With bill shock from international roaming still affecting thousands of Australians each year, consumers have been frustrated with the lack of solutions offered by mobile providers. Now, Telstra has announced it will be taking action to minimise bill shock experienced by customers using their phone overseas.
The telco is introducing a new SMS usage alert system for customers using their Telstra device internationally. Under the new system, SMS alerts will be automatically issued to customers for every 20MB of data they use outside of Australia.
The company is hopeful that the new alerts will empower Telstra customers to more effectively manage their data use when travelling. Telstra has stated that it understands its customers often don't 'fully appreciate' the amount of data that is consumed by typical web browsing and downloading, and that many are unaware of the high cost of using data through mobile roaming.
However, there are a few details not covered in Telstra's initial press release that warrant a closer look. The introduction of usage alerts may be of benefit to some customers, but we're skeptical that this initiative is going to be all that effective in preventing bill shock overall.
Assuming a customer has not purchased an international data pack before heading overseas, any data used outside of Australia would be charged at a standard rate of 1.5 cents per kilobyte. By the time a customer reaches 20MB of use, they've already racked up a bill of over $300.
Even purchasing a 20MB data pack will cost you $29, which, in comparison to the cost of data within Australia (customers can purchase 3GB of data domestically for $30), will be considered ridiculous by most consumers. Although Telstra has also doubled the amount of data included in their add-on international data packs, 20MB still doesn't get most smartphone users very far; and even a more reasonable amount of 1GB will cost Telstra customers $550. What's more, customers won't be automatically cut off when they use up pre-purchased international data allowances - they'll simply be charged at the standard rate for any excess megabytes.
Telstra has also confirmed that there can be a delay of 'up to 24 hours' in alerts being sent. Customers are advised that there may be a lapse between when the alert is sent, to when the international carrier sends it to a customer, and when a customer receives it. So, disappointingly, the 20MB usage alerts are unlikely to be received by customers in real time - meaning that you could easily use up well over 20MB before receiving an alert from Telstra.
Another problem for customers wanting to keep an eye on usage is that you are unable to monitor data use through Telstra's website, or smartphone app, for any data used outside of Australia. So, customers wishing to stay on top of their usage may need to download a third party data monitoring app (and even this won't necessarily give accurate and up-to-date readings).
Finally, although the new SMS alerts will be available in most countries Telstra has roaming agreements with, customers will not currently receive alerts for any data used in Hong Kong.
It's a positive first step for Telstra to introduce this system, and hopefully other providers will soon follow suit. But the problem for most customers isn't necessarily they aren't aware of how much data is costing them overseas; it's that the data is costing them such an exorbitant amount to begin with, and there's no safety net in place to cut off customers after a certain point. While the SMS alerts may be helpful to some customers, realistically it's just a 'Band-Aid' solution to an issue that no-one seems willing to try to resolve.
Until the problem of the ridiculously inflated price of using data internationally is addressed, it's still up to customers to be pro-active when it comes to preventing bill shock. If you're planning on travelling and are concerned about taking your smartphone, read through our detailed guide on how to prevent bill shock when using your phone overseas.
Image credit: mikecogh via Flickr
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