Consumers' ‘right to roam': Are operators missing a trick?

· 75 per cent of consumers believe they are ‘over-charged’ when using their phone abroad

· 62 per cent of consumers admit they are completely unaware of roaming charges

· 42 per cent of consumers would use their phone more if they were aware of their real time spending

· 22 per cent want to use their phone more for social networking

RESEARCH published today shows that the EU roaming legislation coming in to force today will be widely embraced by consumers since currently only 12 per cent use their mobile abroad as much as they do at home.

Operators are missing crucial revenue opportunities, as the research reveals that consumers are abandoning their usual mobile habits, despite their appetite to browse the internet, update their social networking status, as well as talking and texting when holidaying. Over two thirds (62 per cent) of consumers admit to not knowing how much it costs to use their phone abroad and only one in ten (10 per cent) feel they are being charged a fair price, according to the research published by Acision, the messaging business.

The research shows that if consumers were able to set a limit on their spending when using their mobile phone abroad, 42 per cent confirmed they would use their mobile more. Similarly, if operators were to offer more specific bundles for subscribers when abroad, targeted at individual usage patterns, over two thirds (67 per cent) of consumers would buy a bundle to phone or text those at home. Surprisingly, 30 per cent would buy a bundle to talk and text with fellow travellers, while 11 per cent would buy a data package to access the internet.

“The EU roaming legislation announced today is a step in the right direction, but for a growing percentage of consumers, this isn’t going far enough, as they want to access data services such as mobile internet and social networking applications just like they do at home, and this remains costly,” explained Mike Beech, VP, Product Management, Acision. “Our research reveals that consumers would be put at ease and would actually use their mobile phone more when abroad if they were able to view their real-time spending. With the next round of legislation insisting just this, operators need to make sure they are prepared to meet the new requirements and provide consumers with the services they want.”

If roaming charges weren’t so costly, over half (54 per cent) of consumers said they would like to talk and text more with people back at home and over a third (35 per cent) would send their holiday snaps via their mobile to friends and family. There is also increasing consumer demand to access mobile applications and services when abroad, with 22 per cent of consumers saying they would visit social networking sites, 18 per cent would watch TV and 11 per cent would download TV programmes or movies.

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