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Foundation urges rate transparency

The Consumers' Foundation yesterday urged the telecom regulator to help promote information transparency to minimize the difference in roaming fees charged by different mobile phone operators using the same telecom operators overseas.

A study conducted by the foundation showed that the rates charged by Taiwanese operators for roaming services sometimes differ by as much as twofold.

The foundation said that the biggest price difference for making local phone calls overseas and calling back to Taiwan occurred in the US, at 3.15-fold and 2.73-fold respectively.

Meanwhile, the largest price difference for answering phone calls overseas was in the Netherlands, at 3.2-fold.

ROAMING FEES

"The foundation recommends that the National Communications Commission (NCC, 通訊傳播委員) make its inspection standards transparent [to encourage mobile phone operators to] provide information on roaming charges to their customers," foundation chairman Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏) said at a media briefing.

Cheng said that domestic phone operators are technically capable of providing such information as travelers receive a text message from the phone companies informing them of the initiation of roaming services.

NCC commissioner Lin Tsung-nan (林宗男) agreed and said that the commission would establish an upper limit for roaming charges.

"It is a common misconception that callers from Taiwan pay more when in fact the person receiving the phone call overseas is the one who gets charged for the international roaming fee," Lin said.

Cheng advised consumers to do their own research on the best mobile service and fees before traveling overseas.

'NO OVERCHARGING'

In response to the foundation's criticism, Taiwan Mobile Corp (台灣大哥大) said it was foreign telecom operators that decide international roaming rates rather than local telecom firms.

Taiwan Mobile said that local mobile phone companies did not overcharge mobile phone users for roaming services, but only charged users a 10 percent processing fee.
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