I just want to post this warning for anyone planning on travelling to Europe with their BB.
Last year I was in Europe (Germany) and accessed various Wifi points. The readers digest version of this story is I was shocked when I received my bill for $700 for data roaming.
After some heated discussions with my carrier (Rogers) I reluctantly paid the bill. What the rep from Rogers told me is that this is a well know �Scam� throughout Europe. These �Free� Wifi zones are not free at all. They are run by the various providers in Europe and are pay as you go. When you access these with your BB in Wifi mode they identify your device as a partner carrier and allow you to access their service knowing that they can bill you.
The Rep went on to advise me that if you tried to access these site with a laptop it would not allow you to connect as they would know that they can�t bill a laptop.
Well this year I was back in Europe (Germany and Netherlands) and confirmed with my I Touch that the above information is correct. As soon as I tried to access these �Hot Spots� with my Wifi enabled I Touch access was denied. I could not connect or was prompted to logon and provide a credit card # or Paypal acct #. T Mobile is the #1 culprit.
The Moral of the story, Travel with Data Roaming off, and if you are accessing Wifi services that appear to be free on your BB in Europe there is a good chance they are not free and you maybe stuck with a huge data roaming bill.
Amazing that they'd be able to do that. You'd think they would have to disclose the fact that you're using a paid service since they don't make you log in. I'm shocked that your provider still made you pay it since you weren't told.
