International Mobile Roaming in Asia and the Pacific Islands

38 Pages Posted: 10 Aug 2010

See all articles by Ewan Sutherland

Ewan Sutherland

University of the Witwatersrand, LINK Centre

Date Written: August 12, 2010

Abstract

This paper examines how issues concerning international mobile roaming have been addressed in Asia and the Pacific Islands by governments, regulators and operators. The complaints of consumers and business users have been that rates are too high, a problem accentuated by a small number of incidents of “bill shock” in which customers are invoiced for thousands of dollars. Prices have remained high, despite generally supposed competition in mobile markets (e.g., no change in Australia-New Zealand roaming rates between 2007 and 2010). Often information about prices is difficult to obtain or overly complex for customers.

Discussions in regional bodies (e.g., APEC and ASEAN) have, as yet, produced few results. The example of the European Union which regulated roaming prices is impossible to emulate, for lack of a trans-national legal basis.

Keywords: roaming, Asia, mobile, wireless

Suggested Citation

Sutherland, Ewan, International Mobile Roaming in Asia and the Pacific Islands (August 12, 2010). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1639378 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1639378

Ewan Sutherland (Contact Author)

University of the Witwatersrand, LINK Centre ( email )

1 Jan Smuts Avenue
Wits
Johannesburg, Gauteng 2000
South Africa

HOME PAGE: http://link.wits.ac.za/

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