Having a mobile phone makes it easy to communicate with friends and other people. However, roaming fees are a nuisance and they can be expensive. This week’s article is about the actions of one company to address this problem and, in doing so, attract customers. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that addresses my questions and expresses your opinion about the article.
How much are you and the people you know affected by roaming charges? Will Zain’s decision make a difference in the number of subscribers that they attract? Would it cause you to change service providers? The program director for Zain states in reference to roaming charges that “It is something that should be replaced by more innovative stuff.” What innovations would you initiate if you were in charge of the company? What do you think will happen to mobile phone service on a global scale?
24 comments:
Well, my dad travels a lot and I tend to chase after him often leaving me without a cell-phone for m because roaming fees are to expensive and simply not worth it. The dropping off these fees will allow me to utilize my phone and my dad will be able to call from his phone anywhere without having to think about how many minutes he's spent on it.
I think between Zain and Orange, this may gain some more converters towards Zain. I'm already part of it but I can see businesses who travel a lot will switch to this provider.
I do agree, roaming is dead. It's an old technological deal that can now be replaced with something such as mobile video communications.
I think now we will have providers fighting on a global scale, not just per country. This may create monopolies or it will increase benefits for customers because they will fight against each other to gain customers
Roaming is such a nuisance to me because my family travels a lot so I end up with no cell phone because roaming is way too expensive, so I have to say that I am affected a lot with the roaming system because it kind of makes me feel "disconnected", and of course Zain’s decision will make a difference because a huge amount of people are bothered with those fees, and I am sure that it will attract numerous amount of new customers including me because I would love to stop worrying about the fees when ever I use the phone in other countries.
I don’t really know what would I replace it with because I do not know a lot about this issue but I will definitely change the roaming fees problem that has irritated all of the customers including me, so if thee roaming fees are canceled, I bet that almost the entire globe will join Zain if it was worldwide.
Roaming really has little or no effect on me. I do travel quite often, but whenever I’m in a new country I would usually just buy a new sim card, which costs like 10JD or less depending on the country your in. But that apparently isn't what everyone else does. So in my opinion it does have quite a negative effect on many people. Zaids decision will obviously make a drastic change, some people for example don’t want to keep buying new sim cards each time they enter a new country, they would simply rather use one worldwide, with no additional fees. So they will without a doubt attract millions, specifically businessmen and people who travel quite often. Yes, I would change my service provider in exchange for no roaming fees. As I mentioned earlier, I would buy a new sim card every time I’m in a new country, so rather than having a dozen sim cards, id rather just have one which is capable of calling from any location with no additional fees.
Well, for innovation we would need something entirely unique and different. First I’d cancel roaming fees, in which I’d establish worldwide company recognition, where I assume the company would make loads. With the money made, I’ll invest into new technology such as video communications, which will take the world by surprise. With the current customer / consumer base you already had due to you canceling roaming fees, you would almost be guaranteed a strong customer base for new innovation. Slowly companies will follow the domino effect, in which Zaid will start even larger networks to cancel roaming fees and other companies will follow. It's simply booming worldwide, as more and more third world countries are developing.
I am affected by roaming fees, but not within the Middle East. For calling the States and Lebanon, I use Skype which isn't of very good quality. It would be great to be able to call either of those countries on my cellphone. I think that Zain's decision will attract many new users, especially as Middle Easterners are spreading all over the world. Iraqis in Jordan can now call their families in Baghdad and afford it. It won't cause me to switch mobile providers, because, like I said, I only really call the States, Jordan and Lebanon. I hope one day it's possible to make cheap calls to anywhere in the world, but it doesn't seem like that will happen for a while--companies need to make money, after all.
I was only affected by roaming charges once since I’ve been in the Middle East. I was affected when I took my Jordanian phone to Lebanon. It used all of my credit in two minutes of talking. I think this will attract more members to Zain. This might make me change from Orange to Zain because I travel a lot. I'm not sure what will take place of roaming but I hope it is something cool and free. I think if Zain goes to a Global Scale everyone will join it.
