Why I *will* be taking up O2's broadband after all

Tom Dunne

I am a sad little man.

I have noticed this morning my holy grail of telecommunications - the 'E' symbol on my O2 XDA. So O2 have switched on their EDGE network, and my phone supports it.

After a lengthy discussion with an extremely knowledgable data support person at O2, I am convinced paying the extra €10 a month vs. Three is worth it in tech support alone. He explained to me that I dodn't need to purchase the broadband modem, that I won't get 3 speeds on EDGE, that I will need a new SIM card and that the call charges are that bit more expensive on the broadband only package.

My experience of Three's tech support is limited to the horror stories I have read here, but based on that alone, I think O2 are worth the extra.

Sam Vimes

tom dunne wrote:

Three's tech support

that's an oxymoron

rogue-entity

Commander Vimes wrote:

that's an oxymoron

Indeed. The only reason I stay with three is because the other networks have not yet taken their heads out of their asses and offered decent plans.

Reason I stick with 3:
I can tech-support myself, I know more then those drones on the other end of the line.
Virtually unlimited data allowance and Free MSN Messenger from my phone, on any 3 network worldwide.
Flat rate calls to all Irish and UK numbers, and local call rates back home when on a foreign 3 network.
The whole lot costs me under €30/mo, where as i would be paying out far more to use O2, and not even get close to the value for my money.

Sorry, but until O2 can beat what 3 are offering, i am not switching.

Gekko

I've got one bar of HSDPA signal - so just within coverage.

Just got the O2 modem today.

But I'm having email problems...

Sam Vimes

rogue-entity wrote:

Sorry, but until O2 can beat what 3 are offering, i am not switching.

if they sacked their customer care and paid a bunch of clueless indians 10c a day to read from a script they probably could offer what 3 do

gerryR

Does that mean, you can get o2s brodband package attached to your mobile number and use it on your phone? Something Voda wouldn't allow me to do?

tia

Tom Dunne

gerryR wrote:

Does that mean, you can get o2s brodband package attached to your mobile number and use it on your phone? Something Voda wouldn't allow me to do?

Yes, that's what the O2 data support person told me. You are basically getting the SIM only - no USB modem. You put the SIM into your phone, of course,:) and surf away.

Cabaal

Shame they got rid of Glasgow (for the most part), I work with somebody who knew people their,

Have to say I couldn't fault Glasgows support but the Indian support is painful to say the least

Serious problem with language barrier

mkennedy

tom dunne wrote:

I am a sad little man.

I have noticed this morning my holy grail of telecommunications - the 'E' symbol on my O2 XDA. So O2 have switched on their EDGE network, and my phone supports it.

After a lengthy discussion with an extremely knowledgable data support person at O2, I am convinced paying the extra €10 a month vs. Three is worth it in tech support alone. He explained to me that I dodn't need to purchase the broadband modem, that I won't get 3 speeds on EDGE, that I will need a new SIM card and that the call charges are that bit more expensive on the broadband only package.

My experience of Three's tech support is limited to the horror stories I have read here, but based on that alone, I think O2 are worth the extra.

i got edge on my device as well so this could be an option for me.
but that sim you mention is just for data tom. i don't fancy paying 30 euro to buy a sim just for data to use in a phone tbh.

did you get any impression from o2 support that they have any plans to bring out a good voice and data sim deal for mobiles ala three e.g 200mins+100mb for under 35euro. if so i'd be interested.

Tom Dunne

mkennedy wrote:

i got edge on my device as well so this could be an option for me.
but that sim you mention is just for data tom.

Nope, that's data and voice. Just €30 a month, but voice calls are 30c a minute, which is quite high.

mkennedy wrote:

did you get any impression from o2 support that they have any plans to bring out a good voice and data sim deal for mobiles ala three e.g 200mins+100mb for under 35euro. if so i'd be interested.

I think the deals start at €65 a month for voice + data packages.

culabula

mkennedy wrote:

i got edge on my device as well so this could be an option for me.
but that sim you mention is just for data tom. i don't fancy paying 30 euro to buy a sim just for data to use in a phone tbh.

did you get any impression from o2 support that they have any plans to bring out a good voice and data sim deal for mobiles ala three e.g 200mins+100mb for under 35euro. if so i'd be interested.

Yes, this is what we need: a data add-on, a la 3. I think O2 have a bloody cheeck selling the N95 whose potential cannot be realised without a decent bundle. On the other hand -3! why are we waiting?

Meanwhile, I'm sitting here high up a mountain near the Costa del Sol eating carnes de toro and drinking a nice vino local.....and watching TG4 on my MacBook using my N95 as modem and Spanish 3G dataSIM.
¡Que Bueno!

culabula

tom dunne wrote:

Nope, that's data and voice. Just €30 a month, but voice calls are 30c a minute, which is quite high.

But can one simply add on a decent data package to an existing SIM?

mkennedy

culabula wrote:

.....and watching TG4 on my MacBook using my N95 as modem and Spanish 3G dataSIM.
¡Que Bueno!

what site are you using to watch tg4 btw.

mkennedy

tom dunne wrote:

Nope, that's data and voice. Just €30 a month, but voice calls are 30c a minute, which is quite high.

so that's circa 90 euro a month if you want 200 min voice and 'unlimited' mobile edge with o2. not great unless those data and voice packages you mention are more reasonable- they're the 25mb add-ons jobs on top of basic voice tarriffs aren't they.

edit: on the other hand if o2 allow voip over edge (which i'm sure is feasible) and edge coverage was good there may not be much need for traditional voice calls except for emergencies etc -the 'unlimited' data sim should cover both data needs and voip calls easily. of course you'd need maybe 30-40 euro of skypeout credit as well. still not ideal i suppose.
a bit idealistic anyway i'd say tbh:
i doubt o2 will allow voip over edge.
i doubt the coverage will make it viable.

