confused about Cingular data plans

Since my "Media Net Pay Per Use" plan apparently only allows the phone
(WAP.CINGULAR.COM), but not a tethered computer (ISP.CINGULAR.COM), access
to the internet, I asked the support person to sign me up for tethered
GPRS access. A session with that used 3MB in 22 minutes (roughly
19.2Kbaud) with ping times ranging from 900 to 3800ms. Extremely painful.
On return home I find under My Features that I've still got Media Net Pay
Per Use, plus "Data Connect" and "EDGE WIRELESS CA ELA" for $0, and "Data
Connect 5MB" at $19.99/mo. At www.cingular.com/media/media_net_purchase I
see "Media Net" packages ranging from Pay Per Use to Unlimited at $19.99,
with no indication whether any of these let you tether or not. There's
also "Media Basic" and "Media Works" bundles which add text and multimedia
messages, which I rarely or never use, and, under Media Works ($19.99/mo),
5MB of Media Net. No mention of "Data Connect" or which packages support
tethering.
How can I find out what I actually have, and how can I get what I want,
which is occasional remote tethering, preferably at a low price when
not using it.
What about speed? I've seen things here saying 190Kb is typical for
GPRS, but others say you get 1-4 slots at 9600 baud/slot, which would be
38.4Kbaud maximum. I'm using a Nokia 6200 - would be newer phone make
a difference?

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› See More: confused about Cingular data plans

[email protected] wrote:
> Since my "Media Net Pay Per Use" plan apparently only allows the phone
> (WAP.CINGULAR.COM), but not a tethered computer (ISP.CINGULAR.COM), access

That's a difference in sales pitch, not much in functionality, although ISP
allows some "acceleration".

> Connect 5MB" at $19.99/mo. At www.cingular.com/media/media_net_purchase I
> see "Media Net" packages ranging from Pay Per Use to Unlimited at $19.99,
> with no indication whether any of these let you tether or not. There's
> also "Media Basic" and "Media Works" bundles which add text and multimedia
> messages, which I rarely or never use, and, under Media Works ($19.99/mo),
> 5MB of Media Net. No mention of "Data Connect" or which packages support
> tethering.

Isn't that odd... ;-)
The data connect plans only appear on the business pages.
There is the $80 ISP.cingular plan and a $44 plan for unlimited PDA access.
http://www.cingular.com/sbusiness/data_connect
There is the $20 WAP.cingular plan on the MediaNet pages.
https://www.cingular.com/media/media_net_purchase

It's also a little tough to spot which phones do tethering, since it isn't
obviously differentiated from in-the-phone WAP-web access.

> How can I find out what I actually have, and how can I get what I want,
> which is occasional remote tethering, preferably at a low price when
> not using it.

I think Media Works at $19.99 with the WAP login is going to be fine for
me, because I do want the messages. If I didn't want the messages, I would
get unlimited MediaNet with the WAP login. That will give me 5MB of data
in the plan, and additional KB pay-as-you-go, which I think will work out
for me. You can see your daily usage on line at cingular.com.

If I go out of town on a business trip, I might change to unlimited, and
then back when I get home.

> What about speed? I've seen things here saying 190Kb is typical for
> GPRS, but others say you get 1-4 slots at 9600 baud/slot, which would be
> 38.4Kbaud maximum. I'm using a Nokia 6200 - would be newer phone make
> a difference?

Different phones are different, and so is the effect of other data usage on
the same cell site. I get anywhere from 3KBpS on a GPRS-only site to 9KBpS
on an EDGE site with my V551.

Earlier, John Navas <[email protected]> wrote:
> The V551 is only EGPRS (EDGE) Class 4, which is significantly slower (up
> to about 100 Kbps) than Class 10 (up to about 150 Kbps), the maximum
> supported by Cingular.

A Google search of alt.cingular.cellular for "EDGE/GPRS Shootout: V551,
GC82, Z600" from John Navas. http://makeashorterlink.com/?G1DB23E8B

The instructions about WAP verses ISP logins can be found on many pages.
John has some "phone=specific" pages that apply generically, on his web
site. http://navasgrp.home.att.net/tech/cingular/

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

> > Since my "Media Net Pay Per Use" plan apparently only allows the phone
> > (WAP.CINGULAR.COM), but not a tethered computer (ISP.CINGULAR.COM), access
>
> That's a difference in sales pitch, not much in functionality, although ISP
> allows some "acceleration".
I had my computer configured for WAP.CINGULAR.COM and when it would try
to login the phone showed "Must sign up for GPRS first". So I called
Cingular and the fellow said WAP is only in-the-phone and could only
go to Cingular stuff. Since I wanted to check email, google, etc, he
said I needed ISP.CINGULAR.COM, which would cost $19.99 After he did
something, I was indeed able to check email, google, etc. So it appears
to me that WAP and ISP are very different things. No?

