Data Angel

Stuff reports:

Vodafone says its customers will no longer be able to run up unexpected bills surfing the web or checking email on smartphones or computers when travelling overseas.

A new system, Data Angel, means its customers will be prompted to buy data when they switch on their phones or devices after arriving in a country. They will receive a warning once they have used 80 per cent of their allowance and will need to buy extra data in order to continue accessing the internet once that runs out.

That sounds a good system. One thing unclear though is whether you have to prepay for data which you may not use, or whether you can use it just to notify you of your data usage but on pay as you go?

Vodafone said the system was a “world first”. It has at the same time cut the cost of data for New Zealanders visiting Australia by 70 per cent to $15 for 100 megabytes.

Getting better. But $150 a gig still way too high. The real solution is having roaming rates say no more than double local rates.