Meteor GPRS availability

Hi guys. I recently bought a Motorola V300 phone on Meteor. My GPRS reception is absolutely pathetic. Sometimes if I turn on the phone I'll get really weak coverage (1 or 2 bars) with GPRS. It will then jump up to 4 or 5 bars and the GPRS icon will disappear. When this happens I need to resort to CSD, the phone will give an error saying "GPRS connection not available, attempt direct data call?".
This phone is unlocked and if I put an O2 SIM card in it, the GPRS icon is permanently on, which is how it should be with the V300. My phone has both the O2 and Meteor GPRS settings entered correctly by the way.

I'm living 5 miles west of Listowel in Co. Kerry. Is there a chance that the local transmitter isn't enabled for GPRS, but the phone can sometimes pick up a distant mast that is enabled? (the coverage is always low when I do get a GPRS signal)

Gillo

Meteor are banned (by Comreg) from using the MMS service. It is possible that they are not allowed to offer GRPS also, you might be able to pick up the service but not actually use it.

Have you tried calling their customer care to ask them that you are actually provisioned for GRPS?

flywheel

Originally posted by gillo
Meteor are banned (by Comreg) from using the MMS service. It is possible that they are not allowed to offer GRPS also...

- not sure where you head that... have used both on their network since before the new year...

re: 29/10/03: Meteor launches GPRS and MMS

BrianG

Celticwarrior

I've beenusing Meteor MMS and GPRS since september!

jesus_thats_gre

Originally posted by gillo
Meteor are banned (by Comreg) from using the MMS service. It is possible that they are not allowed to offer GRPS also, you might be able to pick up the service but not actually use it.

Have you tried calling their customer care to ask them that you are actually provisioned for GRPS?

I think you must be getting confused with something else there!!!!

Not only is the service working but they are currently trying to negotiate interoperability with Vodafone and O2 (courtesy of BigMoose)..

Slice

I think you're confusing the fact that Meteor haven't gone for a 3G liscence with the non-fact that Comreg have banned Meteor from offering MMS.

Does anyone actually know when interoperability between Meteor and Vodafone/O2 will become available?

It must be something to do with the masts. I noticed that if I walk about a half mile down the road I can receive GPRS with no problem at all (about 4 or 5 bars of coverage), yet if I walk back I'll lose GPRS about 100 metres from my home. I wonder if Meteor would be able to tell me anything.

Well regarding interoperability, today I tried sending an MMS message to my brother's Vodafone mobile and it didn't work

flywheel

could you try it while carrying a gnome around with you



but seriously, calling Meteor and reporting the problem directly to them would probably be best...

BrianG

LOL BrianG, well I contacted Meteor earlier on - the rep I spoke with told me that GPRS is currently down in my area for upgrade works and will be back online in about two weeks. Seems like I just got my phone at a bad time - made it seem like my area was never GPRS enabled.
She also told me that judging from my location, I do receive overspill from other masts that are operating normally - hence why GPRS works sometimes and not others.

aphex™

GPRS is flakey at best. Even in Dublin. The problem seems that you live in Kerry and have a Meteor phone. Don't expect to get GPRS coverage with meteor all the time. There are black spots everywhere. There are times when i can call someone but cannot use GPRS.

Even in dublin with 02 i can get it in parts of my house and not in others.

Yes, Meteor claim to have over 90% coverage (i wouldn't think thats for GPRS now), but if you want coverage, go with with Vodafone or 02. Come on, everybody knows that. Esp. down the country. Common sence.

I'm actually just trying out Meteor for the moment, my main number is on O2. Hence why the phone was unlocked, hehe. Basically, everyone I know is on networks other than O2 so I thought I'd try Meteor since the calls are cheaper, and I do call people a lot.

By the way, I seem to assume that things will "just work", probably because I'm a Dublin man myself (and things used to "just work" when I lived there). Maybe I expect too much, lol.

ldw

Meteor's GPRS core is much more capable of higher data speeds than the other two, not because of a lesser subscriber base.....but due to the next-generation infrastructure that they have in place.

aphex™

Originally posted by ldw
Meteor's GPRS core is much more capable of higher data speeds than the other two, not because of a lesser subscriber base.....but due to the next-generation infrastructure that they have in place.

Haha with 1 post i bet you work for them. Thats true Meteor have the most high tech Gsm network at the moment in ireland. Possibly Europe. (im NOT being sarcastic). They've only just about introduced GPRS. Equipment is brand new

Still, whats the use if you dont have enough masts? Reminds me of that episode of the simpsons where theres a Jazz radio station with a broadcasting range of 10 feet.

:rolleyes:

jesus_thats_gre

I would imagine that Meteor cover a large area with a single mast while the like of Vodafone and O2 would cover the same area with 2/3/4 base stations. One benefit of this is added capacity for the area, and considering they both have many time more users, much needed extra capacity

flywheel

ComReg's Site Viewer service is a handy way to check out base station / mast locations

BrianG

Originally posted by DubWireless
ComReg's Site Viewer service is a handy way to check out base station / mast locations

BrianG

Thanks for that one mate, that comfirms my suspicions that the cell with no GPRS is on Knockanore mountain, I have a clear view of it from my back garden. Vodafone have one up there as well.

Thumbs up to Meteor! They kept their word, and now GPRS is up and running in the area with no problems at all.

stereo_steve

From the meteor website:

Kerry: Miltown, Killarney, Glanflesk, N73-Beaufort to Killarney, North of Tralee town, N68 - Anascaul to Camp, N86 - Dingle to Anascaul, Kilorglin, N70 - Castlemaine to Glenbeigh, N72 to Beaufort, Ring of Kerry, N70 - Kenmare to Sneem.

From the Meteor Site these are the locations in Kerry that have been upgraded in the last few weeks. Meteor are really flying now in improving their network.

Skud

DubWireless wrote:

90%coverage of what though, damn advertising...

stereo_steve

YORE MA! <-sorry, couldn't resist!

90% population coverage. Voda and O2 both quote in terms of population too.They don't really have 99%

Infact they have 95 area coverage%