Vodafone: HDSPA/3.5G addon to phone contract

Pete4779

Hi,

I am wondering if anyone knows if Vodafone are going to offer an add-on for HDSPA data to contract users.

As far as I can tell, this is the current status:

1. O2: you can get a regular phone contract and add on 5GB of HDSPA broadband to that and can therefore use the phone with 3.5G/HDSPA internet. This extra package costs €30/month

2. Vodafone: you can get a regular contract and the data packages are:
- 15MB of internet data (pretty sparse explanation)
- 500MB of data for €9.99 that can be accessed through live.vodafone.com


I don't know about Meteor and Three (and am not really interested in changing to them TBH!).

So, what would be great is if Vodafone, which I currently have a contract with, would offer a similar add-on to your contract like O2 do, and so that if you have a HDSPA capable phone (O2 offer N95, E90, K850i. Vodafone offer K850i and N95 8GB) you can use full broadband or use it as a broadband modem for a laptop (if you are on a train or something).

The only option at the moment seems to be to get an extra Vodafone or O2 USB 3G dongle for it, for €30/month and use that exclusively for the laptop.

So, if O2 offer it now, is there any chance that Vodafone will come up with a similar package? Speaking to the tech people I was told they can offer €85/month for 1GB/month of HSDPA connectivity. It's not on the website, and the Vodafone shops seem to only know of the 500MB live package.

If I change the access point from isp.vodafone.ie to hs.vodafone.ie (the HSDPA access point), what are the extra charges? Again, it works perfectly and is as fast as my home broadband (crappy NTL!) on the N95 8GB, but ideally I'd like a good flat rate package.

cgarvey

o2 have 10GB for 30 quid or 1GB for 15 quid.

Vodafone lost me as a customer because I couldn't have the broadband added on to a proper voice plan. They, at the time, said they'd no plans for such a service, but that was over a month ago now.

meep

With vodafone, if you use isp.vodafone.ie, you are charged;

2c per kb up to 512 kb
0.5c per kb thereafter

I don't understand why they can't apply an add on to that to make it useable as a wireless modem.

Peter

Pete4779

Well I was doing some speed tests on the live.vodafone.ie connection today and got some good results:

1. Tests varied from 700kps (text.dslreports) to 2247kps (eircom speed test). For browsing regular websites it would generally indicate loading in 50kB, then say 99kB, 160kB so it's definitely faster than EDGE.

2. On the N95 8GB when debranded and upgraded to the current v15.0.015 firmware it indicates whether on 3G or 3.5G at the top left of the screen, and in browsing, it's very noticeable.

3. They need to get their asses in gear and offer a better deal than 99c/day for 50MB/day or 9.99/month for 500MB.

It's definitely quick, but it needs a comparable package to O2s and Three's. Around €30-40/month for fair usage (no identified limit) HSDPA service (basically they should offer the 3G broadband service as an addon).

So, I was under the impression that live.vodafone.ie only offered EDGE speeds, but it's clearly also allowing HSDPA if you have a handset capable. The 9.99/month for 500MB is too small to replace broadband.

Battery life also dropped a lot using the HSDPA.

flywheel

meep wrote: »

With vodafone, if you use isp.vodafone.ie, you are charged;

2c per kb up to 512 kb
0.5c per kb thereafter

I don't understand why they can't apply an add on to that to make it useable as a wireless modem.

Peter

these are the mobile isp bill pay add-on's Vodafone currently have
Modest 15MB €10 €2.50
Medium 25MB €15 €2.00

http://www.vodafone.ie/planscosts/paymonthly/other/
(scroll to end: Data services (GPRS and the Internet))

pretty bad compared to the likes of O2's 250MB for Eur 7.50 (or broadband add on packages of 1GB/10BG options)
http://www.o2online.ie/wps/wcm/connect/O2/Home/Personal/Price+plans/Pay+monthly/Data+pricing/

flywheel

Pete4779 wrote: »

Well I was doing some speed tests on the live.vodafone.ie connection today .... It's definitely quick, but it needs a comparable package to O2s and Three's.

Vodafone's Live! access point isn't the 'full' internet (that's why they have a seperate ISP connection, which they charge at a higher rate, see my post above)

comparing Vodafone Live! packages to O2's ISP packages isn't like for like... i.e. you can use direct clients for POP/IMAP email, FTP or Instant Messenger etc on Live! - it's really just for browser access - that's fine for some - but can cause issues for others who think the 'Mobile Internet' means unrestricted access to the Internet while mobile, this isn't the case on Vodafone Live!

glimmerman54

i just got off the phone with vodafone support and i got them to confirm that the mobile broadband for €10 for 500mb covers the ISP internet so ..... can anyone else confirm this?

Random

If they can confirm it and you have the persons name (and preferably a note on your account) - then go ahead with the advice and they will refund you if it was there error.

This is what I would do anyway.

meep

That is not what the told me a couple of weeks ago. My understanding is as follows;

The €10 for 500MB covers only the live.vodafone.ie option (not full internet).

If you are on that tariff and set isp.vodafone.ie to connect, you will be charged per kb. (gets very expensive very quickly).

If you go for the isp add on instead (€10 for 15MB) you will have full internet access but a very small usage cap.

No real way to win, I'm afraid.

Peter

Sam Vimes

glimmerman54 wrote: »

i just got off the phone with vodafone support and i got them to confirm that the mobile broadband for 10 for 500mb covers the ISP internet so ..... can anyone else confirm this?

no, in fact i can disconfirm it. That person was wrong. There have been several people posting here over the past few months complaining that they had the add on but ended up with bills in the hundreds or thousands because they were using the isp apn which isn't included in the add on.

Sam Vimes

for example today:
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=55763912

Pete4779

Vodafone now offer the full HSDPA 3G Broadband package as an add-on to your mobile phone account. I was able to deselect the 500MB/€9.99 option and select the 5GB/€28.50 per month option.

On calling, I asked was this the real deal, and the representative said yes, it is essentially the Vodafone 3G Broadband package which you can use then with your HSDPA phone (N95 is one of those). She also confirmed that you can then use your phone as a modem for your laptop.

This is excellent news. It was the only temptation to go to O2. I am glad that the emails I sent complaining about it seemed to get through to someone.

Very nice now to have excellent roaming abroad and broadband and mobile phone all on one bill. Also, there was no contract obligation for the add-on.

cgarvey

A step in the right direction, but that's still the most expensive of all operators for the add on. By a good shot, too.

Patrickof

Yep it still doesn't compare to the €9.99 for 1Gb per month from three or the €7.50 for 250Mb per month from o2.

I've moved my data to three coz of it (only 9.99 a month loss for Voda but it adds up) and my wife will shortly move her jailbroken iphone from voda to o2 if they don't do a reasonable package. Email on the go is all we want - 250Mb, 500Mb or 1Gb is plenty.