Grinch Optus implements Christmas Eve mobile VoIP cutoff

Playing the role of Scrooge, Optus abruptly cut off VoIP calling over its mobile phone service on Christmas Eve. It was a great way to make a point to its customers, who expected to make overseas phone calls during the holiday without having to pay higher international rates.

The company informed its customers via text message that it would no longer pay local mobile-to-mobile rates for Internet services that made overseas phone calls. Customers had embraced the service, giving them rates of around a penny (AUS) per minute; Optus's prepaid-mobile users instead get charged 29 cents (AUS) per minute for existing international rates.

Optus competitors Telstra, Vodafone, and 3 all allow their customers to use mobile VoIP services.

The new policy has cut into mobile VoIP provider Freedom Calls's traffic by at least 50 percent. A company spokesperson said the company was connecting between 15,000 to 20,000 minutes of international calls per day, but now is only mustering 6,000 to 7,000 minutes.

For more:
- Optus playing the Grinch - without the happy ending. Article

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