Soon you can monitor global roaming calls

New Delhi: Roamware, a U.S. based roaming solutions provider, is in talks with Indian operators to provide a service that will enable a subscriber to fix the amount he wants to spend on mobile calling, when availing himself of international roaming services.

Once the subscriber reaches the predetermined amount, the system sends out an alert for either switching off the phone or increasing the limit. "Mobile users travelling abroad do not get to know how much they have spent on phone calls until they receive the bill when they get back home. Usually there is a sense of shock at the amount they have spent since they do not have any control over it," said Bobby Srinivasan, CEO, Roamware. The company also has a product that ensures that caller line identification number is transmitted on all incoming calls to help roamers decide whether or not to pick a call.

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Roamware's solution has been deployed by many operators internationally. Srinivasan reckons that there should be a regulatory intervention for operators to adopt such solutions in the interest of consumers. "Unless the regulator mandates that operators will have to offer such services to the consumer, operators by themselves may not want to deploy this solution since it has revenue implications," said Srinivasan. AT&T is one such operator using Roamware's solution. Since long distance operators route the traffic through small exchanges set up worldwide, sometimes the caller's number is not transmitted to the receiver.

The company is also launching a micro-finance application to enable mobile phone users, especially those who do not have access to banks, to carry out financial transactions. It has started a pilot project on micro-finance in partnership with the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. The application would be aimed at the rural population across the globe that seldom has access to banks. Though the company is based out of U.S., all Roamware products are developed by engineers at its India unit.