Israeli travelers take note: the rules of the game are about to change. The mobile telephony market for Israeli travelers abroad will be opened to competition, through the Ministry of Communications’ soon-to-be-launched overseas roaming reform. Yesterday, the Communications Ministry announced a hearing for international roaming services, in order to prevent the “captive customer abroad” phenomenon.
The aim of the reform is for customers of a particular mobile operator to be able to “migrate” their phone numbers to another mobile operator for the duration of their time abroad, in order to pay reduced rates for calls to Israel, with no minimum number of “migration” days.
In such a situation, Golan Telecom Ltd. - which offers the lowest rates and the easiest subscription process today - would presumably see many customers “migrate” to their service when they travel abroad, unless the other companies match the competition.
According to Minister of Communications Gilad Erdan, “Customers pay extortionate prices for phone and data services abroad. Opening the market to competition will bring about a significant reduction in prices.”
When will the reform go into effect? The mobile operators received the hearing announcement yesterday, and they have one month to respond. A few weeks later, the Ministry of Communications will make decisions based on their responses. It is estimated that the reform will go into effect within six months.
Another measure addresses per-minute call rates from abroad: Today, most of the international roaming services are billed by minute and by megabyte, rather than by second or by kilobyte, which would reflect actual consumption.
But, meanwhile, the many Israelis who are planning to travel abroad in the near future should check rates carefully. If you don’t sign up for an overseas package before leaving Israel, you will pay tens of shekels per minute, for example: NIS 30/minute for a call from France on Orange franchisee Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR), or NIS 25/minute for a call from the US on Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE:CEL; TASE:CEL)
Does it really makes sense than an occasional customer who dials Israel and talks for ten minutes will pay NIS 300 for a conversation, while an “all included” plan costs a third, or a quarter of this for an entire month? Do these prices really reflect the usage fees that the Israel mobile operators pay the companies that host the call abroad? Of course not, but this is how consumers are forced to buy plans that allow them to pay reasonable rates for calls from abroad.
The idea is, under the plan, that outgoing calls will be executed as “Call Back” calls, in other words, you dial a number in Israel, the call disconnects, and calls back a few seconds later. So instead of being hosted on a foreign network for the outgoing call, the call comes in from the network in Israel.
It should be noted that all the mobile carriers have seen a significant reduction in the number of messages sent from abroad, due to services such as WhatsApp, and the number of calls has also decreased, in favor of calls made over the Internet. In light of this, the bulk of payment for services abroad are the service fees themselves, and only a small portion is for the actual conversations.
Either way, there are those who prefer to have the option of calling or sending messages without being dependent upon data packages or WiFi in hotels or public places.
Most of the packages (except Orange, 012, and the new Pelephone Communications Ltd. package - more on this later) do not include an Internet package for roaming abroad. These plans, which most companies sell separately, allow for calls to made over the Internet, using services such as Viber and Skype. So, in effect, for a customer to be able to surf the Internet and to talk on the phone, he or she must pay (a lot) for two separate services. This trend is the opposite of the trend have seen with the “mobile revolution” in Israel, with the rise of “all included” packages.
What do the companies offer?
The mobile companies offer three main options for those who do not wish to pay a fortune for each and every call they make: the first - an overseas plan that includes (high) flat fees, and a charge for each call/message; the second - reduced rates for Call Back; the third - to purchase a separate SIM card that can be used for all your trips abroad.
Unfortunately, most of the mobile companies employ the first, expensive option - which forces travelers to pay for a travel plan, and for each conversation on top of that. The plan includes a fee for each trip (usually up to 30 days) and rates of tens of agorot for each message or minute of talk time.
Golan Telecom has a simpler plan: reduced rates (NIS 0.35 or NIS 0.99 per minute) for Call Back services, with no fixed fee for each trip, and with no need to buy a SIM card. On HOT Mobile Ltd., such a plan would cost NIS 2 per minute/ message. All these plans are only relevant for the companies’ existing subscribers.
Things are different with Hot Mobile and Rami Levy, which offer (all customers) the option of buying a SIM card that allows for reduced rates from abroad on every trip, with a fixed international number - this option may be particularly useful for frequent fliers.
How much will we pay?
Golan Telecom:
Golan continues to offer the lowest rates in the market: NIS 0.35 per minute from Europe, and NIS 0.99 per minute from the US. Each text message costs NIS 0.99. There is no need to register in advance or make additional payments, but you must take care to use the Call Back service, as direct dialing will cost NIS 2 from Europe and NIS 3 from the US.
