united mobile sms issue with tmobile USA
 

Hi,
I do not know if anyone is having the same issue as I do but I am not able to send/receive SMS to/from Tmobile cellphone users in USA... I called Tmobile USA and they mentioned that they have blocked Liechtenstein numbers... I need this to work because this is how I keep in touch while travelling; it just happens that the people that I need to keep in contact are Tmobile customers; so far I can SMS with Sprint users though..
I emailed UM customer service and at first they were very responsive (1 day reply) but now since I mentioned to them of this problem, they haven't replied to me for 4 days now.

Any Suggestions/Ideas??

Does anyone have any experience with mycherrymobile.com prepaid sim?? It looks promising (prices looks reasonable) and it has UK number but I do not know if it will have the same issues as united mobile... Although I would rather not buy another global sim cards... since they are not cheap.

Thank you in advance

Thread gone
 

Seems the info I posted on this has disappeared or I cannot find it.

T-MO has BLOCKED all calls to 423 #s even tho they are a roaming partner. FRAUD. I had CALLED customer care. Here is the written answer from T-MO answer and the in German from UM:

Dear Stanley Naimon,

Thank you, Stanley, for contacting T-Mobile and for providing me the
opportunity to help you. My name is Steve and I will be happy to answer
your questions today. I see you sent our online Customer Care group an
email regarding having difficulty sending text messages to a friend in
Liechtenstein. I know how frustrating it can be when you are unable to
contact friends and family so I can certainly look into this for you. I
do apologize, Stanley, for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Stanley I regret to inform you that I show that Liechtenstein is a
country that is blocked from making calls and text messages to. It only
might be possible to send messages to them if you were roaming
domestically on our network and I am sorry you were not aware of this
before.

If you have any further questions regarding this issue or other T-Mobile
services and features, Stanley, please reply to this e-mail referencing
case # 264841 and we will be pleased assist you. You may also call
Customer Care toll free at 1-800-937-8997 or 611 then SEND from your
phone and a representative will be happy to help you.

[BTW.... T-MO blocks several other countries.]

Sehr geehrter Herr Naimon,

Danke für den Einblick in Stil und Antwort der "Konkurrenz" in den USA! Wahrhaftig interessant zu sehen, mit welcher Methode hier versucht wird, Ihnen mehr oder weniger sanft die Verantwortung für ein angebliches Fehlinformiertseins in die Schuhe zu schieben! Herr Naimon, Sie sind nicht falsch informiert gewesen sondern wurden dies jetzt von jenem "Customer Care Specialist": vor ca. 3-4 Wochen fing T-Mobile USA nämlich erst mit dieser absurden Sperrung an. Intern heisst es wegen "Fraude". Das mag soweit sogar einen realen Hintergrund und die Sorge T-Mobiles um Ihre Kunden seine Berechtigung haben aber T-Mobile hat die ganze Nation Liechtenstein und nicht selektiv den evt. betroffenen Nummernbereich gesperrt.

Was Ihre Anregung an uns, uns bei T-Mobile zu melden, betrifft, so haben wir dies natürlich eigeninitiativ von der ersten Minute an getan, da sehr viele Kunden in den USA von der Sperrung betroffen sind. Wir informieren uns schon seit Anbeginn dieser Misère nach dem Hintergrund und regen eine etwas differenziertere Handhabung der Angelegenheit an aber bisher leider ohne zählbares Ergebnis. Uns bleibt uns nur aufrichtig bei Ihnen zu entschuldigen für diesen ganzen Mißstand, ohne eine direkte Verantwortung dafür zu tragen - ganz anders als T-Mobile, der den alten Service an Ihre Kunden nur wieder herstellen möge anstelle Ihnen "frustrierende" Erlebnisse zuzufügen.

Mit freundlichen Grüssen,
Paul Nick

[Basically, they (UM) have been trying to convince T-MO that the policy of TOTAL BLOCKING is wrong for some time but to no avail.]

Stan

Why would they block calls to +423 insofar as checking their web site, they list calls to Liechtenstein as well over $1/minute.

In addition the customer service rep seemed to explain why you can't send texts from T Mo to Liechtenstein but what about the opposite way?

Why?
 

