New O2 Data Pricing.... 250MB, 1GB and 10GB...

wheresmybeaver

Hey lads,

Just noticed on the O2 website that they now give you mobile web usage of 1Gb for €15 a month on top of your usual bill. That suits me down to the ground. However, they mention that you have to have a HSDPA handset, which my T650i is not. However, I'm not too bothered about the max download speed, all I'm intereted in is having the ability to check my emails on the road. Will I be able to use my T650i? And what's a realistic speed that I could hope to get using it as a bluetooth modem considering it only supports 3G and not HSDPA?? It would mostly be connected to a WM5 device and possibly my laptop from time to time. Some real world examples such as "it'd be grand" or "you'd only get 20Kb/sec" or "Google would take ages to load on your laptop" would be great!

Thank you

mkennedy

wheresmybeaver wrote: »

Hey lads,

Just noticed on the O2 website that they now give you mobile web usage of 1Gb for €15 a month on top of your usual bill. That suits me down to the ground. However, they mention that you have to have a HSDPA handset, which my T650i is not. However, I'm not too bothered about the max download speed, all I'm intereted in is having the ability to check my emails on the road. Will I be able to use my T650i? And what's a realistic speed that I could hope to get using it as a bluetooth modem considering it only supports 3G and not HSDPA?? It would mostly be connected to a WM5 device and possibly my laptop from time to time. Some real world examples such as "it'd be grand" or "you'd only get 20Kb/sec" or "Google would take ages to load on your laptop" would be great!

Thank you

Does this add-on work with any unlocked handset?
And do you have to be on contract or does it apply to pre-pay as well?

wheresmybeaver

mkennedy wrote: »

Does this add-on work with any unlocked handset?
And do you have to be on contract or does it apply to pre-pay as well?

Should have linked to it: Add Ons

From my understanding, its for contract only, and I'm not sure if it matters whether your phone is "approved" by O2 or not, or whether it's unlocked or not. My T650 is imported (therefore unlocked), but still works fine with data. I can load up any web page I like on the T650, and I can presumably use it as a bluetooth modem with my laptop. I just don't want to pay per Kb!

Also, just noticed this page, which now features a 250mb mobile broadband add on for €7.50 a month, which I imagine works with any phone. That's not bad; much better than the previous offer of 1mb for a tenner! When did O2 introduce these new data pricing plans? I completely missed that!

mkennedy

wheresmybeaver wrote: »

Should have linked to it: Add Ons

From my understanding, its for contract only, and I'm not sure if it matters whether your phone is "approved" by O2 or not, or whether it's unlocked or not. My T650 is imported (therefore unlocked), but still works fine with data. I can load up any web page I like on the T650, and I can presumably use it as a bluetooth modem with my laptop. I just don't want to pay per Kb!

Also, just noticed this page, which now features a 250mb mobile broadband add on for €7.50 a month, which I imagine works with any phone. That's not bad; much better than the previous offer of 1mb for a tenner! When did O2 introduce these new data pricing plans? I completely missed that!

Ok thanks.
Not bad but all on contract it seems.
I'm not mad about o2's accompanying contract voice offerings so may not avail of this.

Obskure

Hi Guys, Don't know if any of you noticed today but these data add ons have just appeared for the O2 network. http://www.o2online.ie/wps/wcm/connect/O2/Home/Personal/Price+plans/Pay+monthly/Data+pricing/
So far as I can make out, they seem to be for Bill Pay customers & reading the small print, one of the conditions is the customer must have an HSDPA handset. (iphone exclusion?!?!?)

flywheel

well spotted

Random

Now it's kicking off !

Doctor DooM

About time. 1 cent per k my arse.

Bluefrog

Looks like Three Irwland are finally good for something - they woke up the competition. Now maybe the competition will awaken Three Ireland to the fact that poor service quality is not a sustainable business model.

foggy_lad

they are limiting this service to bill-pay customers and also limiting it to only one add-on per month which is awkward for anyone that might go over their limit

and it also looks like they are conserving bandwidth as they used to do with i-mode. looks great from website but only time will tell how usable or reliable the service is

wheresmybeaver

Posted *now merged* here asking about that last night

I rang customer care earlier on for a few details. The 250mb Mobile Broadband for €7.50 can be used on any handset, not just ones that support HSDPA. You can also use your handset as a bluetooth modem with this package.

The 1Gb and 10Gb add-ons seem to be specifically for use as a modem, so they recommend you have a HSDPA handset for that.

3 cent per MB outside of the packages isn't bad either. And yeah they're only for bill pay customers.

