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If Vodafone block VOIP (SKYPE) can they really call it "Broadband Internet"??

  • 14-10-2010 04:22PM
    #1
    raymon
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,771 ✭✭✭


    I got a Mobile Broadband internet stick and signed up to one of their plans only to find that VOIP is being deliberately blocked .( I also found out that Peer to Peer has problems)

    If you pay them extra then they allow Skype

    Is this really "broadband internet " ????:mad:


Comments

  • #2
    Oracle
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,630 ✭✭✭Oracle


    If you're that annoyed about it, you could ditch them. I think you've 7 days "cooling off" period after signing, to cancel the contract.


  • #3
    watty
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,460 ✭✭✭✭watty


    Buyer beware.

    They say what they are selling... sort of. Mobile isn't Broadband anyway.
    http://www.techtir.ie/comms/mobile-vs-fixed

    "Skype in" may not work even if they didn't block it.


  • #4
    Tea_Bag
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,979 ✭✭✭Tea_Bag


    i feel sorry for anyone who buys the VOIP add on, because even then skype will probably be horrible.

    mobile "broadband" is an absolute joke insult.


  • #5
    watty
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,460 ✭✭✭✭watty


    It's great for mobile use, though a luxury unless you are needing it "on the road" for Business, if you have real broadband at home and office.


  • #6
    Cabaal
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 28,713 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cabaal


    Mobile "Broadband" is good what its designed for, traveling around whilst requiring some internet access to access webpages and access e-mails.

    Its not a replacement for fixed line or cable Broadband and likely won't be for the next decade...atleast in Ireland anyway.


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  • #7
    bealtine
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,051 ✭✭✭bealtine


    Cabaal wrote: »
    Mobile "Broadband" is good what its designed for, traveling around whilst requiring some internet access to access webpages and access e-mails.

    Its not a replacement for fixed line or cable Broadband and likely won't be for the next decade...atleast in Ireland anyway.

    I don't think it will be a replacement in any decade...

    Not unless something new is discovered soon.


  • #8
    watty
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,460 ✭✭✭✭watty


    It's down to economics.

    You could do Broadband even with Edge or 3G. But you would need a couple of base stations for each street. Or even more. This is nothing to do with GSM/EDGE, 3G/HSPA, LTE or Mobile Wimax but the problems of
    1) Inverse Square law. You need x4 the power and get 1/4 the capacity per user if you double distance to Mast. Thus 2km vs 250m radius cell needs 16x power and gives 1/16th capacity per user, no matter what technology is used.
    2) There are practical limits on Spectrum. At typical signal levels the capacity is really pretty much how much spectrum there is. No Technology can solve this.

    Such a high density of base stations is not needed for Voice calls.
    See http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/10/14/3_biggest/
    Countrywide B]in the UK[/B 3 now has around 12,400 base stations
    ...
    carrying half the country‘s wireless data - 100TB a day, which accounts for 97 per cent of the overall traffic including voice
    ...
    voice still brings in around two-thirds of company revenue - so the three per cent of traffic that is spoken is subsidising [the data]
    Mobile mast density, even in NBS areas is designed for economical Voice traffic, never data.
    Data per MByte costs more than twice voice (because almost all data is outside of mobile network and they pay for both directions. With voice some is on their own network and they get paid for all incoming voice calls).

    From longer blog post http://www.techtir.ie/blog/watty/mobile-never-broadband

    You think 12,400 is a lot of bases for ? In reality if only 25,000 users simultaneously tried to use that, they'd get less than 1Mbps. 3 UK reported 6.25 Million subscribers in August 2010. Unknown how many are data. That's 6250K See report from Telecompaper


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