The explanation I was given by T-MO is suspicion of fraud. The UM reply and common sense dictate that a sane policy would be to block only the few #s suspected of fraud, NOT THE ENTIRE COUNTRY, including SMS. No, there is something else behind the scenes at work that T-MO does not want to divulge. At least that is my suspicion and that of UM.

I suspect they would like to make life unpleasant for UM and its customers. UM does not write that but that is my guess.

Stan

Thanks for the info, Stan... I guess I have no choice but to get another global sim card...

Who is your US provider? If it's either Cingular or T Mobile USA you can activate international roaming and send sms message at not terribly bad rates (something like 35¢ per message)....receiving message will be in accordance with your plan.

I know I have a T Mobile USA plan with unlimited text messaging..yes I pay to send text messages while roaming internationally but my plan allows me to receive unlimited text messages for free...I use it, for example, to keep up with sports scores of my favorite teams...I have a service that allows me to be notified every time a run is scored in a Met game almost as soon as it occurs; that certainly might not be important to most people but it's important to me.

So I bring and keep my T Mobile phone with me despite the fact I have international and local sims...making sure of course to forward all calls into the T Mobile number back to my home number which then forwards to wherever so I don't get hit with the double whammy T Mobile uses to rip people off who don't answer incoming calls and have the calls bounce back to voicemail.

See signature. I have T-MO, both pre and post paid. I also already have world class roaming and unlimited sms.

The point was I was TRYING to send an SMS from US to my UM card. Both sons are staying here this summer and they COULD (if T-MO) permitted it, send me SMS (15 cents) while I am away. Won't work, however, because T-MO is blocking.

TRUE, I could take the US T-MO SIM and switch SIMs, but I don't want to risk the higher roaming charges for voice. I have heard (but not experienced) that SOMETIMES when your SIM registers on another foreign network that the original US T-MO settings network (call-forward, etc) are reset.

Stan

I am using Verizon in US so thats why I need a global sim while away. and similar to Stan's scenario, I have a bunch of friends who uses T-mobile in the US... anyways... I just ordered a Cherrymobile sim card...

It's not only T-mobile. Dutch Telecom KPN for example increased their rates to Lichtenstein Mobile som time ago for 8 eurocent a minute to 93 eurocent a minute !!!
Guess why they are doing this.

Also some of my internationnal customers complained thet they could not call my UM number.

The problem is just that big carriers tike T-Mobile and others do not like the roaming free cards and they are trying their best to block them somehow. They will although not admit this but find a cheap excuse like fraud in this example.

the increase in the rates is due toi the fact that the carrier (United mobile) asks for more to connect the call. So it is a matter of interconnection fees.

Yes, but it's not any reason to block the calls at all as T-Mo US does :censored:

I don't understand....just who sets the termination fees when one calls a gsm caller pays network....the roaming partner, the receiving partner, the great gsm computer in the sky (doubt if it exists)....also for example rates to Estonia mobiles have shot through the roof too...Iceland mobiles haven't for the most part.

Callbackworld current rates which I use sort of as a benchmark....Liechtenstein mobiles 29¢/minute; Estonian mobiles 22¢/minutes, Iceland mobiles 15¢/minute, UK mobiles 40¢/minute...these are for calls from a free roaming partner to the USA which of course makes the Isle of Man mobiles the worst (although I think their naitive rate to call the USA is 19p/minute without using cbw which is a bit of a savings over cbw.

The "mobile termination rate" is the money that a CPP operator is paid from other operators which route incoming calls to it. It's set by the operator itself but may be the subject of intervention from the telecom regulator or the antimonopoly authority. I don't know if operators set different termination rates for calls originating from the home country and from abroad...

I doubt the networks are driving up their fees; in fact the regulators are occasionally cutting them. Maybe some other wholesale and retail providers are being rather cynical with their rates: 40 cents can't be justified when the wholesale termination fees are said to be of the order of 5 or 6p, and other retailers are around 15c to 25c, or even under 10.

As for T-mobile and UM - this seems to be the third time issues have surfaced between these companies - there was a time when T-com in Germany refused to allow its landlines to call such numbers

Could be but I still call to UM from the Netherlands from 8 eurocents per minute and there are other carriers at 10 or 12 or 14 cents per minute.

Also I do not see a reason for UM to really ask much more. If rates to their number go up this way they will become less popular and less people will use UM. So if it is UM that increases their rates this will turn back on them.

All quite puzzling. If it is the carrier (FL, UM) alone, it does not make much sense.