[email protected] wrote:
> to me that WAP and ISP are very different things. No?

They are different logins. I can tether and log in with WAP. I can't log
in with ISP.

I have MediaBasic, which was added without comment when I bought the phone.
I didn't ask for it. I believe that a WAP login is buried in the phone,
for it to browse the web. I don't know if it's important, but I went
http://www.cingular.com/media/media_net and enabled my MediaNet account.
John mentions something you should specifically ask for by phone, but I
didn't do that. I cannot log in with ISP, but I can log in with WAP.

I currently have MediaBasic and MediaNet 1MB, which gives unlimited
data for one month as a sign up promotion.
https://www.cingular.com/media/media_net_purchase

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

....So I called Cingular and the fellow said WAP is only in-the-phone
and could only
go to Cingular stuff. ....

You were misled. While Cingular prefers that WAP be used for phone
only, it actually works with tethered phones for all intenet protocols
and sites of interest.

The specific language often used by CS is something like "tethered use
is not supported..." This means they won't help you with it, not that
it doesn't work. It also probably means that there's no promise it'll
continue to work as it does today.

Dave

> While Cingular prefers that WAP be used for phone
> only, it actually works with tethered phones for all intenet protocols
> and sites of interest.
When I tried WAP.CINGULAR.COM, my phone screen said "You must sign up
for GPRS first". When the support guy had signed me up for whatever he
signed me up for, and I had changed my connection name to
"ISP.CINGULAR.COM", then things worked. So I take it you are saying I
didn't need to change from WAP to ISP? That's interesting, but what would
be even more interesting would be how I can pay less than $19.99/mo in the
many months when I don't tether or use multimedia messaging, or send a
thousand text messages, and how I can get more than 5MB in a month when I
take a trip and do tether.
Still confused.

<[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>> While Cingular prefers that WAP be used for phone
>> only, it actually works with tethered phones for all intenet protocols
>> and sites of interest.
> When I tried WAP.CINGULAR.COM, my phone screen said "You must sign up
> for GPRS first". When the support guy had signed me up for whatever he
> signed me up for, and I had changed my connection name to
> "ISP.CINGULAR.COM", then things worked. So I take it you are saying I
> didn't need to change from WAP to ISP? That's interesting, but what would
> be even more interesting would be how I can pay less than $19.99/mo in the
> many months when I don't tether or use multimedia messaging, or send a
> thousand text messages, and how I can get more than 5MB in a month when I
> take a trip and do tether.
> Still confused.

Unfortunately, IMHO, it's difficult to get what you are asking for unless
you want to pay for useage by the KB. With a WAP plan you can get
all-you-can-eat for $24.99 (used to be $19.99) and you can tether you phone
to a PDA or a laptop (I have done both). You can get a less expensive plan
that allows for a minimal amount of data plus a per KB charge for anything
over the amount included in the plan. I guess it would depend on how often
you travel and need more than 5MB/month as to whether the unlimited plan is
better for you.

Cheers
TC

tony is correct. it costs $24.99/mo to get "Media Net Unlimited" which
uses the WAP system and can be tethered to a computer.

it is unlimited & there is no cost per kb. it does not use an http
accelerator.

username: [email protected]
password: CINGULAR1

there is no unlimited data $19.99 feature I'm aware of. sorry I didn't
make the feature name clear.

I recommend you find out what you are signed up for. If it is not
"Media Net Unlimited" you may see big charges when you exceed your
monthly kb allocation. There'll be no penalty to change your feature to
"Media Net Unlimited".

as these things are "features" not "plans" they can be turned on & off
at will without penalty by calling CS.

Dave

I've heard that using isp.cingular... always results in kb charging but
I've never tried it.

[email protected] wrote:
> tony is correct. it costs $24.99/mo to get "Media Net Unlimited" which
> uses the WAP system and can be tethered to a computer.

> I recommend you find out what you are signed up for. If it is not
> "Media Net Unlimited" you may see big charges when you exceed your
> monthly kb allocation. There'll be no penalty to change your feature to
> "Media Net Unlimited".

https://www.cingular.com/media/media_net_purchase
I don't see anything at $24.99. It's $19.99 on the web, with unlimited for
the first month on any plan, if you sign up before September 24.

The first month should always be unlimited, to give you an idea of what
usage is. I see around 40K any time I use my phone to do anything on the
web.

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

You may be right. I no longer see Unlimited Media Net as an availible
option for my particular existing account.

However, when I look at
https://www.cingular.com/media/media_net_purchase , it is listed at
$19.99.

