Orly Nesher, VP Marketing at Starhome,  discusses the need for operators to ensure price visibility, and increase awareness of the features available, to encourage revenues from mobile data roaming in the face of falling prices

The issue of mobile roaming was once again one of the hot topics across
Europe this summer, with the announcements surrounding the European
Unions new Roaming Regulations. The EU Commission for Information
Society and Media, which regulates the charges of mobile phone use when
abroad in the EU, has introduced price caps for voice calls. The ruling
caps the rates that operators can charge each other while subscribers
are roaming in the EU, but more importantly, limits the tariffs an
operator can charge its customers.
Subsequently,
the ceiling for roaming tariffs has been set to gradually decrease over
the next three years. Presently this only applies to voice calls within
the EU, regardless of whether you are a pre- or post-paid customer, and
thanks to the new EU law, subscribers have benefited from improved
transparency of charges since 1 October. When subscribers cross from
one EU state to another, they receive an SMS informing them of the
price they can expect to pay for making and receiving calls during
their time in that country. This message is free, and is designed to
allow the user to seek more detailed prices by SMS if desired.

At present, this does not apply to other mobile phone services, such as SMS, MMS or data transfers, but this latest development has thrust the issue of visibility, awareness and relevance to the consumer into the spotlight. Currently, the EU law does not require operators to provide its customers with clear outlines of the costs involved when using mobile data services while roaming, but it is considering this move, and has recommended that operators reduce tariffs voluntarily and perhaps they should. If subscribers found mobile data tariffs clearer, potentially, they would be encouraged to make more use of mobile data services when roaming.

Cost concern
Mobile phones have become the mainstay of modern life, and most users cannot do without voice when they roam. This is not the case with mobile data services, where operators are still trying to encourage the widescale use of these services on the home network, due to the main concern cost.  Add to this the charges incurred when roaming, and you begin to understand why many mobile roamers simply stop using data services at the airport.
Facts such as these demonstrate the critical requirement for operators to employ a service which not only makes mobile data service costs visible to the subscriber, but also encourages awareness of the services available.
Even though operators have invested heavily to enable basic roaming services and technology, there are actually few resources dedicated to proactively provide outbound and inbound subscribers with data roaming suites. Operators need to take advantage of the recent trend with Mobile 2.0 and the introduction of new content sites made specifically for mobile. When subscribers roam, operators are presented with an ideal opportunity to encourage the use of mobile data services, as there is a plethora of premium data services a user could benefit from.
For example, by leveraging the operators infrastructure, it is possible to know where in which country the subscriber is, and offer data services relevant to that region, such as city guides, phrase books, weather forecasts and currency exchanges. It is also important to note that the data services do not necessarily have to be third party products, but can also be information from the operator to encourage usage, such as offering the opportunity to send an MMS postcard. All these services are easily accessible to subscribers when roaming, but they need to be made aware of them and encouraged to use them by keeping the price visible.

Price transparency
Price transparency is the key. If customers understand how much they will have to pay for a service, they will no longer fear it.  Data roaming prices are often difficult to find and can be confusing, as they are charged by the megabyte. Attempting to understand these costs has been a turn off for subscribers, who either simply switch off the services at the airport, or churn by buying a local SIM.
With the advent of fixed mobile convergence (FMC) technologies, a simple way operators can avoid this type of churn and the subsequent lost revenue potential is by offering their own low-cost, convergent, mobile to IP roaming service. To achieve this, mobile operators provide end users with the ability to simply connect their laptop to any IP network and make and receive calls as well as use mobile data services using their own number their own MSISDN (mobile subscriber ISDN). 
This is ideal for business travellers or young people travelling who have access to laptops/internet cafes and want to send and receive data from their own personal number without the additional cost involved. Based on newly emerging SIP technology offering seamless FMC, the huge advantage to the subscriber is the increased visibility of the cost of data services. Subscribers will be charged by the minute, much the same as when they use the Internet, rather than by megabyte, a form of billing most are far more comfortable with.
In the case of subscribers who are unable to connect to an IP network data service, price visibility should also be a key factor but what can be done? It is not enough to only send an SMS upon arrival to encourage first time usage of mobile data services when roaming; operators need to ensure subscribers continue to use these services. We are seeing more European operators implementing and discussing fixed tariff policies that relate to data consumption, which is a step in the right direction, but more can be done. After every session, the mobile operator should tell subscribers via a free SMS exactly how much they have spent using the service. Users believe mobile data services are expensive when roaming, but if they knew exactly how much they were spending, or were encouraged to try services on partner networks for much cheaper prices, they could potentially be encouraged to use these services more often.
If confusion and fear are removed, and the customer understands exactly how much they have to pay for data services when roaming, there is potential to see an increase in usage, which will counteract any proposed cap in prices. So before operators are forced by EU regulations to provide visibility of mobile data roaming tariffs, you can get ahead of the game by ensuring you have a system in place which encourages awareness of the services available and makes pricing visible, rather than invisible.