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Cell Phone Roaming Spending Climbs During Summer Vacation Season
Roaming spending for American mobile phone subscribers rose during the peak summer travel season, according to Telephia. The latest data from Telephia's Customer Value Metrics report shows cell phone subscribers paid 15% more in roaming charges to nearly US$14 in Q3 2005, as compared to just a little over US$12 in Q1 2005. Average roaming rates remained consistent at $0.22 per minute, but the average number of minutes spent roaming increased by seven minutes to 62 minutes during the summer.
"Gone are the days when consumers take a vacation and leave all forms of communications at home," said Tamara Gaffney, Product Director, Telephia. "Cell phones allow vacationers to stay in touch in case of emergencies or to check on the kids. And with the proliferation of camera-ready phones, consumers are able to send instant postcards while on holiday."
Voice roaming charges vary per plan type, with local or regional plans having the highest average roaming charges-as much as US$18 more than national plans. According to Telephia, average local or regional plan roaming charges were US$30.69, as compared to US$22.85 for national anywhere1 plans and US$12.39 for national in-network2 plans. Local and regional plans also had the highest rate of subscribers charged for roaming, at 7.4%.
"Compared to hotel phone charges or using pay phones, mobile phones generally offer much better rates when traveling. However, unexpected roaming charges still surprise many consumers at the end of the month," added Gaffney. "Shopping around for the most appropriate calling plan is key, as differences between local/regional and national plans can spell great savings on roaming charges."
| Plan Type | Local or Regional | National Anywhere | National In-Network |
| Average Voice Roaming Charge | $30.69 | $22.85 | $12.39 |
| Percent of Subscribers with Roaming Charge (%) | 7.4% | 2.2% | 4.8% |
Telephia Average Cell Phone Charges by Plan Calling Area (Q3 2005)
The Telephia Customer Value Metrics (CVM) product is the industry's largest wireless bill collection panel, gathering and analyzing detailed post-paid, consumer billing records monthly for more than 30,000 mobile phone users for the top five wireless service providers."
Posted to the site on 17th November 2005