OmarG
I first heard about roaming fees turning into local fees from my uncle, but I didn't believe him. It didn't seem possible to me that a cell-phone network would give up roaming fees. However, reading this article confirms what I heard from my uncle. I think it's a great idea what Zain is doing with the international call fees. Roaming has always been such a hassle for me. Whenever I was on a school trip, I had to recharge my credit so many times because even though my parents were the ones calling me, it would deduct all of my credit instantly. While I was living in Saudi, I would vacation in Jordan and have to buy a Jordanian number because roaming was too expensive and now that I live here I vacation in Dubai so I have an Emarati number as well. It's a hassle. What I'm really looking forward to is being able to use my Zain number when I'm in Eygpt for college. It's going to enable me to contact my parents and friends in Jordan without having to spend most of my money on bills and phone cards!! =)
Well, roaming charges can affect me because it will limit my cell phone usage when I am out of town. Zain’s decision will increase number of subscribers because of its attractive price. I am already using Zain so it would not affect me. If I were in charge of the company, I would do promotions such as events that give away pre-paid card. If the roaming fee will be cheaper, then more people will use mobile phone.
Well, I am affected by roaming charges more than most other people because much of my family, including my father, live in other countries, thus I fall prey to roaming fees. Zain's decision will definitely give them an edge in the telecommunications market. Many people who have family or businesses that require them to make international phone calls will see this as an opportunity to cut back on potential losses. I would not change my service provider however, because I already am subscribed to Zain. However, if I did subscribe to a different network, I would prefer Zain, they just seem to be the logical choice. It is my opinion that the program director for Zain merely meant to state that they should find more creative ways to tax their subscribers. One innovative way that they could achieve such a means is by introducing such things as news letters and other multimedia for a person's phone for a price, or by creating such things as a credit lottery, where mobile users can use the credit on their mobiles to buy a ticket for the Zain electronic lottery, and every month there would be a draw. People will always be interested in a get rich quick scheme, and Zain will get to bank on some of the money invested in the lottery. It sounds like Zain may be at a loss with the lottery idea, but really these people are giving Zain their credits for absolutely no service, so the idea is innovative, but practical. Mobile services on a global scale will probably start to escalate in places where there are investments to be made and businesses to be opened, but some areas will hold stead-fast to their right to add roaming charges, like European telecommunication networks, which will probably minimize the expectant surge in global mobile phone services.
I am personally very affected by the roaming charges because I always find myself faced with a situation where a friend or member of my family is traveling and the roaming fees are so expensive i find myself looking for alternatives to communicating with them. I think zain's decision will seriously affect the amount of customers, and like the article says, it will make up for the 10 percent revenue they formerly recieved from roaming fees. I am already a user of Zain, but if i wansn't I would switch networks for this feature. When it comes to innovations, I personally don't understand the details in controlling a mobile network, but i would look for things to make phone calls, messaging, etc, more user friendly and to solve the many problems that surround them. If every mobile network applied this change, then it will dramatically affect the amounts of phone calls being made globally, I think this number will increase.
By Nadine
Since I travel a lot, I am very much affected by roaming charges. Zain will be attracting a lot of subscribers through its new scheme. I would probably change my service provider with such a nice scheme. It could make its service better by including videophone calls or better network coverage. The mobile phone service will be facing more competition, and to make it more attractive to consumers it will take out new and schemes. For competition brings innovation.
I’m not really affected by high roaming fees since I personally don’t move a lot. Yet I’m pretty sure those who travel a lot would be definitely affected by roaming fees. Zain made a smart move. It will absolutely attract tons of customers. George Held, program director for Zain said that roaming is dead in the article. Yes. Roaming is dead, and I’m saying this from the customer’s perspective. I’d also like to change my service provider. This innovative change will probably cause more worldwide competitions among service providers.
I am affected a lot by roaming fees. When I am in a country other than Jordan my parents don't want me to call much because it is so expensive. One text message costs about half a JD and a call costs about one JD to connect. Zain's decision to get rid of roaming fees will definitely attract more customers. Why wouldn't it? Zain's decision will definitely not make me change service providers because Zain is already my provider. I think (and hope) that eventually there will no longer be roaming fees on a world wide scale.
