Mobile Phones abroad

[MedMan]

Re: To MedMan

I am glad you found the survey I did for CA useful. I can't reproduce it here, I'm afraid, as I gathered the information from CA members for the use of CA members.

A couple of thoughts on your other comments:


[ QUOTE ]
How about Centrino wireless networking and SSB SailMail. The latter is very feasible using Pactor III, which can now approach speeds of 14.5K baud.

[/ QUOTE ]

As I understand it, Centrino is nothing more than built-in WiFi - it is not a different technology. I make a brief mention of SSB but as I only have an SSB receiver it is something that I confess I know very little about. I understand that for many folk setting off across oceans, SSB is an essential piece of kit, but for those of us who confine ourselves to the Med it is of questionable value. I have met one or two who have it installed but now that texting can be used to keep in touch with friends somewhere up the coast I would find it very hard to justify the initial cost of the equipment.

[ QUOTE ]
If I do have to send data (very rare) I use Bluetooth connection which though it's far slower than WiFi is more than fast enough for the 9600 baud rate of 2.5GPRS. I've a cheap PCMCIA Bluetooth card slots into the laptop.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure what you are using your bluetooth for - I guess to connect your laptop to your mobile. As you say, it is more than fast enough to use with GPRS as it is the latter that is the limiting factor in the overall connection. Other readers may find the following list of bandwith figures interesting. In all cases it is the slowest part of the overall connection that determines the speed at which data can be transmitted. Thus, unless you have some other use for it, there is nothing to be gained by using a 802.11g connection rather than 802.11b as it is highly unlikely that the Marina's Internet connection, having been shared amongst all the yachties on line, will be giving you anything even approaching the speed of 802.11b.




Mobile Phone dial-up access 9,600 bits per second
V34 Modem 28,800
GPRS (2.5G) up to 40,000
V90 Modem 56,600
ISDN 128,000
Broadband 512,000
High-speed Broadband 1,000,000
Bluetooth 1,000,000
Low-speed USB (keyboards & mice) 1,500,000
802.11b Min 2,500,000
Max in real world 4,500,000
PCMCIA Interface Min 3,900,000
Ethernet 10,000,000
802.11b Theoretical 11,000,000
USB 1.1 12,000,000
802.11g Theoretical 54,000,000
Fast Ethernet 100,000,000
PCMCIA Interface Max 132,000,000
USB 2.0 480,000,000

 

[boatmike]

Get people to ring you rather than ring them....

Thats the LAST thing to do. That would cost ME 75p per minute!

 

[charles_reed]

Re: To MedMan

"As I understand it, Centrino is nothing more than built-in WiFi - it is not a different technology."

Quite right, it's 802.11g and automatically seeks any local wireless network - as the Centrino CPU has been out for about 4 years now, I expect quite a few BBers now have it.
The connectivity certainly allows for doing a lot of things aboard as well as at home.
Son-in-law is an academic and in their road their are now 8 wireless LANs, all within range of each other - here is the first problem, avoiding barging in on someone else's network, but the great thing is that they can access e-mail and the university server anywhere in the house.

I'd agree with you about the inability to justify the cost of the SSB - never mind heating that backstay to get a message off - plays hell with the electric-power budget. I've got one and am still trying to rationalise any justification.

The other two comms modes are Inmarsat and satelitte phone - the first that were available and still very expensive but likely to carry on dropping.

 

[charles_reed]

Re: Onetel

Have used One-Tel on our landline, about 40% of BT's charges for a mix of UK and Zone 2 calls.

Their mobile charges are however astronomical compared to using local SIM cards for calling out of the country to another and they are very much more expensive for texts than even our maligned UK Vodaphone like x2.5 their price.
eg €0.17p on TIM per min to UK £0.8per min on OneTel

I would suggest you do an analysis of your first few bills - I've actually changed to another supplier who promise to be about 12% cheaper on my landline but await an analysis after a quarter's use before making any claims.

 

[charles_reed]

Myadvice to you is

Get a "free" handset - BTshop appears to offer the best bargains currently.
Don't even consider going on tariff to get a "free" phone, all the airtime providers have worked out the sums and you'll pay through the nose for a phone which might not be your choice.
Vodafone handsets are now unlocked (that is the tariff phones don't know about the PAYG).
Buy local SIM cards in each of the countries you're visiting, they'll only cost you about €15 above the call-credit you get with each.
France - Orange (slightly better discounts on time purchased than SFR) Bouygues is the cheapest but poor coverage.
Italy - TIM is about the best, avoid WIND which is cheapest their coverage is appalling.
Don't phone UK, get them to phone you.
Toucan charge 17p/min or part min for all Area 2 mobiles from UK lamdlines so it's not prohibitively expensive. Their charges (naughty) are based upon whole minutes only.

From 2 months usage Toucan are working out at about 14% lower than OneTel, on call charges only who, in turn, were 43% of the BT call charges. In both cases I have to pay the ISDN2 rental rates to BT.
Get a phone with a QWERTY keyboard - it quintuples the rate of sending texts, which are only between 12-20c even international - look at the Nokia 6810 or 6820, they're usually the same price but the 6820 (with an appalling camera) seems to be the only 1 available in UK.

 

[hamish]

Hi,

I am on my 1st Mobile and on its first year on contract and it is with Vodafone. I have an Anytime 100 account which gives me 100 free minutes talking and 50 texts a month. Never used them all up.

I have just had then phone set for raoming (its a Motorrola V525) and asked about unlocking. This would cost me £25.

If I use the phone alot abroad I can sign up for International Call Saver which would cost me £2.50 a month and allow me 20% discount off all MY international calls.

See my post under SSB as have set for up for GPRS.

a very interesting post

Hamish

 

[smb]

Somebody recently recommended www.0044.co.uk

With them you can buy PAYG sims in advance for the countries you intend to visit. Not looked at it in detail yet but first thoughts are that they certainly know how to charge for supplying the sim, but it might be worth it in the long run.


Steve.

 

[cynthia]

Phone cards and mobiles

Have got a Spanish PAYG sim and have just discovered that with a phone card bought from the local Tabac it is not necessary to use a pay phone, I can actually use the mobile to phone UK at incredibly cheap prices once the mobile number on the card is typed in.

 

[Steve Clayton]

Spanish PAYG SIMS

What with Cynthia and myself that makes 2 sensible people in Spain making use of international call cards on mobiles at Sooooo cheap rates (not as cheap as Skype but close). As I've said before - if you use UK mobiles in Spain you will pay through the nose!!!

 

[rrees]

Re: Spanish PAYG SIMS

I am off to Spain at the end of the month

Can you please provide me more details on this.

Phone sim provider scratch card etc

thanks

 

[JEG]

Medman's site states that you will not be charged to receive calls if you are using a local supplier: I'm not sure that this is correct. Naturally the paperworks in France & I'm in England but, if memory serves, my recollection is that SFR [?] in Fr. charge E 0.70 per min. to receive foreign a call on their PAYG.