Unlimited Midband with all the Limits (Voda)

drunkmonkey · 03-06-2010 10:26am #1

All these Unlimted offers are starting to get a bit ridiculous, every single one of them has limits but this one takes the biscuit.
Vodafone has just launched an unlimited midband package for 24.99, It's a great price if it done what it says on the box.

One big problem, It's the most limited of all the unlimited offers' seen over the last few months, it's even a stretch to call it midband/broadband as it does not offer you full internet access like nearly every other internet service provider.

What's concerning is not only do you pay for your internet connection if you want to use services which are free on the internet you'r going to have to pay for them.

Vodafone's unlimited broadband won't allow you to use Skype??

In the T's & C's
"Calling over the internet (VoIP - Voice over Internet Protocol) and data sharing (Peer to Peer) is not supported by the Vodafone's Unlimited Mobile Broadband Tariff"

Are we entering a new era with the isp's are going to charge for what type of services or content we use on the internet. Will people soon be paying for Internet that won't include boards or you pay extra if you want to access facebook?

What's does everyone make of this?

watty · 03-06-2010 11:06am

What is the Cap?

drunkmonkey · 03-06-2010 12:32pm

There's no cap, it just says Vodafone can terminate your connection if they think your abusing the term unlimited.

It's all a bit crazy that there breaking up the internet and deciding what services should be charged for, Are Vodafone from China?

watty · 03-06-2010 2:47pm

Of course there is a Cap. This is unexpected nonsense from Vodafone. The Cap is likely to be between 5G Byte to 30Gbyte.

This is unacceptable marketing. But Imagine appear to have started the present rush to break the English Language with their moderate 30Gbyte Cap described as "Unlimited".

drunkmonkey · 03-06-2010 9:38pm

watty wrote: »

Of course there is a Cap

It says unlimited, It does not mention any cap anywhere in the T's & C's

It's retarded midband. No Skype or any Voip, i've never seen internet like it.

Is it possible for an ISP if they choose, to charge access for different sites, could Eircom start charging for You Tube access if the mood hit them?

jamesjoyce · 04-06-2010 8:05pm

I guess we can speculate as to what limit vodafone will throttle usage. Anyone have any experience with this?could be 30gbs?

Our man in Havana · 04-06-2010 8:57pm

It should be called Vodafone Castrated Fraudband.

06-06-2010 3:28am

I got this like yesterday "Friday" and it's great. Theres no fair use cap on it. WOW voice chat is not voip in the books. Video chat is supported on some services without extra charges like aol apple ichat etc. Its good. I download alot of video "Not porn" and with iPad thats the only way to get iTunes Movie HD content in ireland as the computer store is SD. And peer to peer is mostly illegal unless your installing a blizzard patch you should turn off peer to peer in settings and use main servers. Oh and if you want voip and peer to peer buy data plus add on 20 euro extra a month. now unlimited broadband for 45 euro. I didn't get data plus though. Just unlimited data + Novatel mifi 2352

TVMANIAC2 · 06-06-2010 10:02am

I thought midband was unreliable, with high ping times etc? How can they provide a reliable VoIP service (I guess using Skype etc?) ?
I'm guessing they'd have to give the VoIP traffic the same priority as regular voice traffic to improve the ping time for the call.

@GeekOfComedy - Can you actually still use Skype with this in practice, or is the E20 extra actually needed?

06-06-2010 11:46am

TVMANIAC2 wrote: »

I thought midband was unreliable, with high ping times etc? How can they provide a reliable VoIP service (I guess using Skype etc?) ?
I'm guessing they'd have to give the VoIP traffic the same priority as regular voice traffic to improve the ping time for the call.

@GeekOfComedy - Can you actually still use Skype with this in practice, or is the E20 extra actually needed?

You can use Skype chat but Skype calls get charged because like att in america they look at what sites you visit electronically and see where some bandwidth went so a Skype call protocol would be on the bill with 1500mb and they would see it belongs to Skype hence Skype call. I posted pics of my speeds which I get on my own home broadband 7mb eircom 60gb cap which is the first pic attachment and my vodafone mobile broadband which is the 2nd attachment

Our man in Havana · 06-06-2010 11:54am

Theres no fair use cap on it.

Let us know when Vodafone contact you to tell you off for downloading too much.

06-06-2010 11:58am

Haddockman wrote: »

Let us know when Vodafone contact you to tell you off for downloading too much.

Ok but in terms and conditions it says no fair use limit

I spoke to the manager

Our man in Havana · 06-06-2010 12:01pm

Means absolutely nothing. There is always a limit.

