On 14 September 2005, Vodacom, SA`s leading cellular network, launched Vodafone World, an innovative roaming service with transparent and simplified roaming rates.
Vodafone World makes it easy for Vodacom contract customers who travel abroad to calculate the costs of each and every call they make, and allows for a discounted rate when the customer connects to a Vodafone preferred network.
Asked about this new roaming service and the association with Vodafone, Vodacom`s Chief Operating Officer, Pieter Uys, noted: "Through our alliance with Vodafone, Vodacom is able to bring tangible benefits to consumers in SA. With Vodafone World, Vodacom offers its customers transparent and simple roaming rates, making it easy to calculate the cost of calls and SMS messages while travelling abroad, alleviating the possibility of unpleasant surprises when the customer returns home and receives their bill."
When customers travel abroad and make or receive calls or send SMS messages from their Vodacom cellphone, they are charged a roaming rate that is based on the rates of the foreign network to which they are connected. Before the launch of Vodafone World, roaming charges were different for each individual network, even in the same country where the customer was roaming, which often led to confusion in understanding the rates which were levied for roaming charges on their cellphone bill.
Vodafone World makes it easy for customers to understand and calculate the roaming rates charged for making and receiving calls, as well as send SMS messages. Vodacom divided 157 foreign countries, with the associated networks with which it has roaming agreements, into five different zones with an associated roaming charge for the following events:
* Calls made within the country being visited
* Calls made to SA
* Calls made to any other country in the world
* Calls received while roaming
* SMS messages sent
There are two primary factors that determine the charge levied for calls made when using the Vodafone World service, ie:
1. The country from where the customer is calling, ie each country has been allocated a pricing zone. 2. The network that the customer selects once in that country, ie whether the foreign network is part of the Vodafone Group or a Vodafone Partner network.
A list of preferred Vodafone networks and zones, as well as a detailed explanation of how to accurately determine the roaming rates customers will incur while travelling abroad, is available at www.vodacom.co.za or customers may call Customer Services on 082 111. Customers should note that data usage (on GPRS or 3G, as well as sending MMS messages) while roaming does not currently fall within the scope of the Vodafone World service.
Customers currently provisioned for roaming services, including SMS Roamer, will automatically be connected to the Vodafone World service which means the customer will be able to take advantage of this simplified rate structure.
However, if a customer would like to revert back to the previous rate structure, they can call Customer Services on 082 111. Customers also need to note that a request to change to or from the Vodafone world service can only be done while the customer is in SA and not from a foreign country.
With Vodafone World from Vodacom, roaming call and SMS rates are simplified and easy to understand - take the confusion out of roaming charges and connect to a Vodafone preferred network while travelling abroad. Travel is unpredictable; your cellphone bill shouldn`t be.
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