Cost of standard data roaming rates in Australia cut in half

MEDIA RELEASE
13 May 2011

Cost of standard data roaming rates in Australia cut in half

2degrees has halved the cost of using mobile data while in Australia.

New Zealand’s newest mobile provider has dropped its trans-Tasman data roaming rates for customers travelling to Australia to at least 50% of its competitors’ rates. 2degrees pre-pay and pay monthly customers now pay the reduced casual user rate of $2.50 per MB – the best available casual data rate in New Zealand.

2degrees has also dropped its trans-Tasman calling costs to 44c a minute, so its pre-pay and pay monthly customers will now be able to phone home from Australia at the same rate as a standard national 2degrees prepay call.

2degrees has been able to negotiate a better roaming agreement, and is immediately passing the savings on to its customers.

“Roaming in Australia is becoming increasingly important to our customers, including local businesses,” says 2degrees Chief Marketing Officer Larrie Moore. “This new roaming agreement lets us offer New Zealanders the best casual data rate and the same low pricing for calls in Australia that our customers enjoy at home. It’s our first step towards making roaming simple and reducing the cost for New Zealanders travelling abroad.”

To offer an even better rate, 2degrees has also introduced the country’s first international data roaming bundles, which gives consumers the ability to pre-purchase bundles of data to use the internet while abroad. The data roaming bundles, which start from $20 for 10MB of data and bring data roaming rates as low as $1 per MB, can be used seamlessly across Australia, the UK and the United States for 30 days.

“If a customer likes to check their email or surf the net regularly while away, they’d be better off buying a bundle of data,” Moore added. “Pre-purchasing a bundle of data before they leave or on arrival means they won’t pay more than they bargained for.”

As part of a move to address the price of roaming, 2degrees has also reduced data roaming rates to $2.50 per MB for the UK and USA - which, combined with Australia, make up almost 60% of New Zealanders’ international travel.

2degrees currently covers 97% of the destinations Kiwis travel to work and play, and in the coming months will continue to expand its price leading position to the most popular destinations.

ENDS

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