I'd call CS & ask if the unlimited option is only for the first month.
If it goes beyond the first month it is a worthwhile thing to have.

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Sat, 20 Aug 2005 12:20:53 -0500,
[email protected] wrote:

>> > Since my "Media Net Pay Per Use" plan apparently only allows the phone
>> > (WAP.CINGULAR.COM), but not a tethered computer (ISP.CINGULAR.COM), access
>>
>> That's a difference in sales pitch, not much in functionality, although ISP
>> allows some "acceleration".
> I had my computer configured for WAP.CINGULAR.COM and when it would try
>to login the phone showed "Must sign up for GPRS first". So I called
>Cingular and the fellow said WAP is only in-the-phone and could only
>go to Cingular stuff. Since I wanted to check email, google, etc, he
>said I needed ISP.CINGULAR.COM, which would cost $19.99 After he did
>something, I was indeed able to check email, google, etc. So it appears
>to me that WAP and ISP are very different things. No?

Different, yes, but WAP works fine for email, Google, etc.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

[email protected] wrote:
> You may be right. I no longer see Unlimited Media Net as an availible
> option for my particular existing account.

Unlimited data used to be part of the MediaWorks package, which includes
messaging and data. That is now 5MB data, and there is no unlimited
MediaWorks package. There is still unlimited MediaNet, though.

> However, when I look at
> https://www.cingular.com/media/media_net_purchase , it is listed at
> $19.99.

> I'd call CS & ask if the unlimited option is only for the first month.
> If it goes beyond the first month it is a worthwhile thing to have.

I didn't phrase my "first month" comment correctly.
Any of the Media Net plans are given unlimited access for one month as a
promotional special until September 24th.

What I meant to say is that either Cingular should extend this "first
month" offer permanently, or a wise individual user might select unlimited
if they intended to do any tethered usage, until they determined what their
level of usage was going to be.

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

You need to have the Pay per use removed from your acct because the billing
system will allow the feature to take precedence over the Works pkg or any
other data plan that you have. My understanding is that if you tether to a
Laptop you have to have a Data Connect plan not a media net acct. I used to
have a P900 and used the old Media Works pkg 19.99 unlmtd data but after
checking with a tech supervisor I was told that it was against policy and
needed to be under a PDA plan. If I used the blue tooth or data connect
cable to tether to my laptop I was told that I have to use a Data connect
plan. I know a lot of people that are on the old unlmtd works pkg and using
it to tether to a laptop and are getting away with it but it does " the data
usage" raise a red flag with revenue assurance and they will catch it
eventually. Cingular is scraping the bottom of the barrel for cash. The data
plans are much more expensive than the works or basic pkg but if you use a
laptop my guess is your usage is around 80 to 130 MB per month ; I was using
about 42 mb with my P900 with Opera browser. Data packaging is very
confusing with Cingular and most if not all reps have had no training on the
differences. I have even had some tier 2 techs call me with data plan
concerns. The new Sony Vaio comes to mind because are billing system does
not have a current plan with WIFI connectivity. The laptop comes with a
WIFI card built into the machine and the only plan we have currently in our
system is a data connect plan with GPRS Edge connection.
My suggestion is to plan a day where you can go into a business service
center that are usually connected to a Corp location and get a rep there at
the store that can get your acct configured correctly. Do not call the call
center because as I said before very few reps know the differences between
the plans. I saw a Blackberry user with 92 different work order req in 1
week; all she was trying to do was get a data only plan for her 7290 BB
;each change to the plan creates a work order. It took a week for the back
log of work orders to process or cancel out each other and then after that
cleared I was able to put her on a data only plan. She was very frustrated
to say the least. It took me another 3 days to get her device actually
configured cirrectly because tire 2 techs has messed with all of the
settings trying to get her device to work because they did not have any
training in the billing system that had the back log of work orders.
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> [email protected] wrote:
>> You may be right. I no longer see Unlimited Media Net as an availible
>> option for my particular existing account.
>
> Unlimited data used to be part of the MediaWorks package, which includes
> messaging and data. That is now 5MB data, and there is no unlimited
> MediaWorks package. There is still unlimited MediaNet, though.
>
>> However, when I look at
>> https://www.cingular.com/media/media_net_purchase , it is listed at
>> $19.99.
>
>> I'd call CS & ask if the unlimited option is only for the first month.
>> If it goes beyond the first month it is a worthwhile thing to have.
>
> I didn't phrase my "first month" comment correctly.
> Any of the Media Net plans are given unlimited access for one month as a
> promotional special until September 24th.
>
> What I meant to say is that either Cingular should extend this "first
> month" offer permanently, or a wise individual user might select unlimited
> if they intended to do any tethered usage, until they determined what
> their
> level of usage was going to be.
>
> --
> ---
> Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5
>

