Pointers for new contract - need data for email access

I have just been stung by T-Mobile for using 155MB of data plus a very
small amount of calls and texts they have charged me £186. When I
asked them to explain they said it was because I was on an old
tarrif !!! their customer loyalty was not interesdted in doing
anything, so now I have a PAC number and I am looking for a new
contract (or PAYG)

I maninly need to be able to surf the web and have access to IMAP
email on the new phone, but having spent several hours today trying to
find a good option I am no nearer finding who can give me waht I want.

I was tempted by the 3 Skypephone but I cant understand from their web
site what it will costs to access data, the options available just
dont seem to explain it.

Can anyone point me at some options, main requirements are:

1) Data access for email and web, 1GB min 5GB preferred.
2) Reasonable charges when used abroad (especially in Australia)
3) calls and text as reasonable cost.
4) I would like to pay less that £25 per Month for this (exc handset)
but could go to £30.

Thanks

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› See More: Pointers for new contract - need data for email access

On 2008-08-23, wytco0 <[email protected]> wrote:
> Can anyone point me at some options, main requirements are:
>
> 1) Data access for email and web, 1GB min 5GB preferred.
> 2) Reasonable charges when used abroad (especially in Australia)
> 3) calls and text as reasonable cost.
> 4) I would like to pay less that £25 per Month for this (exc handset)
> but could go to £30.

If you don't need a handset you can get 600 minutes, 1000 texts and
"unlimited" Internet access (I forget how much that "unlimited" is)
from O2 for £20 this month on their SIM-only, monthly-contract Simplicity
tariff. See

http://www.o2.co.uk/mobilestariffs/t...hly/simplicity

If you really want cheaper roaming service in Australia, though, that's
a 3-Like-Home country and, if you're in places where 3's sister network
there has coverage, 3's price is unmatched. Dealing with 3 does require
living with annoyances like figuring out what you are buying from their
web pages, and I agree with you that this is not so easy to do.

Dennis Ferguson

On Aug 23, 9:47*pm, Dennis Ferguson <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 2008-08-23, wytco0 <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Can anyone point me at some options, main requirements are:
>
> > 1) Data access for email and web, 1GB min 5GB preferred.
> > 2) Reasonable charges when used abroad (especially in Australia)
> > 3) calls and text as reasonable cost.
> > 4) I would like to pay less that £25 per Month for this (exc handset)
> > but could go to £30.
>
> If you don't need a handset you can get 600 minutes, 1000 texts and
> "unlimited" Internet access (I forget how much that "unlimited" is)
> from O2 for £20 this month on their SIM-only, monthly-contract Simplicity
> tariff. *See
>
> * *http://www.o2.co.uk/mobilestariffs/t...hly/simplicity
>
> If you really want cheaper roaming service in Australia, though, that's
> a 3-Like-Home country and, if you're in places where 3's sister network
> there has coverage, 3's price is unmatched. *Dealing with 3 does require
> living with annoyances like figuring out what you are buying from their
> web pages, and I agree with you that this is not so easy to do.
>
> Dennis Ferguson

Thanks Dennis, having found a button on the three site for customer
support I managed to get some useful info from them and I have now
ordered the new 3 Skypepohone S2, Mix and match 300 and 15GB mobile
broadband for a total monthly charge of £30 and I understand roaming
in Oz on 3 will be included in my monthly charges.

Seems a pretty good deal.

Dennis Ferguson wrote:
> On 2008-08-23, wytco0 <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Can anyone point me at some options, main requirements are:
>>
>> 1) Data access for email and web, 1GB min 5GB preferred.
>> 2) Reasonable charges when used abroad (especially in Australia)
>> 3) calls and text as reasonable cost.
>> 4) I would like to pay less that £25 per Month for this (exc handset)
>> but could go to £30.
>
> If you don't need a handset you can get 600 minutes, 1000 texts and
> "unlimited" Internet access (I forget how much that "unlimited" is)
> from O2 for £20 this month on their SIM-only, monthly-contract Simplicity
> tariff. See
>
> http://www.o2.co.uk/mobilestariffs/t...hly/simplicity
>
> If you really want cheaper roaming service in Australia, though, that's
> a 3-Like-Home country and, if you're in places where 3's sister network
> there has coverage, 3's price is unmatched. Dealing with 3 does require
> living with annoyances like figuring out what you are buying from their
> web pages, and I agree with you that this is not so easy to do.
>
> Dennis Ferguson
As I read it on the o2 contract you get 600 minutes plus one bolt-on
such as texts or data. Not both as I understand it.

I want 200 minutes plus a handful of texts plus some data and it looks
like this might be the best with the data bolt-on leaving me just to pay
for the few texts I send.

If anyone has any better ideas I would appreciate them. Overseas is not
critical. I usually stay in hotels with WiFi.

