One of the key tools to enjoying the benefits of free trade is the ability to communicate in its many forms. It would seem to me that everything is being done to undermine any benefits that may accrue to us as part of the global village.
Although I was swept away when I found out that roaming is as much as $2.94 per minute, I was not surprised because it is true to form; a fleecing of the Caribbean people. Slavery ain't done! They make you sweat for it and then take it with ease, making super-profits.
This price is nearly six times the cost of an international call by card. Why? These carriers are terminating their calls on their own networks for which they already earn the profit at $0.60 per minute. Yet, in the USA, which can hold the Caribbean from end to end many times over, roaming is free. What does this say about how these providers see us? In return for consumer patronage, what are they giving to regional integration? I see, they are targeting the foolish ones who don't check their phone bills and even those who do check but are so affluent-minded that they pay nevertheless.
To tell the truth, guys, you affluent have a duty to those less fortunate to object to such high charges and to yourself that would allow you to save and have a bit more that allows you to give more to the poor. Have a heart, all we ask you to do is complain. Give back to the communities where you came from and left the most unfortunate.
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7 comments:
This price is nearly six times the cost of an international call by card. Why? These carriers are terminating their calls on their own networks for which they already earn the profit at $0.60 per minute. Yet, in the USA, which can hold the Caribbean from end to end many times over, roaming is free.
For your information, there is very little roaming in the US as users are on their own network for most of the time. That why "roaming" as you put it, is free. While C&W PLC owns the carriers in each island, they are separate entities with their own accounting and pricing, which leads to roaming charges between islands.
Are you telling me that all providers own their own networks including landlines, etc. What happens when you want to cross providers? We have digicel here in Barbados and it is also in St. Lucia and Trinidad, yet we pay roaming charges when we go those places. You are not being very logical or explanatory. Intelligent explanations cannot have such holes.
One big factor that most people (like yourselves) never take into consideration with the North America versus Caribbean pricing schemes is the economies of scale.
With the US having a population of over 300 million compared to less than 1 million among the Eastern Caribbean islands, the cost per subscriber in the US is a lot less and those telecoms companies can afford to absorb more of the cost than Caribbean providers can.
Come on IsuzuCrewCab. What are you talking about? As small as we are they earn more profits per invested dollar here than anywhere else in the world.
You seem to have an agenda... or alternatively some baggage. What economies of scale are you talking about? I don't think you know what the phrase mean. the phrase "Economies of scale" is used to describe or measure the cost advantages that a firm obtains due to expansion; where each stage is a de facto business in itself.
Therefore you cannot use this phrase to describe a small or large business in a sector.
I think you are getting a bit besides yourself. Make a positive contribution and not try any psychological arm-wrenching to get your point across; which don't hold water in the first place...
You seem to have an agenda
Of course I have an agenda.. and it is to see fair, unbiased reporting on any and all consumer issues. Not the lop-sided attacks that you and yours have against one entity in Barbados and the Caribbean (which by the way seems to be your agenda).
How amazing it is, that in your blog, you mention C&W by name (with which I have no problem), but yet you cannot mention the supermarket or the tyre companies by name??
What economies of scale are you talking about? I don't think you know what the phrase mean. the phrase "Economies of scale" is used to describe or measure the cost advantages that a firm obtains due to expansion; where each stage is a de facto business in itself.
According to businessdictionary.com, Economies of scale are -Reduction in long-run average and marginal costs, due to increase in size of an operating unit (a factory or plant, for example). Economics of scale can be internal to a firm (cost reduction due to technological and management factors) or external (cost reduction due to the effect of technology in an industry).
That is exactly what I am speaking of. Do you think that any carrier in the Caribbean or any other small jurisdiction like ours can obtain the sort of discounts that a major player like ATT or Verizon can get due to the number of ports that they are purchasing?? Or the number of rolls of fibre optic cable? That is economies of scale.
US carriers are not subject to increased costs like shipping on the scale that small islands are. What about US carriers not having to purchase bandwidth on undersea fibre systems to get access to the US and Europe?
You need to take the full picture into perspective before you place your arguments in order that this blog be taken seriously. In this regard, I and quite a few others believe that you have failed.
Well IsuzuCrewCab, you make it sound so convincing but if you really mean economies of scale, then I think you have the wrong basis for your submission.
More than ever, I would say to you that you are very quick to criticise and for somebody who is concerned with fair reporting but not doing it yourself seems to be a kind of dichotomy in itself.
My take on you is that you are not interested in fair reporting but you are more concerned with defending C&W. You obviously have some 'stake' or 'take'.
Nevertheless, tell me how you can charge $0.49/minute for an international call to any island but charge a roaming fee of $1.47/ per minute (all US Currency)?
Discounts are part of the equation but this is all about interconnection agreements and one provider trying to dominate by selling retail and wholesale at the same price. This has nothing at all to do with economies of scale.
This is reflected in the rates between cell phone of the same provider. For example, both C&W and DIGICEL charge as low as between 5 cents and 10 cents on weekends for calls, yet to cross providers during the weekend jumps to 50 cents. Tell me why? Where is the economy of scale? where is the discounts?
there is an old saying which goes, "when the elephants fight, ants die." That is what is happening here and I am at a lost to understand how somebody could talk about fair and defend such vicious strategies where the consumer is being trampled.
You are the one not being fair. By the way, how does your definition of economies of scale differ from what I wrote?
Finally, if you and your friends feel that the creators of this blog have failed, then why don't you capitalise and start one that will succeed. I am sure that we would love it and that all those following this blog would immediately switch.
The only thing you convince me of is your allegiance to C&W whether they are right or wrong and you could not care less about those who are getting fleeced. Well I getting fleeced and I intend to do something about it. So if it means ruffling your feathers, Amen!
The way things are set up there isn't much roaming in the USA unless you go into mountainous areas where signal bouncing from tower to tower has to be done.With regards to Barbados I however believe that C&W is ripping off consumers. I know that there are not many choices of carriers as we have here in the USA but Barbadians have to fight and make sacrifices,such as withdrawing their patronage of C&W and going to another carrier like Digicel.It might not make a significant difference but if a move is not made C&W will always feel that it has the upper hand and will continue to run roughshod over Barbadian consumers.
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