No the data usage doesn't raise a flag! unlimited is unlimited! as long as you you the wap and not the isp portal. There is no way to tell if your viewing on your phone or a laptop or whatever, the info is still being accessed by your phone. cingular even has instructions for tethering on the dern web page. Your data usage would not be different tethered or not. it's not like it increases your speed or anything. Nor does it allow you to access html info instead of wap. There is no difference except having a bigger screen to view it on.


nokia 6200? All I could find was a nokia 6230

http://tutorials.cingular.com/tutori...=17&tutIndex=0

Originally Posted by Alcoholic

You need to have the Pay per use removed from your acct because the billing
system will allow the feature to take precedence over the Works pkg or any
other data plan that you have. My understanding is that if you tether to a
Laptop you have to have a Data Connect plan not a media net acct. I used to
have a P900 and used the old Media Works pkg 19.99 unlmtd data but after
checking with a tech supervisor I was told that it was against policy and
needed to be under a PDA plan. If I used the blue tooth or data connect
cable to tether to my laptop I was told that I have to use a Data connect
plan. I know a lot of people that are on the old unlmtd works pkg and using
it to tether to a laptop and are getting away with it but it does " the data
usage" raise a red flag with revenue assurance and they will catch it
eventually. Cingular is scraping the bottom of the barrel for cash. The data
plans are much more expensive than the works or basic pkg but if you use a
laptop my guess is your usage is around 80 to 130 MB per month ; I was using
about 42 mb with my P900 with Opera browser. Data packaging is very
confusing with Cingular and most if not all reps have had no training on the
differences. I have even had some tier 2 techs call me with data plan
concerns. The new Sony Vaio comes to mind because are billing system does
not have a current plan with WIFI connectivity. The laptop comes with a
WIFI card built into the machine and the only plan we have currently in our
system is a data connect plan with GPRS Edge connection.
My suggestion is to plan a day where you can go into a business service
center that are usually connected to a Corp location and get a rep there at
the store that can get your acct configured correctly. Do not call the call
center because as I said before very few reps know the differences between
the plans. I saw a Blackberry user with 92 different work order req in 1
week; all she was trying to do was get a data only plan for her 7290 BB
;each change to the plan creates a work order. It took a week for the back
log of work orders to process or cancel out each other and then after that
cleared I was able to put her on a data only plan. She was very frustrated
to say the least. It took me another 3 days to get her device actually
configured cirrectly because tire 2 techs has messed with all of the
settings trying to get her device to work because they did not have any
training in the billing system that had the back log of work orders.
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> [email protected] wrote:
>> You may be right. I no longer see Unlimited Media Net as an availible
>> option for my particular existing account.
>
> Unlimited data used to be part of the MediaWorks package, which includes
> messaging and data. That is now 5MB data, and there is no unlimited
> MediaWorks package. There is still unlimited MediaNet, though.
>
>> However, when I look at
>> https://www.cingular.com/media/media_net_purchase , it is listed at
>> $19.99.
>
>> I'd call CS & ask if the unlimited option is only for the first month.
>> If it goes beyond the first month it is a worthwhile thing to have.
>
> I didn't phrase my "first month" comment correctly.
> Any of the Media Net plans are given unlimited access for one month as a
> promotional special until September 24th.
>
> What I meant to say is that either Cingular should extend this "first
> month" offer permanently, or a wise individual user might select unlimited
> if they intended to do any tethered usage, until they determined what
> their
> level of usage was going to be.
>
> --
> ---
> Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5
>

[email protected] wrote:
> The specific language often used by CS is something like "tethered use
> is not supported..." This means they won't help you with it, not that
> it doesn't work. It also probably means that there's no promise it'll
> continue to work as it does today.

The language today is "we don't allow you to tether with the MediaNet or
Media* bundles. You would need PDA Connect or Laptop Connect".

Also, my combination of Media Basic and MediaNet-1MB (unlimited for one
month) is not an allowed combination, so they canceled the MediaNet, and
didn't tell me. The overages caught my eye on the bill ;-)

At first, he just said I couldn't have both packages, then he said that I
did show 1MB with the MEdiaBasic, and 1MB with the MediaNet package on my
bill. I pointed out that if I had 2MB, I had unlimited, according to the
web page. The data charge was reversed. I left it at MediaWorks, which
gives me way too many messages, and 5MB of data.

The comment about tethering was almost a casual toss-off, probably because
I used so much data. I'll just have to stop surfing the web on my phone so
much. Most of the data is trying to load web pages that won't load anyway.

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5