On Sat, 23 Aug 2008 14:43:42 -0700 (PDT), wytco0 <[email protected]>
wrote:

>On Aug 23, 9:47*pm, Dennis Ferguson <[email protected]> wrote:
>> On 2008-08-23, wytco0 <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> > Can anyone point me at some options, main requirements are:
>>
>> > 1) Data access for email and web, 1GB min 5GB preferred.
>> > 2) Reasonable charges when used abroad (especially in Australia)
>> > 3) calls and text as reasonable cost.
>> > 4) I would like to pay less that £25 per Month for this (exc handset)
>> > but could go to £30.
>>
>> If you don't need a handset you can get 600 minutes, 1000 texts and
>> "unlimited" Internet access (I forget how much that "unlimited" is)
>> from O2 for £20 this month on their SIM-only, monthly-contract Simplicity
>> tariff. *See
>>
>> * *http://www.o2.co.uk/mobilestariffs/t...hly/simplicity
>>
>> If you really want cheaper roaming service in Australia, though, that's
>> a 3-Like-Home country and, if you're in places where 3's sister network
>> there has coverage, 3's price is unmatched. *Dealing with 3 does require
>> living with annoyances like figuring out what you are buying from their
>> web pages, and I agree with you that this is not so easy to do.
>>
>> Dennis Ferguson
>
>Thanks Dennis, having found a button on the three site for customer
>support I managed to get some useful info from them and I have now
>ordered the new 3 Skypepohone S2, Mix and match 300 and 15GB mobile
>broadband for a total monthly charge of £30 and I understand roaming
>in Oz on 3 will be included in my monthly charges.
>
>Seems a pretty good deal.
I agree that '3' will be the best operator because of '3 like home' in
Australia. There are some developments on that front and I don't know
if it will mean that future handsets on '3 UK' will take account of
this change. '3 Australia' have done a deal with Telstra so that '3
Australia' customers can roam onto their 3G network. The only fly in
the ointment is that the Telstra network is on 850GHz whereas 3's
network is, like the UK, on 2100GHz. 850GHz is not featured on UK
phones (or even 3 Australia atm?) so it won't be possible to go onto
the Telstra 3G network. However, according to the coverage maps I've
seen, 3's coverage is good for the main populated areas such as
Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast (I haven't checked other areas).


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Brian A wrote:

> I agree that '3' will be the best operator because of '3 like home' in
> Australia. There are some developments on that front and I don't know
> if it will mean that future handsets on '3 UK' will take account of
> this change. '3 Australia' have done a deal with Telstra so that '3
> Australia' customers can roam onto their 3G network. The only fly in
> the ointment is that the Telstra network is on 850GHz whereas 3's
> network is, like the UK, on 2100GHz. 850GHz is not featured on UK
> phones (or even 3 Australia atm?) so it won't be possible to go onto
> the Telstra 3G network. However, according to the coverage maps I've
> seen, 3's coverage is good for the main populated areas such as
> Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast (I haven't checked other areas).
>
>
> ---
> Remove 'no_spam_' from email address.
> ---
Try MHz , 2100GHz would be a tad high for todays technology .....


Steve H

steve H wrote:
> Brian A wrote:
>
>> I agree that '3' will be the best operator because of '3 like home' in
>> Australia. There are some developments on that front and I don't know
>> if it will mean that future handsets on '3 UK' will take account of
>> this change. '3 Australia' have done a deal with Telstra so that '3
>> Australia' customers can roam onto their 3G network. The only fly in
>> the ointment is that the Telstra network is on 850GHz whereas 3's
>> network is, like the UK, on 2100GHz. 850GHz is not featured on UK
>> phones (or even 3 Australia atm?) so it won't be possible to go onto
>> the Telstra 3G network. However, according to the coverage maps I've
>> seen, 3's coverage is good for the main populated areas such as
>> Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast (I haven't checked other areas).
>>
>>
>> ---
>> Remove 'no_spam_' from email address.
>> ---
> Try MHz , 2100GHz would be a tad high for todays technology .....
>
>
> Steve H
Long time since I worked in a radiation dept. S band to X band as I
recall and lots of waveguide.

On 2008-08-23, Invisible Man <[email protected]> wrote:
> Dennis Ferguson wrote:
>> If you don't need a handset you can get 600 minutes, 1000 texts and
>> "unlimited" Internet access (I forget how much that "unlimited" is)
>> from O2 for £20 this month on their SIM-only, monthly-contract Simplicity
>> tariff. See
>>
>> http://www.o2.co.uk/mobilestariffs/t...hly/simplicity
[...]
> As I read it on the o2 contract you get 600 minutes plus one bolt-on
> such as texts or data. Not both as I understand it.

