We reported last week that WIND Mobile was in the process of many changes to make them even more attractive to potential customers and kinder to their current subscribers – one change was that today they would lower their roaming charges. WIND Mobile that operates in the GTA, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver areas had subscribers that were very upset about the high costs of roaming charges they had to pay when they would travel out of their home area or to the U.S.
They also activated HSPA+ service across Canada and working with Rogers, their roaming partner, in areas where Rogers offers Dual-Carrier HSPA+, WIND Mobile customers can take advantage of theoretical speeds that will reach a maximum of 42.2Mbps down and 11Mbps up. WIND does not offer the option they extend to their U.S. travelers for unlimited 3G roaming, but they did lower the price significantly – calls in both countries dropped to $.15 per minute, text is down to $.05 for each outgoing (FREE to incoming) and only $.05 per MB of data…down from $1.00 per MB before the switch.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has been looking into unfair practices and stated, “there were clear instances of unjust discrimination and undue preference by Rogers Communications Partnership…[in regards to] the wholesale mobile wireless roaming rates it charged certain new entrants.” As a stopgap measure, the Telecommunications Act was modified to keep the incumbents from charging more to their partnered networks than they charged their own customers. They also banned exclusivity agreements and now allow the smaller networks like WIND to seek out supplemental agreements with more than one company.
Mirko Rugarli, WIND’s chief marketing officer said, “WIND Mobile is offering Canadians exactly what they’ve asked for. We know that almost 50 per cent of Canadians are concerned with paying roaming fees within their home country, and that doesn’t include U.S. travel. That’s why we’re committed to giving Canadians the choice for true mobile freedom and the fourth national carrier that they deserve.”
While this does not affect WIND Mobile’s home market in any way, it certainly lowers the costs when its customers must travel in areas where WIND itself does not have any towers. This move should help many of their current subscribers lower their monthly bill, as roaming can be quite common in Canada. Please hook up with us on our Google+ Page and let us know if this change will help save you money…as always, we would love to hear from you.