Max James, chief executive, said: "This is a transformational deal for Quintain and is the next step in realising the inherent value in our key London projects by attracting significant third party capital. It introduces a highly respected and experienced partner who brings considerable financial strength and a network of global relationships." Quintain shares surged 5, or 15pc, to 38p.
T-Mobile cuts roaming rates for Europe - zdnet.co.uk
The new bolt-ons, called 'Internet Travel Boosters' and 'Broadband Travel Boosters' will allow a customer to add them to their package on arrival at their destination. The user is simply redirected to a page where they can buy the add-ons when they first connect to a mobile network, T-Mobile said.
"Once the purchase is complete, they can immediately continue to browse the internet, update Facebook, email or download apps and documents without the worry of paying more than they expect when they return from their travels," T-Mobile said in a statement.
The Internet booster allows smartphone-only usage while the Broadband booster can be used with "all mobile broadband devices", such as dongles and tablets.
Pricing for the boosters starts from £1, T-Mobile said. The amount of data allocated for each booster depends on the country being visited. For example, within Europe a £1 internet or booster plan would provide 3MB of data usage. To get the same amount of data use while on holiday in the US would require a £5 booster.
However, visiting places further afield, such as Hong Kong still attracts significant commitments, with 3MB of data costing £20. Currently, and without the bolt-on, T-Mobile customers visiting Hong Kong are charged £7.50 per MB for data. Increasing the amount of the bolt-on does provide some economy of scale, but 20MB of data, even with the bolt-on will still cost £75.
The decision to reduce costs, albeit primarily within Europe, makes T-Mobile the fourth of the five major UK operators to announce reduced roaming rates before the EU's 1 July deadline for new roaming regulations to come into effect. Only Orange is yet to announce new rates.
Earlier in June, Vodafone also announced it was cutting its prices for roaming within the EU. The EuroTraveller add on costs £3 per day and allows contract customers to use their normal monthly call time and data allowance. Out of bundle charges are then charged at UK rates.
Despite the clampdown from regulators on roaming rates within the EU, Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at price-comparison site uSwitch.com, doesn't think some of the new measures go far enough.
"We have now seen four of the five major providers take steps to protect their customers. However, with Orange still to show its cards and some of the packages not going quite far enough, it's still down to consumers to protect themselves and make bill shock a thing of the past," Doku said in a statement.
T-Mobile Reveals New Roaming Internet Boosters - techweekeurope.co.uk
T-Mobile has become the latest mobile operator to reveal roaming plans ahead of the EU price caps coming into place on 1 July.
The operator promised customers are ‘guaranteed’ never to run up an unexpected data roaming bill and, unlike its competitors, the Internet and Broadband Travel Boosters can be used outside Europe.
The boosters will come into effect on 19 June, across all consumer and businesses plans and can be used on smartphones and mobile broadband devices.
The end of bill shock?
“We are really proud to be the first UK operator to ensure our customers can continue to be connected, anywhere in the world – and have the peace of mind they’ll never come back to an unexpected bill,” commented Ben Fritsch, head of propositions at T-Mobile.
Once a customer has landed in another country, they will be directed to a page where they can purchase one of the boosters in order to continue using the Internet. A number of bundle sizes are available, and all last for 30 days or until the data has been used up.
The cost of the booster is dependent on the size and the category of country visited.
Varying costs
The cheapest booster costs £1 for 3MB of data in Europe, which increases to £25 in Group D countries, which includes the likes of Brazil and Japan. The cost will either be added to the customer’s monthly bill or deducted from their Pay As You Go credit.
Last week, Three launched its Euro Internet Pass to allow customers to use as much data as they went while abroad for £5 a day, although there were a number of restrictions, such as a lack of tethering. Vodafone has launched a similar Eurotraveller service, which lets customers use their UK price plan abroad, and includes calls and texts.
However they do not make provisions for outside Europe (with the exception of some overseas territories and departments), and the services are opt-in, rather than automatic.
“Where the other networks put the onus on customers to be savvy and sign up to the plans, T-Mobile customers will automatically be alerted to its Boosters every time they try to go online abroad – and it applies outside of the EU,” said Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch. “With the new EU regulations coming into force at the start of July, it is encouraging to see that providers are taking the lead and are already responding to the obvious demand for affordable data by offering customers the chance to curb their mobile spending while in the EU.”
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