My Vodafone-free Miami visit

So I’ve been in Miami for 24 hours now and I remain absolutely disgusted at Vodafone’s stupid, neolithic roaming rates for both voice, text and data. It obviously bothers me a great deal generally, but when I’m actually abroad, it really, really winds me up.

So I’ve taken a stand. I have refused to give the company more cash than is absolutely necessary. I’ve gone WiFi-only. And you know what, it’s been rather pleasant.

There is, of course, many a time when it is impossible to do this. But staying at a large hotel complex with crazy-fast WiFi makes it really easy. I had to speak with Andy from recombu.com earlier in the day. If it had been 75p + the standard rates I pay, I’d have phoned him. Instead I Skyped him. Job done.

Then I used Apple’s FaceTime direct from the press room at the MEF Americas event to call my wife and baby. Ridiculously cool. Crazily easy. Utterly free (apart from the SMS setup charge). We ‘videoed’ for 10 minutes or so. Twice.

I turned off cellular data roaming on the BlackBerry and switched it to the blanket WiFi at the hotel. This was totally transparent. I didn’t notice a difference as the BlackBerry system just routed everything via WiFi without a hiccup. Email, instant messages, BBM, Google Sync, Gmail — no problem.

Needless to say the iPhone loved the WiFi.

I’m seriously considering what I could do to further strip Vodafone (and my other network operator accounts) out of my life. They’re adding fcuk-all value to me now. I’m utterly furious that they’re still lazily charging bollocks amounts of money for simple, commoditised services. I wonder if it’s time to strip back my cellular activities to a Truphone PAYG SIM card and a 3UK PAYG MiFi device.

I’m sick and tired of the mindless drivel that the operators feed me when I enquire as to their inability to deliver sensible roaming rates. To argue that it’s logistically challenging or that it’s ‘a bit difficult’ therefore it’s 135p a minute really doesn’t wash anymore. It did a few years ago. But not now.

What have you done for me lately Vodafone, other than continue taking 200 quid a month on average from me?

And even when I’m paying that much consistently, you haven’t thought to do-me-a-deal on international roaming? Perhaps you don’t think the relationship works that way. Perhaps your viewpoint is that it’s my problem, that I’m failing to understand that I agreed to a set of terms and conditions when I signed up to the contract and… Yada yada.

The game of mobile service provision is changing dramatically. I’m astounded to be able to transact business perfectly fine without Vodafone here in Miami (or via their partners T-Mobile and AT&T, both who in the Miami area — by the way — wouldn’t know a 3G signal if it punched them in the face). Normally I do some kind of WiFi/Cellular mix. With the emphasis on Cellular roaming as it’s easier.

Just like I realised — a year or so ago — that I was blowing almost 500 a month on Vodafone (and promptly changed to a lower set of price plans without objection from the call centre there), I think it’s high time I reduced the amount of expenditure I make with them. Why bother rewarding them for anything beyond commodity service — that’s generally better priced on PAYG? It used to be about the contract, the ‘free phone’, the operator-as-an-equipment-financier. But not any more. Not with 24-month contracts with even less included subsidy. No.

135 pence per minute, Vodafone? Come on. 3 pounds per meg of data? Where is the price innovation?

For the avoidance of doubt, I’m feeling the same with my other operators — just Vodafone is my primary supplier hence my focus on them.

Do you have any suggestions for stripping out the operator and relegating them to true utility status? I’d welcome your ideas.

[By the way, I wonder if some enterprising readers could identify the department in Vodafone UK who actually manages this roaming policy. I’d like to offer them the right of reply, if they are at all interested.]

Posted via email from MIR Live