Mobile package for data abroad?

xabi_a

I'm quite a low-level mobile user, but I find that when I'm abroad is when I need data most (maps, events etc). However, it seems that most mobile plans don't cover data abroad very well (they charge something like 2c per kB which really adds up quickly). I use bill-pay. Any suggestions for a good value package?

Random

The FAQ sticky has a list of pricing for data for the Irish networks.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=59526469&postcount=19

gunnerfitzy

I have VF 1GB data add on for €10 pm.

I use hs.vodafone.ie or isp.vodafone.ie access points in ireland and have full internet access. If I use the vodafone live access point (live.vodafone.com) I have limited internet access anywhere in the world. If if use hs.vodafone.ie or isp.vodafone.ie outside of ireland I am charged for data roaming.

So, prior to departing ireland I set my internet connection to use live.vodafone.com

the downside to using live.vodafone.com is that all internet traffic is routed through a proxy. this means that you can browse most of the internet, send/receive pop email and use some applications like facebook and google maps. however certain sites will not work and neither will some applications like skype.

for what i want when abroad and for the price I think its excellent... but thats me :cool:

CivilEx

gunnerfitzy wrote: »

I have VF 1GB data add on for €10 pm.

I use hs.vodafone.ie or isp.vodafone.ie access points in ireland and have full internet access. If I use the vodafone live access point (live.vodafone.com) I have limited internet access anywhere in the world. If if use hs.vodafone.ie or isp.vodafone.ie outside of ireland I am charged for data roaming.

So, prior to departing ireland I set my internet connection to use live.vodafone.com

the downside to using live.vodafone.com is that all internet traffic is routed through a proxy. this means that you can browse most of the internet, send/receive pop email and use some applications like facebook and google maps. however certain sites will not work and neither will some applications like skype.

for what i want when abroad and for the price I think its excellent... but thats me :cool:

If you are in the UK and use the live APN, is that included in your 1BG add on or is there an additional charge?

cyclopath2001

CivilEx wrote: »

If you are in the UK and use the live APN, is that included in your 1BG add on or is there an additional charge?

It's not included and will be charged for savagely.

Vodafone have a special offer 50mb at 15 euro/day in the UK. That's just 900 times more expensive than the 1gb/10euro/month local rate. Very special indeed.

Best value for UK is '3' where UK is included in the normal allowance. You can get a month for 25 euro, but you have to buy one of their modems.

CivilEx

Cheers, I've used a 3 sim abroad with the three like home service - great value. I thought that there might have been an option to use my 1GB addon abroad, but no worries.

gunnerfitzy

cyclopath2001 wrote: »

It's not included and will be charged for savagely.

Vodafone have a special offer 50mb at 15 euro/day in the UK. That's just 900 times more expensive than the 1gb/10euro/month local rate. Very special indeed.

Best value for UK is '3' where UK is included in the normal allowance. You can get a month for 25 euro, but you have to buy one of their modems.

ah... no. the live.vodafone.com APN can indeed be used in the UK and all over the world and is included in the bundle. I have used it a number of times. Just back from Macedonia and Bulgaria and used it there with no problems or additional charges.

flodis79

gunnerfitzy wrote: »

ah... no. the live.vodafone.com APN can indeed be used in the UK and all over the world and is included in the bundle. I have used it a number of times. Just back from Macedonia and Bulgaria and used it there with no problems or additional charges.

Correct. Have used it successfully in different countries too. Always 99c per day.

cormie

What I currently use when I'm in the UK is a UK PAYG Vodafone sim. It's £0.99 per day for 50mb which is more than enough for checking emails etc. Just don't use o2 roaming whatever you do, I had to get a number off the net once for a B&B, I knew what page it was, but had to go to 3 different pages which were just average text pages. It took me about 90 seconds and cost about €14:eek:

CivilEx wrote: »

Cheers, I've used a 3 sim abroad with the three like home service - great value. I thought that there might have been an option to use my 1GB addon abroad, but no worries.

Are you saying the 1GB addon doesn't work in the UK? I can't see any reason why it wouldn't work but the €25/10GB per month plan would?

I was going to get a 1gb addon and use that for future UK trips aswell as using it for mobile broadband here too, but if it can't be used for UK, that changes everything...

Sam Vimes

cyclopath2001 wrote: »

It's not included and will be charged for savagely.

Vodafone have a special offer 50mb at 15 euro/day in the UK. That's just 900 times more expensive than the 1gb/10euro/month local rate. Very special indeed.

Best value for UK is '3' where UK is included in the normal allowance. You can get a month for 25 euro, but you have to buy one of their modems.

live won't be included in the bundle in the UK but it's never more than 99c a day anywhere in the world

And I doubt the isp add on will work. If 99c per day when you're in the uk is too much you'd be better off with 3, where the add on does work in the uk.

xabi_a

Thanks for all the replies.

Gunnerfitzy you say the vodafone add-on costs €10 pm. Is this an add-on for bill-pay?

And Sam Vines you mention 99c per day for what seems to be the same add-on: which is it? Or is it both €10 pm and then 99c per day?

The vodafone website says of their mobile internet bundle: "500 MB per month €9.99" - that's clear. But then "Usage is charged at 0.5c up to 99c or 168KB of usage" - anyone know what this means? Do they perhaps mean 0.5c up to 99c or 168KB per day? That's incredibly unclear, it could mean anything to me!

Sam Vimes

xabi_a wrote: »

Gunnerfitzy you say the vodafone add-on costs €10 pm. Is this an add-on for bill-pay?

