MMS .. O2 > Voda and vice versa

Gaz

Has anybody sent a mms message to or from an O2 mobile to a Vodafone mobile ??

I just cant get it to work, so i rang vodafone and they said it wasnt possible. Is this true , seems like false advertising if it is.

seamus

No, cross-network compatibility still isn't possible. The UK are having the same problem afaik. Seems ridiculous they wouldn't agree on a standard format/protocol :rolleyes:

Anywho, I don't think it's false advertising, because you can't send to people who don't have an MMS phone (well, you can, but they don't receive it on their phone). Also, if the message doesn't get delivered, you don't get billed, so you're not paying for a service that doesn't work.

The Corinthian

Originally posted by seamus
No, cross-network compatibility still isn't possible. The UK are having the same problem afaik. Seems ridiculous they wouldn't agree on a standard format/protocol :rolleyes:

Unfortunately it’s not that simple. MMS or WAP Push, is in fact both Push and Pull, with an pushed SMS instructing the phone where to find the content of the message, which is then pulled from a server over GPRS.

So to begin with you have a question of billing, in that going from network A to network B, the originator will pay one network A to send on the message while the terminator or recipient will still have to download the message content over the network of network B. Which network gets paid? Both? What’s the split? Who pays? How do you keep track? Both a business and technical nightmare from the network perspective (and that’s leaving aside that they all hate each other). Remember how long it took them to get packet based billing for GPRS working..?

There are also a number of security and privacy issues involved with the content hosting (which I may get back to later when there’s time).

flywheel

Here's what happens at the moment when I MMS between Voda and O2:

O2 MMS -> Voda:

The Voda recipient (using a MMS or non MMS handset) will get an SMS containing a web link on the O2 website and a pin, they are told to enter their mobile number and this pin on the web page to receive the message

Voda MMS -> O2

Nothing happens, the O2 recipient gets nothing.

Tried this the week it was launched and just now but it's the same situation. Both did mention at/pre launch time that off network MMS wasn't yet available, but at least O2 manage to get a notification to the Voda recipiants.

BrianG

The Corinthian

I believe (although I may be wrong) that this is largely because O2 WAP/MMS content is stored on a publically accessable IP, while Vodafone keeps their WAP/MMS content on an intranet.

flywheel

Originally posted by The Corinthian
I believe (although I may be wrong) that this is largely because O2 WAP/MMS content is stored on a publically accessable IP, while Vodafone keeps their WAP/MMS content on an intranet.

You're right, they seem to be keeping web access for Vodafone Customers only. Just tried a Voda MMS to non MMS handset and you'd need to be able to log into a "My Vodafone" account, only available to Vodafone customers, to pick up an MMS online.

Voda MMS - Voda (Non MMS Handset):

You get a text message saying log into vodfone.ie and using My Vodafone and Picture Album and pick up the MMS there

Vodafone's current zero notification off network isn't a great situation. Even an SMS to the 086 recipient saying the 087 sender tried to send an MMS or make contact would have been better than than directing a 086 recipient's MMS into a black hole and doing nothing

Brian G

sirlinux

have a look at http://www.nowmms.com/ they seem to sort out the cross network thing.

v10

Originally posted by sirlinux
have a look at http://www.nowmms.com/ they seem to sort out the cross network thing.

I have tried since November to get MMS working on my phone (Nokia 7210 on vodafone) and eventually just gave up. Now I tried your link (nowmms.com), went though their OTA (over the air) setup (i.e. they just text you the settings) and it works - I can send and recieve MMS after 2 months trying ! and to top it off - with nowmms.com they're FREE.

Thanks sirlinux,

V10;)

The Corinthian

Free MMS services like Now MMS raise interesting questions. There are two primary reasons that the operators are using the current billing mechanism for MMS, the obvious one of course is profit - if you consider that an MMS is an SMS and a 50k or less download over GPRS, then it doesn’t take a mathematical genius to work out that the current MMS pricing affords the operators massive margins on their already existing massive margins using basic SMS/GPRS.

The second is a security issue: as has been mentioned before, an MMS is an instruction (using SMS) to the MT to download the message from a server. Many phones have little in the way of asking users for confirmation and will connect to download automatically. As such it’s not actually free, but the cost is shared between the MO and MT - users would bare a fraction of the cost for receiving MMS messages.

Dependant upon the implementation of MMS on specific devices, I don’t think there’s a Hell of a lot that the operators can do about this outside of blocking individual IP addresses or SMSCs (they routinely do this for bulk SMS suppliers who undercut them) or returning to the walled garden approach that was so disastrous with WAP’s initial rollout.

But, given the profit margins... err, I mean security concerns, I guarantee they’ll make some move or other to curb these free MMS services

Tusky

When will you be able to send MMS to dif networks ? any1 know ?

Gaz

How much does nowmms cost ? Yes the service is free but you still have to pay for the gprs ...so a picture is roughly 30-40k , how much would that cost on pre-paid gprs (O2)