Chuan Poh, said the changes marketed the start of a new phase in the growth of the alliance. "Going forward, Bridge Alliance will further strengthen its focus on serving the telecommunications needs of both business and leisure travellers across the region. We believe that with the new brand image, customers will better associate and recognise the value that Bridge Alliance can offer to them."