If you click through the "Select Tariff" button for "Online 25",
then change the bolt-on from "Unlimited Texts" to "Unlimited Web",
then click the "Proceed to Checkout" button, here's what it says you
are buying for £20:

Online 25 SIM Only
Pay Monthly
1000 UK texts / 600 UK mins
with Unlimited Web Bolt On
(Includes £5 per month discount)

I'm pretty sure this is what I got, though I send so few text
messages that I'm not sure I'd notice or care if texts weren't
actually included.

Dennis Ferguson

Dennis Ferguson wrote:
> On 2008-08-23, Invisible Man <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Dennis Ferguson wrote:
>>> If you don't need a handset you can get 600 minutes, 1000 texts and
>>> "unlimited" Internet access (I forget how much that "unlimited" is)
>>> from O2 for £20 this month on their SIM-only, monthly-contract Simplicity
>>> tariff. See
>>>
>>> http://www.o2.co.uk/mobilestariffs/t...hly/simplicity
> [...]
>> As I read it on the o2 contract you get 600 minutes plus one bolt-on
>> such as texts or data. Not both as I understand it.
>
> If you click through the "Select Tariff" button for "Online 25",
> then change the bolt-on from "Unlimited Texts" to "Unlimited Web",
> then click the "Proceed to Checkout" button, here's what it says you
> are buying for £20:
>
> Online 25 SIM Only
> Pay Monthly
> 1000 UK texts / 600 UK mins
> with Unlimited Web Bolt On
> (Includes £5 per month discount)
>
> I'm pretty sure this is what I got, though I send so few text
> messages that I'm not sure I'd notice or care if texts weren't
> actually included.
>
> Dennis Ferguson

Thanks Dennis.

On Sat, 23 Aug 2008 23:46:27 +0100, Invisible Man
<[email protected]> wrote:

>steve H wrote:
>> Brian A wrote:
>>
>>> I agree that '3' will be the best operator because of '3 like home' in
>>> Australia. There are some developments on that front and I don't know
>>> if it will mean that future handsets on '3 UK' will take account of
>>> this change. '3 Australia' have done a deal with Telstra so that '3
>>> Australia' customers can roam onto their 3G network. The only fly in
>>> the ointment is that the Telstra network is on 850GHz whereas 3's
>>> network is, like the UK, on 2100GHz. 850GHz is not featured on UK
>>> phones (or even 3 Australia atm?) so it won't be possible to go onto
>>> the Telstra 3G network. However, according to the coverage maps I've
>>> seen, 3's coverage is good for the main populated areas such as
>>> Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast (I haven't checked other areas).
>>>
>>>
>>> ---
>>> Remove 'no_spam_' from email address.
>>> ---
>> Try MHz , 2100GHz would be a tad high for todays technology .....
>>
>>
>> Steve H
>Long time since I worked in a radiation dept. S band to X band as I
>recall and lots of waveguide.
OK, OK - you'e both right. I do know that, just an aberration.

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On Aug 23, 10:59*pm, Brian A <[email protected]> wrote:
> Australia' customers can roam onto their 3G network. The only fly in
> the ointment is that the Telstra network is on 850GHz whereas 3's
> network is, like the UK, on 2100GHz. 850GHz is not featured on UK
> phones (or even 3 Australia atm?) so it won't be possible to go onto
> the Telstra 3G network. However, according to the coverage maps I've

That does depend on the phone. Some 3G phones sold in the UK (for
instance the Sony-Ericsson K850i) are tri-band UMTS, meaning that they
can handle both 850MHz and 2100MHz. I doubt that Three's Roaming
agreement with Telstra includes people from Foreign networks using the
"Three Like Home" deal, though. It would be nice if it did, none the
less.

On Sat, 23 Aug 2008 21:59:50 GMT, Brian A
<[email protected]> wrote:


>I agree that '3' will be the best operator because of '3 like home' in
>Australia. There are some developments on that front and I don't know
>if it will mean that future handsets on '3 UK' will take account of
>this change. '3 Australia' have done a deal with Telstra so that '3
>Australia' customers can roam onto their 3G network. The only fly in
>the ointment is that the Telstra network is on 850MHz whereas 3's
>network is, like the UK, on 2100GHz. 850MHz is not featured on UK
>phones (or even 3 Australia atm?) so it won't be possible to go onto
>the Telstra 3G network. However, according to the coverage maps I've
>seen, 3's coverage is good for the main populated areas such as
>Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast (I haven't checked other areas).
>
Further to my edited comments above...
'3 Australia' have just announced a big expansion plan for their own
3G network. They are, aiui, focussing on areas where there has
traditionally been high roaming off their network, eg. Newcastle, the
Central Coast in NSW and the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. They
plan to move from 56% to 96% coverage of the population, completing 50
sites by the end of this year.
In regard to roaming onto the Telstra 850MHz 3g network, roaming
charges from '3' will still apply but they are to be reduced, due to
the agreement between Telstra and Hutchinson '3 Australia', from
September.

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