The Wall Street Journal says T-Mobile near signing a roaming agreement (link good for 7 days): The article reports that roaming is starting to become an inevitability. I'm curious whether T-Mobile envisions a model in which there is fee settlement across networks, or it's free roaming. The TeliaSonera model cited in the article involves one bill, one account, but usage fees outside of the home network range of Finland and Sweden and certain TeliaSonera-operated hotspots in other Scandinavian countries.
I stand by my prediction: within a year, all U.S. networks will have substantial inter-network roaming agreements that will allow unlimited usage by subscribers for $30 per month or less. The marginal but vital additional value of Wi-Fi will enhance cellular and landline businesses, and possibly that of wired ISPs, but it won't have the standalone value that some misguided souls believe it does today.