06-06-2010 12:02pm

Haddockman wrote: »

Means absolutely nothing. There is always a limit.

Not really theres a difference between no fair use limit and constant clogging the network. You can use upto 1000gb once every second your not hogging the network for other people which I do not because I have main internet at home

TVMANIAC2 · 06-06-2010 12:54pm

I mailed them yesterday and was assured there was no cap.

I don't believe that though! That said, if the cap were 15GB or 20GB, it would still be better than the 10GB cap at present - exceeding this at (2c / MB??) would allow you to download 250MB of data in excess of the cap for €25.

It's the Skype thing that bugs me - I've used my 10GB Vodafone to make free video calls on Skype in the past and it's worked fairly flawless. A short video call (10 - 15mins) didn't seem to use too much bandwidth. If they want to charge for this as a 'service' with no improvement on ping times etc, then this seems ridiculous. It's also likely they'd just use it as a testing ground for charging for other services in the future - like streaming from RTE player!

Anyone know if it's just the Skype protocol that's blocked? Is any SIP/SDP based voice/video apps blocked also?

06-06-2010 12:57pm

TVMANIAC2 wrote: »

I mailed them yesterday and was assured there was no cap.

I don't believe that though! That said, if the cap were 15GB or 20GB, it would still be better than the 10GB cap at present - exceeding this at (2c / MB??) would allow you to download 250MB of data in excess of the cap for €25.

It's the Skype thing that bugs me - I've used my 10GB Vodafone to make free video calls on Skype in the past and it's worked fairly flawless. A short video call (10 - 15mins) didn't seem to use too much bandwidth. If they want to charge for this as a 'service' with no improvement on ping times etc, then this seems ridiculous. It's also likely they'd just use it as a testing ground for charging for other services in the future - like streaming from RTE player!

Anyone know if it's just the Skype protocol that's blocked? Is any SIP/SDP based voice/video apps blocked also?

WOW voice chat isnt blocked so if all your friends play wow tell them to go to the same area in the realm and have a good ol chat. As far as I can tell apparently ustream isn't voice over internet protocol and iChat video conferencing isn't voip. If they make a T&C for streaming shows I'll cancel my contract not that I use RTE player nor TV3 player but if they start to do more limiting. ..... The 10GB vodafone skype shouldn't cost because you have limited GB. This is the Unlimited mobile broadband T&C. If you want full freedom of no cap I'd say get data plus add on for skype and Peer to peer and if you have good download in your area dump your LAN.

Vodafone Unlimited Mobile Broadband Terms and Conditions (post 20/5/10)
The following terms and conditions apply to use of the Vodafone Unlimited Mobile Broadband service and are in addition to and form part of the general customer terms and conditions of the Vodafone Ireland Limited ("Vodafone") that relate to the use of Vodafone mobile telecommunications services and, in particular, use of the Vodafone mobile connect card/data services. In the event of any conflict between these terms and conditions and the terms and conditions set out above these terms and conditions shall prevail in respect of the Vodafone Unlimited Mobile Broadband Service.
Customers should note that the Vodafone Unlimited Mobile Broadband Tariff is only available to mobile data customers of Vodafone Ireland ("Customers") and allows Customers data usage services (subject to these terms and conditions) via their mobile phone account.
Existing Customers on Mobile Connect Card or the Unlimited Data tariff can migrate to the Vodafone Mobile Broadband tariff by contacting their account manager, phoning the business helpdesk on 1800 30 80 20 or calling into a Vodafone Retail store or accredited agent.
Vodafone Unlimited Mobile Broadband Tariff shall be made available to the Customer from the next bill day following sign up.
Vodafone reserves the right to take such action as it considers reasonably necessary, including (but not limited to) suspending or terminating access to the Vodafone Unlimited Mobile Broadband service where Vodafone (as it in its sole discretion shall determine) considers that:
such action is in the Customer's best interests;
the Customer represents a credit risk to Vodafone;
a Customer's use of the service is or is potentially:
fraudulent or illegal; or
adversely affecting the Vodafone Network or other Vodafone customers' ability to use or access other Vodafone services provided using the Vodafone Network.
Vodafone reserves the right to control excessive data users on the Vodafone Unlimited Mobile Broadband Tariff without further notice to such Customers.
Vodafone reserves the right to withdraw the Vodafone Unlimited Mobile Broadband Tariff generally or from any particular Customer at any time and to vary or amend any element of the Vodafone Unlimited Mobile Broadband Tariff at any time without further notice. These terms and conditions may be varied or amended by Vodafone for any valid commercial technical or operational reason.
Calling over the internet (VoIP - Voice over Internet Protocol) and data sharing (Peer to Peer) is not supported by the Vodafone's Unlimited Mobile Broadband Tariff. If you want to use such services you should purchase the tailored add-on in this regard.
A Customer can only use Office, ISP and HS Access Point Names (APN’s) when using the Vodafone Unlimited Mobile Broadband Tariff. The use of the Vodafone Unlimited Mobile Tariff through any other APN’s (including but not limited to WAP or Blackberry) will incur additional out of bundle charges (€1 per Mb).
Data Roaming is excluded from the Vodafone Unlimited Mobile Broadband Tariff.
The same return policy applies for new and 'As New' Modems.
If for any reason you wish to return your Vodafone Unlimited Mobile Broadband modem to the store, you can do so within 7 days and receive a full refund. You will also receive a full refund of your first month's Vodafone Unlimited Mobile Broadband payment and no termination charges will apply. Just remember that, in order to avail of this returns policy, the modem must not be faulty due to damage caused to it whilst in your possession and must be returned complete with proof of purchase, packaging, cables, software CD and user guide.

