Meteor Mobile Broadband & 3G

Tarakiwa

I am getting 3G up here in Louth at the moment!

This is BRILLIANT!

sbhatia

Getting 3g and sometimes 3.5g since yesterday all over dublin, have to say internet is much faster and was just talking to meteor customer care and good news is video call is same rate as voice all, which is just great for me coz i have free calls. Well done meteor.

dlambirl

still edge for me around the meath/cavan/monaghan border

markarman

hi,
i recently phoned meteor to ask why i couldnt use video calling when we both have meteor sims and 3g handsets.

i was told that we needed meteor 3g sim cards and they are available from all meteor stores and we could even keep our existing number.

i have a couple of doubts that i am hoping the good people on this site can clear up one way or another.

will the meteor 3g sim card cost anything?
can we really keep the same nubmers?
when we use these sim cards will we still have the free calls and texts we currently have?
when meteor say video calls will cost the same as voice calls does this mean they are free as are voice calls with their €20.00 per month package (i forget its name)

i look forward to your well informed and swift replies

thanks in advance

mark ..

Rsaeire

markarman wrote: »

hi,
i recently phoned meteor to ask why i couldnt use video calling when we both have meteor sims and 3g handsets.

i was told that we needed meteor 3g sim cards and they are available from all meteor stores and we could even keep our existing number.

i have a couple of doubts that i am hoping the good people on this site can clear up one way or another.

will the meteor 3g sim card cost anything?
can we really keep the same nubmers?
when we use these sim cards will we still have the free calls and texts we currently have?
when meteor say video calls will cost the same as voice calls does this mean they are free as are voice calls with their €20.00 per month package (i forget its name)

i look forward to your well informed and swift replies

thanks in advance

mark ..

You don't need a 3G sim card. I can only surmise the reason you were advised of this was so the rep could do as little work as possible and not escalate the issue accordingly. If you were to get a 3G sim then yes, your numbers can be transferred from your old sim to your new sim with the aid of a sim copier; a small handheld device that a lot of mobile phone stores have.

Video calls are priced the same way as voice calls e.g. if you are on a tariff that offers free Meteor to Meteor calls, your video calls to Meteor numbers will be free. This is the same across the board for prepay and postpay customers on all tariffs, add-ons and promotions that offer free calls to another number or network/s.

markarman

wow a quick and accurate reply so soon.

thanks a million

any hoo.

i have looked a little deeper into this and the guy at the meteor store said the same the sim card i have should work fine. i got the thing working so i wanted to share the how with you.

after much fiddling i have found to get this to work you need to scan services and choose meteor 3G, however after a few seconds it goes off again. i think this is because the phone is set to select service provider automatically therefore after a few seconds (ie a new scan) it selects meteor 2G as the strongest signal.

so i set my select service provider to manual. then i did the scan and chose meteor 3G, i did the same with her phone and voila i made a video call between the phones... i actually made two... one each way.....

however, even though we are both signed up for the meteor to meteor free calls and texts (offer of a lifetome €20 top up every 30 days)i was charged for the video calls. it wasn't a lot but there was a charge. which makes the earlier reply somewhat confusing.

i know if i ring meteor i will get a spotty oik who doesnt have a clue what he/she is talking about so if there is anyone here i would be obliged for your advice

cheers
mark ..

Rsaeire

markarman wrote: »

wow a quick and accurate reply so soon.

thanks a million

any hoo.

i have looked a little deeper into this and the guy at the meteor store said the same the sim card i have should work fine. i got the thing working so i wanted to share the how with you.

after much fiddling i have found to get this to work you need to scan services and choose meteor 3G, however after a few seconds it goes off again. i think this is because the phone is set to select service provider automatically therefore after a few seconds (ie a new scan) it selects meteor 2G as the strongest signal.

so i set my select service provider to manual. then i did the scan and chose meteor 3G, i did the same with her phone and voila i made a video call between the phones... i actually made two... one each way.....

however, even though we are both signed up for the meteor to meteor free calls and texts (offer of a lifetome €20 top up every 30 days)i was charged for the video calls. it wasn't a lot but there was a charge. which makes the earlier reply somewhat confusing.

i know if i ring meteor i will get a spotty oik who doesnt have a clue what he/she is talking about so if there is anyone here i would be obliged for your advice

cheers
mark ..

You will unfortunately need to ring Meteor customer care and advise them that you were definitely charged for video calls. I wouldn't be surprised if it is a billing error since if it's happening to you, it would more than likely be happening to others too. I understand your reluctance to speak to one of the "oiks", as you put it, but other than customer care, your only other option would be to email Meteor at info@meteor.ie and have them advise as to the issue as customer care don't answer the emails, the administration team do.

dubber

Rsaeire wrote: »

You will unfortunately need to ring Meteor customer care and advise them that you were definitely charged for video calls. I wouldn't be surprised if it is a billing error since if it's happening to you, it would more than likely be happening to others too. I understand your reluctance to speak to one of the "oiks", as you put it, but other than customer care, your only other option would be to email Meteor at info@meteor.ie and have them advise as to the issue as customer care don't answer the emails, the administration team do.

