Nice try, Vodafone

Along comes a press release today from the Vodafone Group, entitled "Vodafone builds on its leading daily data roaming tariff with cut-price monthly option". The release begins: "Vodafone today announces a price reduction of up to 45% to its monthly data roaming tariff for European business travellers."

After O2 recently announced some pretty impressive data roaming rate cuts and Ofcom chief Ed Richards complained that the high charges were hurting businesses, this made sense. Until we looked at the details.

What Vodafone are actually announcing is, by the admission of their press department, "a blueprint for all the operator companies" within the Vodafone Group, as to the maximum they will be able to charge their customers for monthly data roaming. According to the press release, the maximum that Vodafone companies can presently charge is €75 per month, to be cut to €60 per month from June. The minimum data usage within those tariffs will be increased from 100MB to 150MB.

But hang on... doesn't Vodafone have a £95 (that's €130 thank you very much) per month tariff, offering business travellers 200MB of usage? They did half a year ago and, according to their press department today, they still do. Whoops.

Annoyingly, it would appear that Vodafone is: a) trying to squeeze as many "Vodafone cuts data roaming prices" stories out of the media as possible - expect another one in May or June, of course, when Vodafone UK announces what it will actually charge - and b) use this coverage to convince the regulators that it's playing ball, but without actually clearly detailing what it will charge. Commercial confidentiality, you understand.

We'll wait for May or June, thanks.