Many networks are now working on data services also for prepaid. So, you=20=
may see some data service becoming available to your pay-as-you-go plan=20=
some time next year.
Major problem with data services and GSM are however high cost no matter=20=
how you look at it.
- time based charging instead of volume based or flat fee services (like=20=
the ones in Japan)
this is supposed to be changing soon and volume based services will=20
become available but they may require protocols which may not be=20
supported on the Newton (i.e. WAP 2.0 or the Japanese i-mode).
- no local access while roaming
basically you get charged five fold:
1) to pay the visited network
2) one more time to pay the clearing house
3) another one more time to pay your home network for billing and taking=20=
the risk
4) yet one more time to pay the international call back to your home=20
country to get data access
5) yet another one more time to pay the portal through which you access=20=
the internet
That's GSM for you. In respect of roaming and especially in a data=20
context it's a lemon technology but unlike WAP it hasn't flopped yet=20
because there have been few alternatives if any at all and people just=20=
had to put up with it whether they liked it or not. If you will be=20
travelling a lot, stay away from data roaming services, unless your name=20=
is Onassis. It's not worth the cost. For the money you will spent on=20
roaming charges you can rent an entire internet cafe for the duration of=20=
your trip.
The EU competition directorate has an antitrust case going against major=20=
mobile phone companies (incl. VodaFone) because of the cost of roaming=20=
"not having any relationship to the cost" according to a report by =20
INTUG which intiated the EU taking action.
There are some technologies out there that can reduce or even solve the=20=
problem, but perhaps not so soon as operators are reluctant to changes=20=
and markets heading for saturation now.
One partial solution is a virtual private network called Star*home,=20
basically it provides a virtual private circuit over IP back to your=20
home network while abroad to reduce cost and make access easier.
Another one of those animals is called CAMEL, which is again one of=20
those overhyped technologies supposed to solve every imaginable problem=20=
but after 8 years of standardisation committee bargaining has become so=20=
complex and expensive that now nobody seems to seriously want it. CAMEL=20=
adds a few more layers on top of the SS7 protocol stack to make home=20
networks and visited networks able to exchange information better and=20
faster than before. However, who ever goes through the trouble of=20
rolling out CAMEL doesn't really benefit ,for it will be their=20
competitors who will benefit first, which seems paradox but that's the=20=
way it is perceived and why everybody is now waiting for the others to=20=
make a move ;-)
Yet another one of those animals is called ZEBRA, which is a disruptive=20=
technology and some players are frightened of it. So, it may not get a=20=
fair chance. ZEBRA makes the visited network accept you as a temporary=20=
local customer on the fly and enables them to serve and charge you=20
directly while you are visiting their network, hence all other networks=20=
and middlemen are cut out of the (temporary) deal and thus tariffs=20
comparable to local tariffs can be offered to visitors. BTW, this is the=20=
method any other tourist business is charged for, just in case you=20
wondered what is so novel about this ;-)
As I said before, I do not recommend to use data roaming services.=20
Instead get yourself a WiFi card and encourage Noguchi-san (Driver Labo)=20=
to do more work on the WaveLan driver so it will be usable in airport=20
and hotel lobbies and coffee shops that offer WLAN access in growing=20
numbers.
Lets put it this way: If you travel to 5 places during the year and stay=20=
at the same hotels, then, if you donated one airport base station to=20
each hotel to put up in their lobby, you'd likely still have spent less=20=
money than what you'd spent on roaming. Then again, you could just put=20=
one or two APs into your travel kit ;-)
Yes, I am biased due to intensive travelling and paying through the nose=20=
for roaming services, and last but not least having worked on WiFi=20
deployment and on the development of ZEBRA. But I guarantee when you=20
will see your first roaming bill you'll be biased too!
ROAMER BEWARE !
rgds
BK
On Saturday, December 1, 2001, at 09:22 , Caoimh=EDn wrote:
> The card I was looking at is a Nokia 900 Mhz GSM PCMCIA card, with =
an=3D20
> integral antennae and a receptacle for your SIM card. It comes with=20=
> a=3D20=3D
>
> hands free attachment that you can use to make voice calls. The one=20=
> I=3D20=3D
>
> saw was at a mobile phone store in Cork, Ireland.
>
> Where in Europe will you be living? Eircell in Ireland was good=20
> (until=3D20=3D
>
> Vodaphone bought them). There seems to be a consolidation going on=20
> in=3D20=3D
>
> the European mobile phone market, with Vodaphone becoming a major=3D20
> player. I'm stuck with Eircell because it is the only service with=3D20=
> coverage where I stay. But really, getting a mobile phone in =
Europe=3D20
> seems to be a much simpler affair than in the USA. My Eircell=20
> account=3D20=3D
>
> is a pay as you go account and cost me =3DA330 IR to set up as I =
already =3D
> had=3D20
> a phone, although the call charges are a bit steep. There is no=20
> service=3D20=3D
>
> contract and I can top up the phone with cards purchased almost=20
> anywhere=3D20=3D
>
> or even on an ATM. To get their "high speed wireless internet=20
> access",=3D20=3D
>
> you have to sign up as a billing customer so I'll sign up with a=20
> monthly=3D20=3D
>
> bill account when I buy the phone, and get a cheaper price on the=3D20
> hardware.
>
> The nice thing about the European mobile phones is that you only =
get=3D20
> charged for outgoing calls, never for "airtime" like in the States. =20=
> So=3D20=3D
>
> unless you're "roaming" in a foreign country, you never pay for=20
> incoming=3D20=3D
>
> calls.
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