I decided to get the 250mb add on as my handset doesn't have HSDPA. I'm gonna try connecting it to my laptop later to see what the browsing speeds are like, and then maybe change to the 1gb package if they're ok.

Random

foggy_lad wrote: »

they are limiting this service to bill-pay customers and also limiting it to only one add-on per month which is awkward for anyone that might go over their limit

and it also looks like they are conserving bandwidth as they used to do with i-mode. looks great from website but only time will tell how usable or reliable the service is

Billpay customers only yes, but it's a start! Hopefully they'll sort something on prepay soon aswell.

As for conserving bandwidth? What do you mean and what is this based on?

foggy_lad

random wrote: »

As for conserving bandwidth? What do you mean and what is this based on?

o2 used to conserve bandwith on their i-mode service by getting companies like jamster to provide reduced size and quality music tracks so instead of a full stereo 192kbps mp3 you would only get 64-96kbps tracks as at around 1.5-2mb these were easier on o2's service than downloading 4-5mb

Random

I wouldn't see this as a problem for the addon really, it's more a problem with the services provided on the O2 Internet Portal that you seem to be complaining about. How would this affect the addons in your eyes?

As for imode .. that was ****e, we all know that... but the addons aren't based around imode.

foggy_lad

it is all drawing from the same o2 service so if they needed to conserve/restrict it on i-mode why would these add-ons be any different unless they have greatly inproved/upgraded

Random

It's all drawing (in general) on the same service and backhaul as the O2 Broadband service which I've found to be great in comparison to the other networks.

If your point relates to them having the bandwidth to cope with this, I can only imagine that they will have learnt from the mistakes of 3 and this is why we've waited so long for addons to be available.

Doctor DooM

foggy_lad wrote: »

it is all drawing from the same o2 service so if they needed to conserve/restrict it on i-mode why would these add-ons be any different unless they have greatly inproved/upgraded

uuuuh... makes no sense dude, i mode is a service, which works OVER an internet connection. Some of which are GPRS.

neilled

foggy_lad wrote: »

o2 used to conserve bandwith on their i-mode service by getting companies like jamster to provide reduced size and quality music tracks so instead of a full stereo 192kbps mp3 you would only get 64-96kbps tracks as at around 1.5-2mb these were easier on o2's service than downloading 4-5mb

Yeah that's fairly standard accross the industry as joe public doesn't know about bit rates etc, but rather they can download it quickly and whack it on as their ringtone.

wheresmybeaver

Observation of a cheeky subscription service # 1:

If you want to check cinema listings etc on the new i-mode enhanced O2 portal on your mobile, it actually routes you through entertainment.ie (although it doesn't look any different from the same cinema listings service from 5 years ago) and it asks you for a €1.50 monthly subscription. Sorry now, but I'm not paying ANYTHING for the ability to check what time a movie is on. I'm already paying €7.50 for this 250mb, so extra little subscriptions such as this are not my bag, baby. Was it always like this on i-mode handsets? And can anybody recommend an alternative cinema listings source? EDIT: Aha!

jimmycrackcorm

There is method in their hsdpa madness. If they allowed GB's of bandwidth on EDGE only then their network would crawl to a halt.

AlmightyCushion

If this was available on pre-pay then I would probably go back to o2. Does anyone know if they'll be blocking application like opera mini and the like from accessing the internet?

long_b

As for HSDPA handsets, is that only the N95 and the 6120 ?

billbond4

Congrats to O2, eventually letting you use your phone as a modem and surfing the web without getting ripped off!!
Lets hope they keep offering decent data bundles.

The Sony Ericsson K850i and W910i are HSDPA handsets also.

cgarvey

Thanks to the OP for spotting this. I'd downgraded withing a 42 second phone call (most of which was IVR navigation!).

billbond4

Yeah I did the same, downgraded from the 10GB.

I used to get 2GB with the old datacard allowance for 48e a month last year.
Got the mobile broadband add-on 10 GB for 30 a month in November.
Now getting 1GB (which is the most I ever used) for 15e a month, so in space of 3 months I knocked 33e off my mobile bill.
Thanks O2

GUIGuy

Well they have the E90 now as well. They had the Xda Pro too... but not sure if its still on sale.

GekkePrutser

I don't think you need a HSDPA phone even for the 1G/10G packages. It says this in the Terms and Conditions just below the offer:

* All Data add ons can be used on GPRS and 3G.

So any GPRS or 3G (without HSDPA) should also work.

Of course, I doubt that anyone would ever manage to use up 10GB on GRPS in a month, you'd have to be at it all day and night But on 3G it's possible, albeit remotely so.

