Four out of five say roaming costs prohibitive

A Ministry of Economic Development survey released today found trans-Tasman data roaming costs prohibitive to Kiwi businesses.

Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Steven Joyce, said results showed four out of five New Zealand businesses found data roaming costs to be prohibitive to staff doing business in Australia.

The survey of 534 New Zealanders travelling to Australia was carried out between July 2010 and January 2011 and informed the decision of the New Zealand and Australian governments to conduct a joint investigation into whether regulatory intervention is required in the trans-Tasman roaming market.

"I am concerned at the number of business respondents who indicated that, because of the cost, they encourage staff to use data roaming only if they really need to," said Mr Joyce.

The majority of Kiwi businesses surveyed also encourage staff to minimise calling and texting when in Australia.

Despite Kiwi carriers Vodafone and 2degrees dropping data roaming rates recently, Joyce said the planned joint investigation will proceed.

"The results of the survey will provide useful information that will help us determine whether roaming services are competitive," said Joyce.