Sorry, you are wrong. I asked this question, video calls are not free, they are charged the same rate as voice, but not included in promotions i.e. free calls to meteor.

markarman

thanks a million guys.

that answers my questions totally,

shame about video calls not bing included in offers though

at loeast we have cleared that up for anyone else reading

thanks again

mark ..

Rsaeire

dubber wrote: »

Sorry, you are wrong. I asked this question, video calls are not free, they are charged the same rate as voice, but not included in promotions i.e. free calls to meteor.

I spoke to several people in Meteor who confirmed that they were indeed included in all promotions as they are charged the same as a voice call, and as a voice call comes out of your inclusive minutes, whether it be tariff or promotion, then video calls also work the same way.

I guess one of use was told a lie from Meteor, I just wonder which one it was.

bmcgrath

I think Meteor need to get their act together when it comes to speed.
In the evenings EDGE and 3G becomes a crawl. So so so slow! Now I understand that there is prob a massive load on the network with everyone on trains etc commuting home hopping online.

But it's plain silly seeing speeds of 24k from 5pm-7pm. Thats slower than dialup ffs!!

Rsaeire

bmcgrath wrote: »

I think Meteor need to get their act together when it comes to speed.
In the evenings EDGE and 3G becomes a crawl. So so so slow! Now I understand that there is prob a massive load on the network with everyone on trains etc commuting home hopping online.

But it's plain silly seeing speeds of 24k from 5pm-7pm. Thats slower than dialup ffs!!

You'll also notice that when people use 3G for voice, this will have an impact on the throughput of 3G data connections and coverage as voice will always take priority. In built up areas, it's not uncommon for there to be little access even to the 3G network, or access, but little to no throughput.

Things will improve come the New Year, but you’ll probably notice better speeds now than when everyone starts coming online next year with the roll-out of mobile broadband.

bmcgrath

Rsaeire wrote: »

You'll also notice that when people use 3G for voice, this will have an impact on the throughput of 3G data connections and coverage as voice will always take priority. In built up areas, it's not uncommon for there to be little access even to the 3G network, or access, but little to no throughput.

Things will improve come the New Year, but you’ll probably notice better speeds now than when everyone starts coming online next year with the roll-out of mobile broadband.

I'm not so sure of that. Vodafone have more customers than Meteor and I never saw such a dramatic drop in speed on their 3G network.

metalfest

broadband won't be till late spring, so don't worry yet,

Walkman

All networks have more customers on their 3g networks and speeds are never anywhere near that slow on 3's network (im not talking modems here)

7.Ronaldo

Rsaeire wrote: »

I spoke to several people in Meteor who confirmed that they were indeed included in all promotions as they are charged the same as a voice call, and as a voice call comes out of your inclusive minutes, whether it be tariff or promotion, then video calls also work the same way.

I guess one of use was told a lie from Meteor, I just wonder which one it was.

Neither of you were lied to. Video calls were originally included in the price / promotion plans but that was changed recently (I think it was last week).

They are now free for most but chargeable at the same rate as a voice call for those on Anytime Choice.

Rsaeire

bmcgrath wrote: »

I'm not so sure of that. Vodafone have more customers than Meteor and I never saw such a dramatic on their 3G network.

As I mentioned, you see it usually within heavily built up areas e.g. city centre and can cause slows and delays with connectivity. There are certain times when this is most evident such as lunchtime, just after 5pm etc.

Obviously this doesn't happen all of the time, but it does answer some of the queries as to why it happens some of the time.

Rsaeire

7.Ronaldo wrote: »

Neither of you were lied to. Video calls were originally included in the price / promotion plans but that was changed recently (I think it was last week).

They are now free for most but chargeable at the same rate as a voice call for those on Anytime Choice.

Yes, I heard of the change recently too.

Mossy Monk

Is there a map that shows what their 3G coverage is like?

metalfest

don't think so....

Random

Mossy Monk wrote: »

Is there a map that shows what their 3G coverage is like?

I haven't seen one and can't find on the Meteor website but it's mainly Dublin and Cork from what I hear so far

Mossy Monk

I know Waterford has coverage now but not in Dungarvan.

theteal

Mossy Monk wrote: »

Is there a map that shows what their 3G coverage is like?

all meteor stores should have access to the new 3G coverage map, it's a google earth link with a regularly updated coverage fog type display, just ask to see it

theteal

Mossy Monk wrote: »

Is there a map that shows what their 3G coverage is like?

all meteor stores should have access to the new 3G coverage map, it's a google earth link with a regularly updated coverage fog type display

Mossy Monk

Oddly enough 3G from Meteor is available in Dungarvan as of this evening. What are the odds

metalfest

congrats:)

Jonathan

theteal wrote: »

all meteor stores should have access to the new 3G coverage map, it's a google earth link with a regularly updated coverage fog type display

Any chance of the kmz? :P

Mossy Monk

metalfest wrote: »

congrats:)

But it's gone again

Oh I don't know

metalfest

go into manual search, there should be two meteor's
one is 3g
i usually have to do this

Jonathan

One may be vodafone.

Meteor sims rename vodafone to meteor because of their roaming agreement.