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petkow · 11-11-2007, 14:05

Thanks everyone. Just an open point for discussion: Can anyone shed some light onto why networks are so comparitevely miserly with validity period of credit in North America? I would have thought that as long as you keep a credit and are making some chargeable calls once in a while (either in or out) that you should automatically get extended like it appears to be the case in most other parts of the world!

To me it seems strange that only once you have passed a magical $100 threshold, everything gets so much easier, but before that any other topup only gets you a stingy 90 days useage. Are running costs (like 911 service charges) that much higher in the US than in other parts of the world that networks need to have a minimum level of cash coming in every month for every customer on their books, or is it that no network has yet shaken up the industry by breaking away from the norm?

Don't get me wrong... I do know that contract deals in the US offer excellent value for money! I just find it odd that in this day and age most of my European colleagues and associates who regularly travel to the US still shy away from mobile telephony once they are on that side of the Atlantic. It will be nice to see if the maxROAM SIM will eventually get that 10c/min in/out USA charge.

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petkow (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Pioneer Posts: 696 Join Date: 01 Aug 2006 Location: Madrid Country:	11-11-2007, 14:05 Thanks everyone. Just an open point for discussion: Can anyone shed some light onto why networks are so comparitevely miserly with validity period of credit in North America? I would have thought that as long as you keep a credit and are making some chargeable calls once in a while (either in or out) that you should automatically get extended like it appears to be the case in most other parts of the world! To me it seems strange that only once you have passed a magical $100 threshold, everything gets so much easier, but before that any other topup only gets you a stingy 90 days useage. Are running costs (like 911 service charges) that much higher in the US than in other parts of the world that networks need to have a minimum level of cash coming in every month for every customer on their books, or is it that no network has yet shaken up the industry by breaking away from the norm? Don't get me wrong... I do know that contract deals in the US offer excellent value for money! I just find it odd that in this day and age most of my European colleagues and associates who regularly travel to the US still shy away from mobile telephony once they are on that side of the Atlantic. It will be nice to see if the maxROAM SIM will eventually get that 10c/min in/out USA charge.