Random

tom dunne wrote:

I am a sad little man.

I have noticed this morning my holy grail of telecommunications - the 'E' symbol on my O2 XDA. So O2 have switched on their EDGE network, and my phone supports it.

After a lengthy discussion with an extremely knowledgable data support person at O2, I am convinced paying the extra €10 a month vs. Three is worth it in tech support alone. He explained to me that I dodn't need to purchase the broadband modem, that I won't get 3 speeds on EDGE, that I will need a new SIM card and that the call charges are that bit more expensive on the broadband only package.

My experience of Three's tech support is limited to the horror stories I have read here, but based on that alone, I think O2 are worth the extra.

Is he just going to put your existing number on the broadband plan and charge you the more exspensive rates you pay on this plan? Or is he putting this on your existing voice plan? i.e. €40 per month for unlimited broadband on top of what you're paying now - all on the same SIM ?

culabula

mkennedy wrote:

what site are you using to watch tg4 btw.

None - I am using my LocationFree application hooked up to my Base Station and Sky at home -I can watch anything I want with a decent connection.

Tom Dunne

ciaranfo wrote:

Is he just going to put your existing number on the broadband plan and charge you the more exspensive rates you pay on this plan? Or is he putting this on your existing voice plan? i.e. €40 per month for unlimited broadband on top of what you're paying now - all on the same SIM ?

Not quite.

I'm on pre-pay, so I am considering switching to bill pay, but broadband only, no voice packages. So I will be switching on the broadband on my current O2 number, but I still can make calls at 30c a minute and send texts.

Gillo

Cabaal wrote:

Shame they got rid of Glasgow (for the most part), I work with somebody who knew people their,

Have to say I couldn't fault Glasgows support but the Indian support is painful to say the least

Serious problem with language barrier

I've dound the exactsame problem with Apple's tech support, it's a nightmare.

Back on topic, I tried the broadband last night and was well impressed!!!

damo86

just picked one up today!

working grand on my mac, does anyone know when are they extending their coverage as the 3g signal is very patchy at the mo,it comes and goes!

Im in the cloyne, co.cork area if that helps.

It beats the old dialup though as its always on because i have load of apps that connect to the internet constantly..it started to wreck my dads head(huge bills)!

Plus like tom, i have a qtek s110 thats edge enabled but havent tried that yet, be handy as a data only device.

70yoyos for the modem..cheap enough i my eyes, plus 15yoyos for 3 months still beats my 25mb/month addon i had!

all in all im a happy camper!

JBoyle4eva

WHOA, does this mean that o2 are offering EDGE all over the country where typical GPRS is available, or just near the 3G areas?

Tom Dunne

JBoyle4eva wrote:

WHOA, does this mean that o2 are offering EDGE all over the country where typical GPRS is available, or just near the 3G areas?

No, from what I have seen on my own phone, only certain 2G cells are EDGE enabled. I assume they are all 2.5g (gprs) upgraded to 2.75g (EDGE) , so they are seperate from 3G.

damo86

does anyone know when o2 will be extending their 3g coverage is the east cork area?i live in cloyne if that helps?

been trialing it for the day and have been in cork city where i was getting around 1.7 mb/sec..well impressed!

now to convince o2 to combine my voice tariff and my data to one sim,does anyone know this is possible or are o2 very stubborn about it cos sick of swapping sims to use the internet on my phone and thus more prone to damage?

regards
damo

Urban Weigl

damo86, there is no technical reason why it can not be combined on the same SIM. However, o2 may have a policy in place to prevent this. If so, good luck, as they won't combine it for you, and you'll have to swap the SIM each time you want to use the internet.

Urban Weigl

The only way to combine "unlimited data" with phone in Ireland at the moment is 3. They let you get both on the same SIM card.

I hope o2's policy towards this changes.

damo86

thanks mate,
suppose it will have to do for the moment!

those dual sim yokes dont work for 3g,right?

i popped them an email so prob here from them on monday.

Urban Weigl

Just had a thought. You can actually make phone calls on the o2 data SIM. And you can port your existing number to it.

So perhaps you won't need to swap SIM's after all...

Urban Weigl

It's been confirmed to me that it is actually possible to have both the mobile broadband and a voice plan on the same SIM card.

I plan to get the following from O2 in a few months: a business plan, mobile broadband and the E90 communicator.

So that is very good news indeed. My previous comment was wrong.

damo86

brillant,where did you get this confirmation?so could ring up o2 now and port my broadband no to my voice no?

the buggers in the o2 store told me i couldnt do this,is it because im on a personal tariff and not business?

Urban Weigl

I was talking to O2 business sales, however they told me it's also possible with the regular active life plans. They said they aren't promoting it because it's going to be inconvenient to have to swap the SIM card back and forth, as most phones don't support HSDPA, so won't be as fast when not connecting through the USB modem.

The agent I spoke to even confirmed it with a supervisor to be sure.

damo86

perfect,have a se p990i so that would be getting more use then the computer!

but im planning on getting a htc kaiser when it comes out which hsdpa enabled!

<me dials 1909>

damo86

right,just rang cc and after speaking to a nice girl(as always!),i can port my bb no to my voice no but,and a big but, i WILL lose my active 150 tariff thus losing my free mins and texts.

i ask if i can add the active tariff to my bb package but she said no.

so close..yet so far!

any ideas urban?

regrds
damo