If these were available on prepay I might also move there from vodafone.

ardmacha

"Add on excludes roaming. Charges apply for data usage while roaming internationally including usage when roaming in the UK and Northern Ireland"

So they are still trying to gouge people, mobile data is most useful on the move. A situation has been reached where you eventually weren't gouged for calls in Newry, and O2 were at the forefront of this. But you will continue to be ripped off if you use data. There is no economic basis for this and the sooner the EU get on the case the better.

YsgynMurrion

Well I have changed to bill pay today and added the 250mb package to use on my unlocked iPhone and it works great!

Delighted

wheresmybeaver

Its funny how a small thing like 250mb of mobile data can make a phone so much more useful. I now have my gmail pushed to my t650i (using the built in IMAP client), almost negating the need for me to wade through a load of emails in the afternoon and evening when I'm back off the road. And for any heavy duty stuff (viewing excel, word and PDFs), I route it through my Windows Mobile device. Bonzer. Well done to O2 for finally giving the people what they need / want!

Oh and the new IRL Cinema Guide midlet is excellently timed

culabula

ardmacha wrote: »

"Add on excludes roaming. Charges apply for data usage while roaming internationally including usage when roaming in the UK and Northern Ireland"

So they are still trying to gouge people, mobile data is most useful on the move. A situation has been reached where you eventually weren't gouged for calls in Newry, and O2 were at the forefront of this. But you will continue to be ripped off if you use data. There is no economic basis for this and the sooner the EU get on the case the better.

This is why I am loathe to leave 3 Ireland, moving between the two jurisdictions constantly.

cgarvey

cgarvey wrote: »

I'd downgraded withing a 42 second phone call (most of which was IVR navigation!).

So maybe it was too good to be true. After over an hour on the phone with 2 different agents, the problem was with my account and the downgrade from 10GB to 1GB addon wasn't as complete or straightfoward as I first thought!

billbond4

I had no problems with my downgrade.
Well I cant see included units in my online account at the moment,
but the *111# shows how many MB I have left

Scruff

few questions:
If i sign up for the one of these options will i be locked in for another year?
what is the price of data withouht going for one of these options? Is it GPRS Data: 1c per kb?
Is it worth the from a user experience wise with just a k750i for browsing?

billbond4

Scruff wrote: »

few questions:
If i sign up for the one of these options will i be locked in for another year?
what is the price of data withouht going for one of these options? Is it GPRS Data: 1c per kb?
Is it worth the from a user experience wise with just a k750i for browsing?

No its just an add-on so you can get rid of it when you want.
Yes data is 1c for 1kb normally.

It all depends, but the 250mb for 7.5e could be just want you want, you can read emails, surf the web (using opera or phone browser) and you should be within your allowance every month.
Think you should try it out for a while and see how you get on, just keep an eye on your usage *111#
If your finding you using more then upgrade to the 1GB allowance.

spockety

Make sure you get to talk to a knowledgable customer care rep.

I just rang to get it added on, and got through to some chap who didn't seem to have a clue what a phone was, never mind what add ons are on offer. He thought I was asking for a 250 text bundle (they don't even exist!), then he asked did I have broadband at home, then he asked what I was going to use my phone for! I said, er, making phone calls, texting, and some light browsing and email? Says he.. well sir to use the internet all you need to do is turn on your pc and open your web browser! I sh*t you not!

When I asked to be transferred to someone else, he put me on hold and then eventually just hung up on me!

Got it in the end when I had to ring back (22 minutes on hold in total).

p.s. *111#! Never knew that existed!

wheresmybeaver

spockety wrote: »

Make sure you get to talk to a knowledgable customer care rep.

I just rang to get it added on, and got through to some chap who didn't seem to have a clue what a phone was, never mind what add ons are on offer. He thought I was asking for a 250 text bundle (they don't even exist!), then he asked did I have broadband at home, then he asked what I was going to use my phone for! I said, er, making phone calls, texting, and some light browsing and email? Says he.. well sir to use the internet all you need to do is turn on your pc and open your web browser! I sh*t you not!

When I asked to be transferred to someone else, he put me on hold and then eventually just hung up on me!

Got it in the end when I had to ring back (22 minutes on hold in total).

p.s. *111#! Never knew that existed!

Jaysus. That's a bad apple I'd say. They're mostly very helpful.