Partner - Orange:
The overseas plan requires that the customer pay a relatively high fee for each trip, which is priced as a talk-time/message/data package. A package worth NIS 190 costs NIS 148.5 (if you order online). Such a package includes 105 usage units, so, if you do not use it all, you end up paying more per minute. If you exceed the limit, each additional usage unit (minute/message/data) will cost NIS 2.5. This price is down from last year, when it was NIS 171.
Cellcom:
Rates for travelers have not changed since the summer of 2013. You pay NIS 75 for each trip and pay NIS 0.69 per minute/message, unlimited.
012 Mobile (Partner):
The company offers a similar plan to its sister-company, Orange, with minute/message packages. However, 012’s rates are better than Orange’s: 170 minutes cost NIS 150, and each minute is priced at NIS 1.4 (121 units compared with 105 in the Orange package).
Pelephone:
Yesterday, Pelephone announced a new plan, which offers additional access for calls from abroad - the plan is essentially a combined phone and data package. With this plan, it is possible to call Israel over the Internet, using services such as Viber. The plan includes a daily rate of NIS 35: NIS 5 (which will go up to NIS 10 on September 14) for unlimited calls, and a data plan (100 megabytes) for NIS 30. The calls are made using a mobile app that is downloaded to the phone. This plan is intended for those who like to talk a lot (unlimited) and those who are purchasing a data package anyway for their travels. Pelephone customers who primarily use the phone, and who do not talk a lot, would be better off with Pelephone’s overseas plan, which includes a rate of NIS 0.89 per minute/message, and costs NIS 50 per trip (which is only charged if the package is used), so those who are traveling for a week and use 100 minutes/messages will pay NIS 139 with this plan, instead of NIS 245 for the Internet package. Pelephone’s rate per minute/message went up from NIS 0.75 in 2013 to NIS 0.89 today.
Hot Mobile:
An overseas package costs NIS 69 per trip, and NIS 0.39 per minute/message. With this plan, for a trip in which 100 minutes or messages are used, the customer will pay NIS 108. The terms of the plan relative to the one offered in the summer of 2014 have changed: last year, the monthly fee was NIS 59, and each minute cost NIS 0.49. Another package the company is offering is much simpler: NIS 2 per minute/message, with no additional fees. This plan is intended for those who use up to 50 minutes per trip. Last year, this plan was less expensive: NIS 1 per minute/message. According to the company, most of their customers prefer the pay-per-minute plan over the package.
You Phone:
The overseas package has a NIS 69 flat fee, and two different minute/message rates, depending on the travel destination: NIS 0.29 per minute/message from the UK, Germany, Spain, and other countries, and NIS 0.59 from the US, France, Greece, and other countries. Last year, the You Phone plan cost NIS 49 per trip, and NIS 0.49 or NIS 0.99 for each use. The company emphasizes their rates for local calls, which are included in the package, and cost NIS 1-2 per minute.
Rami Levy Mobile:
Rami Levy, like Home Cellular, sells a SIM card, for any customer, to be used for all trips abroad. The SIM card costs NIS 50. The advantage is that the card can be used by different family members. The card has a US, UK, and Israeli number, which serve the traveler while abroad. Each minute/message costs NIS 0.5 using the card, which is pre-paid (payments can be made online).
Home Cellular
Home Cellular has a similar program. You pay NIS 150 for a SIM card, and it comes charged with NIS 80 in credit. The rates are NIS 0.4 per minute/message from the US, and NIS 0.6 from Europe.
Is it worthwhile to buy a SIM card?
Local SIM cards may be purchased in the destination country, particularly for conversations between family members traveling together.
International SIM cards may be purchased through Israeli companies such as Globos Net, Sim Zol, and SimWorld8 - in order to pay reduced rates abroad. The disadvantage of a temporary card is that your phone number is different while you are abroad.
5 tips for traveling mobile users
1.Sign up for a mobile plan before leaving Israel in order to ensure that the registration is valid.
2.When traveling to less common destinations, or when on a cruise, the rates vary. It’s recommended to check the mobile operator’s website.
3.Internet advantage: WhatsApp, Skype, Viber, Tango, and the like are an ideal solution for staying in touch with friends and family back home.
4.Domestic calls in the destination country are generally not included in travel plans - it’s preferable to make these calls using local payphones.
5.Don’t surf the web without a data package, or a WiFi connection.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 13, 2014
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2014