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Feb. 16, 2007

T-Mobile said it is reducing data roaming rates from $14.65/Mb to $5.86/Mb for business travelers in the U.S. and Europe.

The new rates apply to both sending and receiving data and are effective starting today.

The lower fess in data rates, which applies to ten countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, the U.K. and the U.S., follows a similar drop in voice roaming charges, which are approximately $1.07 per minute across T-Mobile’s U.S. and European operations.

The planned reduction was in the works for some time, according to T-Mobile.

Max Miller, head of carrier services at T-Mobile U.K. says “consumer and business voice roaming rates have already been simplified, and data was the next step.”

Miller added “the lower data rates apply to all countries where T-Mobile has a presence, and any network in those countries, as we can get better rates in those locations."

"As the costs continue to come down at other overseas operators, we’ll continue to reduce prices for our customers,” said Miller.

The move duplicates what some competitors are already doing.

Mobile operator 3 did away with roaming fees altogether, and O2 dropped rates under its My Europe Extra program, whereby business travelers who subscribe to the program for approximately $10/month no longer pay to receive incoming calls while abroad.

Calls made from abroad will be charged at a flat rate of $0.49 per minute, which represents a 70 percent drop in fees.

Overall, T-Mobile hinted that it will drop data roaming charges for consumers by the summer of 2007.

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Source: Wireless Week