The *111# doesn't work for me, it tells me it's not applicable to my current price plan. It's also not showing up in Inclusive Units on My Account (tells me to try again later). However, all my data usage is showing up on Details Since Last Bill with the asterisk beside it so I know I definitely have the new 250mb add on. Christ the bill would be a nightmare otherwise..

cgarvey

wheresmybeaver wrote: »

The *111# doesn't work for me, it tells me it's not applicable to my current price plan. It's also not showing up in Inclusive Units on My Account (tells me to try again later). However, all my data usage is showing up on Details Since Last Bill with the asterisk beside it so I know I definitely have the new 250mb add on. Christ the bill would be a nightmare otherwise..

Ditto (to all the above)

talkingclock

*111# was never working for me (Online Easy 150) but inclusive units via internet is working

Slaanesh

I'm looking at getting in on this mobile broadband business.

Some questions:

I'm on payg, what is the cheapest billpay option that I can get and then add one of the broadband addons to that?

Is all internet content available?

I have an N95 which I see supports HSDPA, what speeds can I expect?

I also use blueface, will this work over O2 broadband or will SIP traffic be blocked?

Thanks for any replies!

culabula

Slaanesh wrote: »

I'm looking at getting in on this mobile broadband business.

Some questions:

I'm on payg, what is the cheapest billpay option that I can get and then add one of the broadband addons to that?

Is all internet content available?

I have an N95 which I see supports HSDPA, what speeds can I expect?

I also use blueface, will this work over O2 broadband or will SIP traffic be blocked?

Thanks for any replies!

Just used my N95 on a bus from Tara to Ashbourne and then Ashbourne to O Connell Street. Fast, reliable speeds over Bluetooth. Used fring on it without any problems plus gMail app. Then paired it with my MacBook and had a rock-solid connection all the way in. Did a video conference in iChat with Japan. Sent and received mail. Used, iChat, gTalk and Skype. No problems of any description. Video quality good.

Slaanesh

culabula wrote: »

Just used my N95 on a bus from Tara to Ashbourne and then Ashbourne to O Connell Street. Fast, reliable speeds over Bluetooth. Used fring on it without any problems plus gMail app. Then paired it with my MacBook and had a rock-solid connection all the way in. Did a video conference in iChat with Japan. Sent and received mail. Used, iChat, gTalk and Skype. No problems of any description. Video quality good.

That's excellent, which data and voice plan did you go for? How much data do you use roughly a month? I'd love to have my N95 online all the time!

On a side note, I live in Kilmessan, quite close to tara

mkennedy

Just asked in a Carphonewarehouse about these new data add-ons and they didn't have a clue about them.
How do you get the addon applied if this is the case?- ring o2 directly?

center15

I've got fantastic speeds with my n95 connected to the laptop via usb. You probably want the phone plugged in too because the battery runs down fairly quickly when its using HSDPA. I got 250kb/s when downloading a file off the net. One issue I am having is using blueface on the n95 is says address busy if I try any number but 303(speaking clock) works. All the settings are definitely right, works perfectly through fring tho.

the_manchine

What connection settings are you guys using? What APNs etc... or does it matter?

billbond4

mkennedy wrote: »

Just asked in a Carphonewarehouse about these new data add-ons and they didn't have a clue about them.
How do you get the addon applied if this is the case?- ring o2 directly?

Yip, ring them directly

cgarvey

mkennedy wrote: »

How do you get the addon applied if this is the case?- ring o2 directly?

Yup. The CSRs seem more versed on this addon than they did when the 10GB one was released.

the_manchine wrote: »

What connection settings are you guys using? What APNs etc... or does it matter?

The default settings that came with the phone, or that o2 send out by SMS on request. No funny stuff like Vodafone's "live" AP.

I have open.internet as the AP, with "gprs" as the username and password. My data usage is all 0.00 charged, obviously.

culabula

Slaanesh wrote: »

That's excellent, which data and voice plan did you go for? How much data do you use roughly a month? I'd love to have my N95 online all the time!

On a side note, I live in Kilmessan, quite close to tara

At the moment I have my O2 irl SIM in it with the 10GB data add-on, though I think in the light of the new plans, I'll reduce that to 1GB. As I live in Belfast it's only of use to me about 2 days a week when in Dublin.

philip_tyrrell@

I don't know if anyone has noticed yet but O2 have added a new Data Plan.

I was paying €10 for 10mb just to try it out for the last couple of months. Now I have just switched to the new one which gives me 250mb for €7.50

They didn't volunteer this information though of course. I just happened to have a look on the website and decided because I couldn't find it to type in Data in the search box.

These companies should be obliged to let you know when they have released cheaper packages then the one you are on.

therecklessone

Nice spot!

coldfire1x

Can find the link on o2 website

Where is it?