The bit I highlighted in black means that don't keep downloading torrents if you have data plus add on or hog the network. If you need to do heavy duty do it at night off peak hours when everyone is asleep. By excessive data users they don't mean downloading 30GB of content they mean you can download as much as you like but during day time don't watch HD 720p videos instead throttle down to 480p and around 9pm start watching in 720p and at 11pm 1080p etc

watty · 06-06-2010 1:15pm

We don't know WHAT they mean. It's opaque and basically misleading. They need to be honest and say what THEY regard as " excessive data".

It's absolutely not unlimited. Only 0.25Mbps continuous is 300G a month. So if you got 2.5Mbps youTube video, and the cap was really 30GByte (really really high for Mobile. 10G is excessive on Mobile if you want decent contention), then you could use only 36 minutes of video viewing a day.

TVMANIAC2 · 06-06-2010 1:16pm

So if you're on the unlimited data package and you try a video call in skype they charge a fee in excess of €25/month or do they just block it altogether?

I can't see any mention of a VoIP add-on from their website either!

I'm not in a great area for the Vodafone service, but it's all that's available!

837760115.png

06-06-2010 1:20pm

TVMANIAC2 wrote: »

So if you're on the unlimited data package and you try a video call in skype they charge a fee in excess of €25/month or do they just block it altogether?

I can't see any mention of a VoIP add-on from their website either!

I'm not in a great area for the Vodafone service, but it's all that's available!

837760115.png

The voip add on is called data plus. Add the unlimited in a cart, choose a modem look at addons

And I dunno about skype but different unheard of services are tended to be used as data download with upload at the same time. Not so much peer to peer but more less of a uploading a video and watching one at the same time type of scenario

watty wrote: »

We don't know WHAT they mean. It's opaque and basically misleading. They need to be honest and say what THEY regard as " excessive data".

It's absolutely not unlimited. Only 0.25Mbps continuous is 300G a month. So if you got 2.5Mbps youTube video, and the cap was really 30GByte (really really high for Mobile. 10G is excessive on Mobile if you want decent contention), then you could use only 36 minutes of video viewing a day.

even if the cap is 30GB thats fine for most users and if your a pro you already probably have a DSL/Cable installed at your house. Using 400GB is easy at home but in a car or on the go is harder because your out for some reason like holidays or conferences etc. When july 4th comes with my bill we'll see how much bandwith I used and how much money did i spend

drunkmonkey · 06-06-2010 1:24pm

If you don't have an add on and you use VOIP and P2P, what happens? Are you charged out of bundle?

This is not unlimited broadband, it's not even broadband and it's not even midband at the headline price.

06-06-2010 1:26pm

drunkmonkey wrote: »

If you don't have an add on and you use VOIP and P2P, what happens? Are you charged out of bundle?

This is not unlimited broadband, it's not even broadband and it's not even midband at the headline price.

