O2 Webtext Delay - Intentional?

kasintahan

O2 webtext has been suffering a huge delay in delivering recently.

This has been apparent for some weeks now.

The service used to be reliable and quick, but now the delays are in the order of several hours or more.

I don't suppose O2 would be intentionally weakening their webtext in order to boost their text sales via handset?

eth0_

I noticed this started happening last Friday I was arranging to meet people and sent texts at 7pm, they didn't get them til after 11pm that night!

o2.ie site is just crap full stop.

kasintahan

OK.

Now I know the delay is systematic.

Sent a sucession of messages at timed intervals - they arrived as equally spaced as they were sent.

Bastards.

fatherdougalmag

What intervals did you send them at? It might be that there is a back-log and yours all got queued in turn.

The real test would be to monitor the performance over a few days and see if there is any variation in the delay. That would then suggest a back-log of some sort. But if the messages consistently take the same time then they're up to something.

Mind you, they probably saw that the web text service was overloading and phone texters were suffering so they've shifted the priorities towards them. In that case, that's probably only fair.

Ph3n0m

there is no variation in delay - I texted people at varying times over the past few weeks and each and everyone of them arrived several hours after I sent them - no one person got their messages any quicker

Standard Toaster

Your not alone lads....already a thread here about it.
I've emailed them already....no reply as of yet.

eclectichoney

i had the delay, but now it seems no text msgs i send are getting through AT ALL. Grrrrr

Kevin_rc_ie

i have found this issue terribly annoying also. it's not that i hugely mind paying for texts, but would just prefer to type them. well, the freeness was good.

Standard Toaster

I sent a test sms to myself from webtxt over an hour ago....no sign of it!

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

Sponge Bob

kasintahan wrote:

O2 webtext has been suffering a huge delay in delivering recently. This has been apparent for some weeks now.

The service used to be reliable and quick, but now the delays are in the order of several hours or more.

Correct, they are aggregating them through a virtual operator in Kazakhstan I hear which is why the service is now totally kak to 'other O2 customers' as much as to everyone else.

Cheapskates

Sully

Iv already emailed them about it..

- Sully

embraer170

Very very frustrating.

Seems messages to international are getting through right away.

Mercury_Tilt

This post has been deleted.

wheresmybeaver

Is there a difference between webtext for billpay customers and webtext for pay as you go? I'm on billpay and I've had no delays (mostly) for webtext. Just sent a rake of them there, they were received immediately.

Anyway I'm sure its just a network congestion issue. More people sending webtext at a certain time = slower service?

Ph3n0m

well the delay is nover 6 hours - sent a text yesterday at 1:34 pm - it arrived at 7:52pm that night

marshmallow

i got that problem aswel. sent txts at about 7 or 8pm one day last week and they didnt arrive until some time during the night and my friends gave out that i woke them up! woops but not my fault!

eclectichoney

lads, sent a msg just now and the problem seems resolved ???

whiskeyman

I know for a fact O2 know there's problems with their webtext software thats affecting many users.
Their IT section are working on the problem and customer care have been told to advise any person with complaints that this is the case.
O2 need to watch themselves... jut wait til 3 enter the market later this year.
Hopefully that'll shake things up

Poz3D

Yeah it seems OK for me as well now, and I'm a prepay (Speakeasy) customer. I did have a problem of a 4-hour or so delay earlier this week.

Standard Toaster

Same here...seems to be back to normal (Billpay)

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

Sully

Responce from O2:
Dear Kevin

Thank you for your query regarding web text. We are aware of delays occurring with our free webtext service at present. The issue surrounds the delivery of a message sent via webtext. It may arrive late to the o2.ie users designated recipient or in a unique number of cases it may be sent through the system in duplicate to the users designated recipient. This issue, whilst not causing a problem for all customers is being treated very seriously and o2 hope to have an update on a final fix date over the next few days. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

I hope this is of assistance to you.

Thank you for using O2.ie. If you should require further assistance, please call O2.ie Internet Support on 1740 from your o2 mobile (EUR0.19c per call) or 1850 60 1740(Please contact your network provider to query the charges to this number). We are available from 8.00am to 10.00pm seven days a week.

Kind regards,

O2.ie Customer Care
1784

- Sully

That's got nothin new in it! Basically it just says that they're aware of the problem.

Lenny

Got the same messsage skully,
webtxtxs seem to be ok now for me

jimbob

Seems to have slowed down again.

eclectichoney

yes it's slow again

Vok

I've sent timestamped test messages to my own phone over the past couple of days. One today sent at 13:16 arrived at 15:14. Others were of the order of 3 hours or more.

Let me just point out to anyone from the O2 morkeshing team that if people find out this is due to some greedy attempt to get people to use text on their phone, instead of on the web, like we want to, you guys will have shot yourselves in the foot, and we are talking totally, here.

Anyone have pointers to working, free SMS gateways out there? There's always someone else hungrier for the business.

soiaf

AFAIK, years ago there wasn't proper (network) interconnect charges for text messages, nowadays I think its pretty much standard. So, anyone (by this I mean a network operator) sending a message to o2, vodafone, meteor etc. would be charged for the 'privilege'.
Thats why theres far less sites offering free messages, the ones that do are basically trying to sell you something, or use it as an enticement for other things etc.

It would be very strange for this to be intentional - maybe if you're sending to someone they're not getting money for you sending the message, but its probably fair to say that person will probably respond (money for them).
Ok so if you're sending to vodafone/meteor/a.n.other theres a charge (interconnect), but if the person responds they basically get that back (roughly speaking). If its to an 02 customer, then its basically free to send, and if that person responds it all money for them.
Not saying that they're not, just it seems (to me anyway) a very unlikely situation.

otron

Vok wrote:

Anyone have pointers to working, free SMS gateways out there? There's always someone else hungrier for the business.

er ... What business?? It's hardly like your paying for a free SMS gateway!

jimbob

We should all write to a newsaper. they would see so many of us are writing in and print it......

Then i'm sure there would be a fix..pronto....