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posted by mattie_p on Wednesday February 19 2014, @01:41AM   Printer-friendly
from the just-stay-home dept.

girlwhowaspluggedout writes:

"The European Commission reports that, fearing high roaming charges, many EU citizens forgo the use of their mobile phones outside their home country. According to a survey done by the Commission (pdf), when travelling to another EU country, 90% of all EU citizens limit their e-mail use, 47% do not use their mobile internet connection, 33% never place calls, 25% do not text, and a staggering 28% simply turn off their mobile phones.

Roaming charges, the Commission suggests, are hurting the fledgling EU app sector. In trying to avoid paying data premiums, travelers limit their use of data-heavy apps, like travel guides, maps, and photo applications. Frequent travelers are even more likely to turn-off their phones, perhaps due to being better informed about the costs of data roaming.

The Commission reports that data roaming use across the EU has increased by 1500% since the introduction of price caps in 2008. It suggests that by eliminating all roaming charges, mobile providers will gain a further 300 million customers. These findings give further support to regulations proposed by the Commission that will create a single mobile phone market throughout the EU, enabling all customers to enjoy domestic rates when travelling within the EU."

 
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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by tftp on Wednesday February 19 2014, @05:05AM

    by tftp (806) on Wednesday February 19 2014, @05:05AM (#2160) Homepage

    No, it will not work. Had been tried by several people. As soon as AT&T sees the IMEI number [wikipedia.org] that resolves to a smartphone model, they automatically add the data plan, and charge you for that - and good luck cancelling that.

    In fact, AT&T even sells simple phones that are marked as "no data plan required." Everything else requires the data plan. That's why I'm on a third Li-Ion battery for my old flip phone.

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  • (Score: 1) by furiousoyster on Wednesday February 19 2014, @05:01PM

    by furiousoyster (594) on Wednesday February 19 2014, @05:01PM (#2607)

    Yeah, this really drives me up the wall. Sprint's dumb-phones are either poorly built, poorly designed, or both. I'm stuck with a Samsung m400 that's mostly fine but has a button on the side that, when pressed for a couple seconds, activates the voice command system. It can't be disabled. I regularly find myself in embarrassing situations when the voice in my pocket yells "SAY A COMMAND!"

    I'd gladly pay more for a smartphone, but not an extra $360/year for data I don't want.

    • (Score: 1) by tftp on Thursday February 20 2014, @12:14AM

      by tftp (806) on Thursday February 20 2014, @12:14AM (#2993) Homepage

      I escaped Sprint in 2008, when I got another job and their phone couldn't work indoors. AT&T phones, and Verizon phones, worked OK. There was no contract, so I just jumped the ship. I got the LG CU515 at that time, and I still have it, 6 years later.

      You are not alone in your troubles with the side button. My phone also has such a button, but for added advantage to AT&T it is preset to incur charges. If I press it, accidentally, it says "Press 1 to activate Push-to-Talk service." I cannot imagine why I would need it - and it's not a free service either. I seriously considered pouring glue into the gap around that button. (The only other function of that button is to silence the alarm, but I can use other buttons for that.)