Abroadband have become one of the few operators who offer roaming broadband at extremely low rates when compared to well known providers. Users can gain access to the internet for only €0.59 per megabyte. This flat rate global data roaming service has attracted many travellers to change their sim card when abroad. Until worldwide regulation is introduced to force other providers to lower their prices, abroadband will march ahead and gain more custom.
The operator began life earlier this year and looks set to post a healthy profit come the end of 2011. Abroadband was launched by Austrian telecoms giant ‘Telekoms Austria’. The idea was in response to the many complaints by travellers fed up with high data charges when using the internet abroad – hence the name ‘abroadband’. From the get go the service has been designed to counter ever increasing charges on roaming rates imposed by many other operators.
A revealing article that was published by the online magazine ZDnet in March this year showed that the reasons behind high data charges are simply down to profit. As many operators tend to offer many deals and bolt-ons in the domestic markets, many tend to take advantage of the unregulated roaming sector to gain back money. The reaction to this has led to new regulations being introduced in Europe that impose a cap on the amount of data customers can use in a month when travelling. This only applies to countries throughout the EU and abroadband offer their flat rate outside of Europe. So far the service extends to over 50 countries world wide and there are plans to increase this to more by the end of 2011 and into 2012.
Negative reaction to roaming rates outside of Europe has led to calls for other continents and countries to impose caps on other operators to force them to reduce their data charges. Abroadband has already left the competition behind though. The flat rate service is not the only benefit they offer customers. Being aware of the different ways people access the internet, the operator has offered three simple options to meet all connection needs. A worldsim card, a micro sim card and a dongle are all available on initial subscription to the service. With business travel on the increase, dongles and micro sims are becoming more popular. The BBC recently published a report on their website illustrating the different ways people are using to avoid roaming headaches when travelling (source: BBC). Abroadband have taken these methods into consideration and have acted accordingly on their website allowing customers access to connection options to suit their needs.
The abroadband service has been positively reviewed by Mobile Industry Review and looks set to attract more attention before the year is out. According to Ewan MacLeod – the entrepreneur editor of the online magazine – abroadband’s mobile roaming solution is half the cost of the Vodafone roaming plans.
Contact Details: www.abroadband.com
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