They say that 1mb is enough for a Skype call with Skype Mobile. I think I should try it on my Android...

P.S.: The difference between Standard and Express is only the delivery time. I got the package within 3 days because Milan and Vienna are "close" ;)

Skype to skype calls use more bandwidth than skype to phone calls. Skype uses a broad-frequency-bandwidth codec for on net calls for better voice quality.

Chris

Just made a test:
1 minute on-net call to Echo service: 550 kbyte
1 minute call to phone: 490 kbyte

One thing to note:
When talking skype-to-skype you only transmit data when you actually speak, inbetween the data rate drops significantly. While speaking i saw 50-70kbps
When talking to phones the data rate is constantly 33kbps, no matter if speaking or not.
So you can calculcate skype2phone=66kbps + overhead -> about 450kbyte/minute


Chris

Chris -
Sounds like you got the same results as Tux. Basically, 2 min. +/- per mb. Using this SIM for voice would pay in some cases. I don't know how/why they made the statement on their web site that a user would get 4 minutes/mb on Skype.

...mike

Just a note: on their Facebook page I read that they charge per 128kb increments.

What is the definition of a "session"? If you were going to make a series of calls, is that one session or several? Or, if you do a Google search and click on a series of links - is that one long session or a series that can each make you round up a bunch of short downloads?
I think I'll ask them.
I often am on a "session" where, for periods of time, no data is going up or down.

...mike

usually a session is defined from the time where your phone connects to the GPRS service (when the G, E or 3G or H symbol appears on your screen) to the time where you disconnect the GPRS service again. Most providers still have some smallprint like "at least one session rounding per day / per hour" etc.

Chris

That makes sense. Also, they should count it as a single "session" if you lose signal and reconnect within 2 or 3 minutes.

...mike

It would be nice to see, but I wonder ...

That's where unit sizes in the billing will come into the picture, and might affect people's decisions on thing like leaving an email client constantly checking or just doing manual updates a few times a day

yes, depends on the settings on the providers APN. For example T-Mobile germany holds the session open for up to 60 minutes in case the subscriber is getting out of service area and re-entering. Other providers can set different times of course.

Chris

I don't use it but Abroadband service is a postpaid service and they give different packages of different prices but they provide there services just within 50 countries. If they increase it then it is possible that this service is useful for high data or whatever you want.

I bought one, but I can't use it because the registration process fails to complete. I emailed abroadband.com about this and have not had a reply in over a week. I phoned them in Austria 3 days ago, spoke to a pleasant help line man who told me to clear my internet cache. I did this but it didn't fix the problem. He said he had no further suggestions and would pass my problem on to someone else. That was 3 days ago and I have heard nothing more from them since. Disappointing to say the least.

Hi guys, Easter deal for abroadband: *Promotion "no shipping costs" valid until 30.04.2011 (standard parcel post).
On all their products. :)

I have just received mine.

Some remarks:
-It is indeed shipped by DHL (tracable) for free
-I couldn't register my card using abroadband's internet. The first two steps were OK, but I couldn't load the PayPal page so I copied the URL and registered on my own internet network.
-I am getting the same speeds as on my own Dutch Simyo sim card on the KPN network.
-You can check your usage online on the abroadband site. It is updated instantly.


-The way in which it connects to a network is very strange. According to their website they should support KPN and Vodafone in The Netherlands. When in 'automatic' mode it connects me to Vodafone NL. When I manually search for networks and select KPN, KPN denies my sim card and at the same moment I also loose my connection with Vodafone. After that I also cannot connect to Vodafone any more (it also denies my sim card) :confused: :confused:
The only way I could get it to connect to KPN is by forcing WCDMA, restarting, and then letting the phone select the network automatically.

This all seems very strange to me, as I haven't experienced it with any other sim card. Does somebody know a possible cause of this?

I had no trouble with registering the sim within abroadband's network.

And I can't test the roaming between networks because in Italy they have an agreement only with Vodafone IT; anyway your problem is very strange.

This is how it looks like: YouTube - abroadband

I have also just tried it in my Nokia 2330 and the effect is exactly the same.

I'm in the US, and had to order via a cousin in the UK, who shipped it on to me. But I had no trouble registering the sim card and using it in my great new Zoom We3G.

No problem registering a US credit card and managing the account online from the US.

On Youtube it looks like the network mode is still on GSM ONLY. Maybe Abroadband has only 3G roaming with KPN? Does swithing to 3G mode solve the problem?

Yes I think it was on 2G mode when I flimed it.

That however doesn't explain it, because I am getting similarly strange things on forced 3G mode. Sometimes it connects to Vodafone, sometimes to KPN. In both cases, when I try to manually switch to the other network it denies and I cannot connect to either of the networks any more!

I checked a similar service that also relies on the Vodafone network but they cover only 33 EU countries. www.europasim.com
It costs 6 € per day, with 150 MB included (4 cent/mb), which is enough to work the whole day if I don't use video. Skype is fine. With the same card, I pay 2 € per day in Italy, with 500 MB included. Since it is prepaid, there are no fix costs and I recharge in advance and know how much I am going to spend. Important: I set the threshold to 140 MB a day, so I have a safety net, but usually I use 50-100 MB per day to work.

It's too similar to this offer... ---> http://www.areaprivati.vodafone.it/1...sport_internet :rolleyes:
And "Special price for Italy: 2 € per day with 500 MB included " makes me thinking that it's simply a Vodafone IT sim... and also, in the recharge page: "Please select the amount you would like to recharge, enter your number without country code +39 and 0 (e.g.: 349 1234567) and complete the transaction.". Better buying directly a Vodafone sim, isn't it?

Nice offer from Vodafone there :)

Before they also had something like €3,50/day for 100MB in the EU, but I assume that's gone now?

Do you mean Vodafone Italy? That offer still exists: http://www.areaprivati.vodafone.it/1...obile_internet

The only difference between these offers is the APN you have to use. :)

Yes that's the one I ment. For ~50MB Europe traffic Vodafone Ireland still is a bit cheaper though, they charge €2,99 per day. On the other hand, they don't include some of those countries like Ukraine.

do they actually validate corporate European VAT numbers to abolish the VAT? i tried with them with my corporate eu vat but they said is not recognised by their system! i have read a lot of complaints from others about this matter

someone mentioned this in another forum recently, but here for the main abroadband thread: it does not seem to be working in the US right now, I get a "no network" error in an area with strong TMobile and ATT signal.