[1st-mile-nm] Data Access Costs in Europe AND MEXICO

[C Steven Lucero]

Verizon's Nationwide PLUS Mexico is a voice minutes only service. Additional
data rates apply. However, the bill was so large NOT becuase of Verizon, but
becuase of Telmex (Telcel/America Movil) - Carlos Slim's company. They
charge the most expensive data rates/minute in the World. The data roaming
charges is more than likely what you were billed for, even though Verizon's
plan says they are not billed. OR worse, the Mexican provider was Iusacell,
which declared bankruptcy last year and is charging even more outrageous
Int'l Roaming fees.

There is a rumor that Verizon, for the third time in 7 years, is going to
cancel the Nationwide PLUS Mexico plan. If so, AT&T and Cingular have one as
well. But data will be similarly expensive.

I have the Verizon plan w/Blackberry and do not get billed more than what I
pay as a fixed per month fee, nor for web access on my BlackBerry.


C. Steven Lucero
President
LatinGroup LLC
(505) 217-9212            US Office
(52) 55 5351 4922    Mexico Office

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On Fri, Apr 1, 2011 at 10:22 AM, Ellen Bradbury Reid
<bradbury at recursos.org>wrote:

>  More Verison phone outrage.   We are in Mexico where we have a second
> home.
>
> In September we spent a month here and came back to a huge Verison bill.
>  Before we left for Mexico in September for a month I had asked Verison what
> would be their best Mexico plan, and after a long conversation we choose the
> one they recommended.  When we got home the Verison bill was gigantic, over
> $1000.  We protested and they cut it in half, but apparently never applied
> the credit.  They do not confirm their deals.  So we have their word against
> ours. Meanwhile we continued paying bills that seemed high but normal for
> Verison.
>
> Suddenly last week, while we are back in Mexico, we got a phone message
> from Verison saying that they are cutting off our service because of an
> unpaid bill.  We could not get Verison on the phone, it was after hours, (I
> thought you could get Verison anytime) so we paid some part electronically.
>  We are in and out of service areas, not an uncommon phenomena in rural
> Mexico and the way numbers show up here you cant tell if they tried to call
> us before cutting us off.  When we called Verison, the recordings told us
> three different amounts that we had to pay before being cut off.  We could
> not get a person.
>
> We are not using the Blackberry or the Droid for data, we are using ipad
> and computer, so the data charges should be very small.  We have a Mexican
> phone for local calls.
>
> This trip we signed up for a plan that gives us 8 gig data download for
> $60.  That is really expensive, but not as bad as paying for downloads
> without a plan.  We actually download very infrequently on our phones.
>
> We have a friend who came back from Mexico with a $1000 AT&T iphone bill
> which they waved most of .
>
> What is going on?   Don’t suppose they feel guilty.  Are they getting
> screamed at a lot?
>
> Ellen
>
>
> --
> Ellen Bradbury-Reid
> Recursos de Santa Fe
> 8o5 Early Street, suite 205c
> Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
> phone 505-577-9659
> fax 505-982-7125
>
>
>
>
> on 3/29/11 3:26 PM, Bill Feiereisen at Bill at Feiereisen.Net wrote:
>
> I just returned from a business trip to Europe where I was faced with the
> exorbitant costs of data access that have (apparently) been worked out
> between my (two) American cell providers (AT&T and Verizon) and the local
> mobile companies.
>
> On my last trip, last year, my only data access, other than local wifi, was
> on my Verizon blackberry. At that time I could buy an international data
> package with unlimited data for about $20/month.
>
> In the meantime I have acquired an AT&T iPhone and a Verizon hotspot and
> was hoping to buy an equivalent plan for each, The good folks at Verizon
> told me that the plans changed on January 11, 2011 to limit the amount of
> data to the smart phone and that the costs are now astronomical. Both the
> phone and the hotspot are now limited to rates of about $100 for 75 MB (gone
> in a flash). This is so counter productive that it hardly makes sense to buy
> the data access at all.
>
> Does anyone know what has happened and why this pricing has become so
> punitive? Is this just a result of bad negotiations between the American
> providers and their European counterparts? Or is something else going on?
> What kind of behavior are they trying to incentivize by these changes? Is
> this somehow analogous to the American service provider changes that limit
> data plans in response to increased demand on American networks?
>
> ...Bill
>
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