[a_ukboy]

Well as of yesterday my N70 on Three UK has been able to surf any website, i have the add mobile websites 15 which until yesterday could only browse Three's approved sites, now any!!

Has the walled garden finally gone?

My mates Three phone also can browse any site, and he has no internet add on, i wonder what he's being charged for browsing??
Also found out this new service is for contract customers only!!

[3GScottishUser]

Too little too late sadly I suspect.

Most of those who need/use mobile Internet already avoid 3 because of their daft policy.

It'll be a long time before they manage to regain any credibility as a mobile data network - if ever.

[hecatae]

My mates Three phone also can browse any site, and he has no internet add on, i wonder what he's being charged for browsing??
Also found out this new service is for contract customers only!!

£2.50 per mb

[3GScottishUser]

Web & walk Profesional from T-Mobile = 1GB for £8.50/month ..... so no contest!!

Per MB pricing is just crazy with 3G. 384Kb/s = 1 MB every 3 seconds.... average MP3 = 5MB so at £2.50 a MB thats £12.50..... more than the cost of a CD album to download a single track!!

Have they really thought this thing out?

Does'nt appear like it.

[Ben]

Glad to hear Three are finally 'going mainstream'.

Maybe someone remembered they're a network, not a media company ;)

[a_ukboy]

Web & walk Profesional from T-Mobile = 1GB for £8.50/month ..... so no contest!!

Per MB pricing is just crazy with 3G. 384Kb/s = 1 MB every 3 seconds.... average MP3 = 5MB so at £2.50 a MB thats £12.50..... more than the cost of a CD album to download a single track!!

Have they really thought this thing out?

Does'nt appear like it.


3GSU, i'm not having a go at you at all, or do i want to start an argument but looking at all your posts it seems to me that all you have to say about Three is negative, even when they do something positive!! Obviously you have had some bad experience with them??

My friend who's on Voda pays £7.50 per MB for data browsing on a 3G tariff, now that makes Three's £2.50 a bargain, remember though that Three have yet to unvail there new price plan structures!!

[3GScottishUser]

£7.50 a MB seems excessive!!

If your friend uses Data on Vodafone regularly perhaps they should consider adding an extras pack which reduces costs by a minimum of 49% compared to normal rates. These packs start at £3 a month and are avialable on contract and PAYG.

If they are a regular data user what about the mobile connect £25 a month package which gives you 250MB of data. That works out at about 10p per MB.

[Ben]

Vodafone's data rates are, unfortunately, extreme :( I've heard many people think they're getting PAYG data inexpensively at 75p/KB... when one explains that this equates to roughly £7.50/MB their eyes light up!

Three's data packages offer reasonable value compared to operators except T-Mobile. I'd have liked to have seen their pay-as-you-use rate be a little more innovative though. I believe T-Mobile's pay-as-you-use rate for data, for customers who don't want to shell out the extra ~£7 a month, is similarly extortionate.

[dgilbert2]

The 3 walled garden still seems to be present on Pay as you go.

[3GScottishUser]

Some clarification is needed before anyone gets too excited about this development. Sadly there have been many times when what looked like a big new development have turned out to be a temporary error!

I am sure there will be some revisions not only to 3's data pricing but to other networks too as the race to generate non-voice traffic gathers pace. 3G networks need to generate more data traffic but I suspect the public whilst warming to the idea are still many years off mass market adoption of proper mobile Internet use. IM services like MSN may in the short term help with awareness especially amonst younger customers.

Occasional use seems always to be disproportionate in terms of cost with the data card business users getting the most affordable deal in terms of £ per MB.

I dont think I would consider using anything other than T-Mobile's data presently and when within range of a hotspot would definately pay the daily charge to access Wi-Fi on a PDA or a Laptop. (On T-Mobile access to their extensive hotspot Wi-Fi network is free for the first 12 months).

[a_ukboy]

I pay for my mothers phone which is on T-Mobiles Flext, i was considering getting the £7.50 unlimited web as well but i have heard that its not completley open, like some messanger services are blocked??

3GSU, thanks for the advice ref Voda's data add on's, i will pass it on to my mate..

[3GScottishUser]

That is correct. IM and VoIP services are blocked by T-Mobile on their Web'N'Walk packages currently. Both of these will probably become available but (as in 3's case) you will have to pay an additional subscription as they will be regarded as 'stand alone' services.

Arun Sarin has hinted that the day is coming when mobile networks will become more like ISP's. You will simply pay a flat fee and you will be able to use the network for whatever pusrpose you want subject to the usual fair use policies. I suspect that day is coming rather more quickly now as we appear to have reached a plateau in terms of voice and text pricing.

Simplicity is what it is all about now. Flext pointed the way for the vast majority who use traditional mobile services. No complex 1/2 price this and double that with all the small print. Easy to understand allowances for the duration of your contract that dont need a degree in accountacy to comprehend. The changes with regards to data will only take place when competition moves things forward. Right now there are probably very small numbers using mobile Internet for personal use but as this expands then more options will become available. Expect to see the usual stand alone deals, which will be better than current pricing until some network does a 'Flext' and truly opens up the data market. My guess is it will be a couple of years before we see unrestricted use bundles but they will arrive as sure as night follows day as the networks seek to make new revenues from the ever more complex devices they have invested in.

[bsrjl1]

Per MB pricing is just crazy with 3G. 384Kb/s = 1 MB every 3 seconds....

Kilo-bits, not kilo-bytes, so it's more like every 30 seconds in real life. But yes it is still crazy.

[Ben]

That is correct. IM and VoIP services are blocked by T-Mobile on their Web'N'Walk packages currently.
Actually these services are not 'blocked' in the sense that you cannot use them, they are simply not allowed in the terms and conditions. If you're 'caught' then T-Mobile have reserved the right to terminate the contract.

Trusted Reviews actually clearly breached these T&C's when they revied the T-Mobile data card. T-Mobile don't seem that bothered - though if you were going to use IM or VoIP to excess then obviously there would be an increased risk of a 'problem' developing.

[3GScottishUser]

Interesting.... same story on Vodafone but cost is more of a concern in terms of these services.

Roll on the ISP type mentality that Arun Sarin has spoken of.

[jeffster]

YES ! Its finally down !

How many years after the Berlin Wall ?

People, welcome to a new age of democracy ! ;O)

[getti]

I know someone with a A1000 and it was still asking him to sign up yesterday