I think it's out of bundle if not probably blocked off. I believe out of bundle as most companies want to make a grand out of 50mb LOL. I want to do a 10 second Skype call and wait for my bill, see what happens but frightened. I don't think I'd ever peer to peer with my mobile broadband. I'd just use mega video and after every episode reboot the modem and delete my cookies on a unused web browser. They can call it unlimited but once the advertisement notes T&C apply along with restrictions. Like my friends don't know what bit torrent is, just bearshare or something. Skype is a little stupid but most of my friends that have video cameras use macs and ichat.

jamesjoyce · 06-06-2010 1:27pm

Was in the vodafone shop on Saturday and asked the sales people what's the cap on usage. They had to ring up to head office but no one was available to give an answer. They are leaving a message and will get back on Tuesday when they reopen again. The person at the counter seems to think maybe about 60gb which is what their landline service is capped at but she couldn't say for certain. I think the service is too new for the moment for peoples usage to be throttled. Give it a few months and we"ll see how things shape up with more people signing up and getting the most out of thier "unlimited" connection. Anyone know if an app like sopcast is blocked under the €25 package? Is it classed under p2p? I like that you can get around not using Skype video calls instead with iChat/aol. Seems a fairly decent deal all things considered.

06-06-2010 1:29pm

I heard this unlimited mobile broadband is a special offer which is why no cap so it only lasts until july i believe then they will only offer the 10GB.And with our population I don't believe more than 50,000 people would buy a unlimited data from Vodafone as 3 Kind of carries the flagship because they were kind of THE first at the scene. But when I phoned vodafone the sales talked to the manager. Unlimited buffet all you can eat or in this case download

TVMANIAC2 · 06-06-2010 1:31pm

Deleted User wrote: »

I think it's out of bundle if not probably blocked off. I believe out of bundle as most companies want to make a grand out of 50mb LOL. I want to do a 10 second Skype call and wait for my bill, see what happens but frightened. I don't think I'd ever peer to peer with my mobile broadband. I'd just use mega video and after every episode reboot the modem and delete my cookies on a unused web browser. They can call it unlimited but once the advertisement notes T&C apply along with restrictions. Like my friends don't know what bit torrent is, just bearshare or something. Skype is a little ridiculas but most of my friends that have video cameras use macs and ichat.

The Vodafone site should show your usage and costs 2 days after using it. You don't have to wait for the bill! At least that's the way with my 10GB pay monthly setup

06-06-2010 1:32pm

TVMANIAC2 wrote: »

The Vodafone site should show your usage and costs 2 days after using it. You don't have to wait for the bill! At least that's the way with my 10GB pay monthly setup

How. when i log into my vodafone. What do I click on. Heres my option' check attachement 1. Check the 2nd attachment for what I found.

TVMANIAC2 · 06-06-2010 1:37pm

'Check used minutes and texts' populates with usage details and charges - but only 2 days after you've clocked on the usage.

If you got it on the 4th, it should start appearing today or maybe tomorrow for the 4th.

jamesjoyce · 06-06-2010 1:37pm

If the unlimited deal is only a special offer then it's really good, can't see usage being throttled after June if everyone one else is on a 10gb cap.

06-06-2010 1:40pm

jamesjoyce wrote: »

If the unlimited deal is only a special offer then it's really good, can't see usage being throttled after June if everyone one else is on a 10gb cap.

Yes go to T&C of unlimited mobile broadband data on vodafone mobile broadband section where it shows it's under special offer column. And

'Check used minutes and texts' populates with usage details and charges - but only 2 days after you've clocked on the usage.

If you got it on the 4th, it should start appearing today or maybe tomorrow for the 4th.

I clicked it, check attachment 2 on previous post. I have to try a pay go 02 modem then I can make mobile broadand all ireland show down

Our man in Havana · 06-06-2010 1:40pm

jamesjoyce wrote: »

Was in the vodafone shop on Saturday and asked the sales people what's the cap on usage. They had to ring up to head office but no one was available to give an answer. They are leaving a message and will get back on Tuesday when they reopen again. The person at the counter seems to think maybe about 60gb which is what their landline service is capped at but she couldn't say for certain. I think the service is too new for the moment for peoples usage to be throttled. Give it a few months and we"ll see how things shape up with more people signing up and getting the most out of thier "unlimited" connection. Anyone know if an app like sopcast is blocked under the €25 package? Is it classed under p2p? I like that you can get around not using Skype video calls instead with iChat/aol. Seems a fairly decent deal all things considered.

This is going to end up like IOL Surf no limits all over again where they had to send cease and desist letters to many of its customers for hogging the service all the time.

This will not end well. Mark my words.

06-06-2010 1:42pm

Haddockman wrote: »

This is going to end up like IOL Surf no limits all over again where they had to send cease and desist letters to many of its customers for hogging the service all the time.

This will not end well. Mark my words.

If they throttle down I have a right to cancel my contract as I'm paying for a service I don't want.

Our man in Havana · 06-06-2010 1:43pm

I wish you the very best of luck trying to cancel under those circumstances.

Unlimited Midband with all the Limits (Voda)

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