I actually do travel a lot just because both of my parents are in the military and i do not appreciate the roaming fees that I am charged with just to make a simple call to a relative. We shouldn't have to pay extra just to call a family member to make sure that they're safe. I do think that Zain will now be attracting a lot more customers because of its new scheme. I personally don't obtain Zain, but I do have Orange. I'm thinking of switching to Zain now.
Mr. Beyer this is Salahs new (and hopefully last) account. If he forgets his username it is salahsquared@hotmail.com
A lot, because I travel a lot and i keep my phone on at all times and I get charged a lot of money even if I don't call or send an SMS to anyone. It's usually because I get charged when other people send me SMS's or call me. That's the one thing I dislike about roaming. Yes, Zains decision will make an impact because its one of the best cellular operators in the Middle East. If Zain changes drops their roaming charges then I will definitely change service providers. I think that SMS's are too expensive and if I were to change anything I would lower the cost of them and I would change the roaming services so that a person wouldn't get charged just because other people call or SMS them.
Personally, I will be greatly affected by a change in roaming services. I am the type of person that is constantly travelling and still using their phone. This qualifies me as a valuable customer for the roaming service charges for Orange. If Orange does not change their roaming services charges then I will force myself to switch to Zain. I think the whole point behind Zain’s risky marketing technique is to attract customers like me who are willing to change their network for the sake of getting better roaming service. So, I think that that yes, this decision that Zain has made will make a great difference and make good revenue. The negative side to this action is that I believe this roaming service deal is only periodic. I think after maybe two or three years Zain’s directors will decide that it is time to go back to the normal price ranges or the rest of the networks decide to join Zain in having a cheaper roaming service fee.
I am losing a lot of money because of that. I use my phone a lot when I’m on vacation, it’s not just that I’m also paying when people call me or send me messages. What I hate about roaming is that I also get paid when people call me. Yes, off course it has a huge impact because most of the people in Jordan and the people I know use zain. I will defiantly change my service provider if the rates do not go down. If I were to change something in zain it would be their rates. If that happens I think that a lot of people will leave their service providers and join zain because that’s what the majority looks at.
My family for one suffers greatly from roaming charges because my brother and my sister live in Canada and because of us being in different countries, we have to pay more to call them. They have to pay more as well to contact us. I know many other people who are like that because they tend to contact people who live in different countries and the roaming charges are expensive. Of course Zain’s decision will make a difference in their subscribers. They will for sure attract a lot more people. I for one would switch to Zain if I were Orange because I wouldn’t have to pay as much. The fees are a lot cheaper which will attract many people. Yes if it is cheaper and the bills and fees are cheaper I would definitely. Innovations that I would initiate are just make international calls cheaper, along with messaging. At the moment there is a new way of not having to pay so much for fees and roaming charges. For example my siblings live in Canada, and I would want to contact them everyday, I would buy a phone line that is of a Canadian number so when I call, it would be a local call, which is cheaper. If it is globalized than there will be a lot more subscribers and users to the company.
My family for one suffers greatly from roaming charges because my brother and my sister live in Canada and because of us being in different countries, we have to pay more to call them. They have to pay more as well to contact us. I know many other people who are like that because they tend to contact people who live in different countries and the roaming charges are expensive. Of course Zain’s decision will make a difference in their subscribers. They will for sure attract a lot more people. I for one would switch to Zain if I were Orange because I wouldn’t have to pay as much. The fees are a lot cheaper which will attract many people. Yes if it is cheaper and the bills and fees are cheaper I would definitely. Innovations that I would initiate are just make international calls cheaper, along with messaging. At the moment there is a new way of not having to pay so much for fees and roaming charges. For example my siblings live in Canada, and I would want to contact them everyday, I would buy a phone line that is of a Canadian number so when I call, it would be a local call, which is cheaper. If it is globalized than there will be a lot more subscribers and users to the company.
I am affected and so are many other people because there are millions of users in Jordan who use Zain as their operator. I think it will increase the number of subscribers because roaming prices are too expensive. If I weren’t a subscriber I would switch to Zain because I travel a lot. i believe that Zain would be a success on a global scale.
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