Bill pay

xabi_a wrote: »

And Sam Vines you mention 99c per day for what seems to be the same add-on: which is it? Or is it both €10 pm and then 99c per day?

The add on is for use in Ireland using the ISP access point. The 99c per day deal is for use all over the world using the live access point. You can also get a live add on but I don't know if that works abroad. The access point is chosen by entering settings in your phone and the difference between the two is that some stuff doesn't work properly over live because it's proxied.

xabi_a wrote: »

The vodafone website says of their mobile internet bundle: "500 MB per month €9.99" - that's clear. But then "Usage is charged at 0.5c up to 99c or 168KB of usage" - anyone know what this means? Do they perhaps mean 0.5c up to 99c or 168KB per day? That's incredibly unclear, it could mean anything to me!

That is confusing. I think that line is talking about people who don't have an add on. They mean that you pay 0.5c per kb up to 99c, which would actually be 198kb for 99c but they have it as 168kb for some reason, then once you hit the 99c ceiling it's free for the rest of the day. But if you have the add on you of course wouldn't be paying per kb. It's very confusing

xabi_a

Thanks Sam, it's all very confusing indeed. And I'm a software engineer, I should be able to figure these things out!

I'll investigate further when I've got more time, like maybe a lifetime:)

ardmacha

I think the conclusion is that Vodafone Live on a prepaid phone gives you a proxied service for 99c day in quite a few places. This works with most things. I hope to try it next week in Mediterranean parts.

gunnerfitzy

the 1GB ISP data add on should only be for the isp and hs APNs, however, perhaps unintentionally on the part of VF, the 1GB ISP data add on also allows you to use the live! APN. This means that if you have this add on you will not be charged additionally in anyway for using the live! APN regardless of the country you are in.

Very confusing yes but very very good value me thinks.

Dazzy

If you have 3's data add on you can use this at no extra charge in any country where 3 have, and you use the 3 network.

I'm on O2 and when I travel to Protugal I get ripped off for data roaming. So, I buy a vodafone HSDPA data sim (in Portugal) for about €15 for 300mb and it lasts for 10 days. Prefect for light use and no big surprise when you get home.

I remember coming home once and ringing O2 cause my data roaming bill was huge. The dude from O2 said "yeah they fleece you when you are roaming over there"..... as if O2 don't do it to people who travel to Ireland.

cyclopath2001

gunnerfitzy wrote: »

ah... no. the live.vodafone.com APN can indeed be used in the UK and all over the world and is included in the bundle. I have used it a number of times. Just back from Macedonia and Bulgaria and used it there with no problems or additional charges.

That's interesting about 'live'. I'm on the 10gb 'isp' tariff and according to Vodafone, the 10gb allowance only works in the Republic and I must pay hugely punitive rates if I even ping while outside Ireland.

Can anyone just switch to the 'live' APN or do you need to be on the tarfiff too? What apps do/don't work on 'live'? Are all web sites available? Can you use the phone as a modem?

gunnerfitzy

cyclopath2001 wrote: »

That's interesting about 'live'. I'm on the 10gb 'isp' tariff and according to Vodafone, the 10gb allowance only works in the Republic and I must pay hugely punitive rates if I even ping while outside Ireland.

Can anyone just switch to the 'live' APN or do you need to be on the tarfiff too? What apps do/don't work on 'live'? Are all web sites available? Can you use the phone as a modem?

i didn't think VF had a 10gb ISP addon! I thought only 1gb and 5gb?

You do not need to be sign up for the mobile internet (Live!) addon also (AFAIK it is not possible to have both addons). Use of the Live! APN is included in the ISP addon.

Depending on your phone you just add a new connection for VF Live! The key details required being the username, password and proxy. Details of which are here:-

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=59855432&postcount=39

For me skype or fring wont work. POP Mail and google maps will. The vast majority of websites are available though not all.

My advice would be to delete the ISP connection prior to leaving Ireland as if you connect with it in error while abroad then you will be charged data roaming rates. You can add it again when you return.

I had thought that use of your phone as a modem with VF Live! was prohibited however I cannot find any such reference on their website. If anyone else can then I'd be grateful if they would post the link. If permitted and if you wished to do so you would have to set up your browser to use the same proxy server as VF Live!

Patrickof

So does regular email via a POP email client on the mobile (e.g. nokia mail) work over the live APN? I had thought you neede to use a webmail interface to get mail via live?

gunnerfitzy

Patrickof wrote: »

So does regular email via a POP email client on the mobile (e.g. nokia mail) work over the live APN? I had thought you neede to use a webmail interface to get mail via live?

I use the messaging client on my HTC Touch Pro with no problems at all. I just set it to use the live! APN before getting on the plane.

Patrickof

Hmm, I shall get a voda payg sim and try it out before the holidays so.

Patrickof

Are you limited to the specific Voda partner network in each country to avail of the 99c per day Vodafoen live tariff? e.g. SFR in France

mk6705

Patrickof wrote: »

Are you limited to the specific Voda partner network in each country to avail of the 99c per day Vodafoen live tariff? e.g. SFR in France

When I was in france HSDPA and EDGE and GPRS worked on SFR, but on Orange no data would work over 3G so it was just EDGE and GPRS. No data worked at all over Bouygtel as far as I can remember, but they seem to have the worst coverage anyway.

Basically, it's whoever they have a data roaming agreement with.

If you use more than one network in one day, you'll still be charged 99c so don't worry about that.