About 2 - 3 years ago, Enjoyprepaid (Noblecom) had very low rates. Did not take them long to go from something like 12 cents to 60 cents per minute. Onesuite followed a bit later (6 - 12 months) going from 14 to 25 cents per minute. Then CBW just this Spring ups the rates.

YET others like bbob and someone in US (can't recall name) using ATT are still reporting relatively low rates.

Why some and not others?

Why not all at once?

Stan

That's my feeling also...why would UM raise its termination rates so much which might discourage people from signing up. There's got to be more to it and I am a conspiracy person who sees conspiracies everywhere...somehow the roaming partners who see their income being sliced by people opting for the international cards have to have something to do with it!

I think you are right, the big telecom operators also have their own mobile companies and they make lots of money on roaming.
The EU did start law to lower these prices so their will be a maximum

First fase in aug 2007 is max 60 eurocents per call if you call outside your country and 29 eurcent if you are called in a different country. The next 2 years these rates are lowered to 52 en 23 cents.

Lots of operators in spain, italie al the tourist countries did complain because these operators are loosing lots of money on this.

Now we take the roaming free card which cost nothing to receive a call in many countries. Sure the big guys are not happy about these companies as this is costing them millions in roaming charges. As said most of them are also formal monopolie telecom operators having a large share in the fixed phone line market and they are using this to block calls or increase pricing to the roaming free cards. This explaines the sometimes big differencen rates to some of these numbers.

@snaimon as for the rates, yes i still get good rates to UM from the Netherlands, but I know that this will not last long as some companies are lazy. For example the company I am using has not even sent me a bill for the last 5 month's.

I do get good rates to call my +44-7624 number. Using voip > betamax voicetrading the call to this mobile only cost me 10 eurcents per minute (without vat) I am using my own callback system so the callback only cost me 10 eurcents. This system and rates can be used by anyone (voicetrading only for companies inside the eu or for anyone living outside the EU)

I am using my UM card less and less because some of my customers complaid about not being able to call the number. So I do not belive the UM is increasing there rates as it is in their interest to get more customers and problems like increasing rates, blocks will not give them more customers.

United Mobile is a virtual operator on FL1, which is part of Telekom Austria, and a partner of Vodafone. CallKey depends on Manx Telecom, part of O2/Telefonica. 09 Mobile is rumoured to use Swisscom roaming agreements. Sunsim is an mvno on e-plus, owned by KPN. I don't know which network Travelsim lives on, but if it is EMT, this is owned by TeliaSonera

Whilst some practices have been less than competitive, I don't think the mechanisms are as you describe. The former monopolies are not in a cartel to drive out the free roaming cards, or shove tariffs upwards to reach them.

Perhaps T-mobile should take the view that if it can't beat them, join them. It's overdue that they and Orange make some moves on cheaper roaming.

And, off-topic, I don't understand why you have made your callback system so complicated. No hardware is needed at all, and lower tariffs exist on a couple of other Betamax brands.

Who
 

Andy,

Confessing my own stupidity.....

Who is "you" and "your callback system"? UM? T-Mo? bbob? Someone or something else?

What other "Batamax" brands?

bbob has posted a number of times here and elsewhere about a callback platform set up on a PC at home

Voipcheap 8c, JustVoip 5c,

Worser and worser
 

I am very frustrated. Spent ~ 1 hour on phone with 4 T-Mobile USA reps. I was complaining that I could not RECEIVE messages from my +423 phone. I was @ first told that +423 is now not on the blocked list. 3 different reps told me that.

The MDA expert however said that was incorrect. Get this.... both outbound and inbound are blocked.

This is perhaps the reason why SMSbug will not deliver messages to my +423 phone.

And, to top it all off, my UM balance is now so fouled up. Since the SMS is blocked, the system keeps trying to RESEND the SMS @ 39 e-cents per attempt. I must have 20 messages sent today already. Their system then detects that this resend is in error and credits the account. I sent 1 SMS and the balance fell from 62 Euros to 45 Euros. I have both called and written to UM customer care. Not sure it will ever be straight.

So much for sending SMS to my sons and brother on T-Mobile.

I wonder if anyone in USA is using ATT network and if they are having any better luck? At one time, probably before the T-Mo blockage started, I had a failed SMS. UM Customer Care in their infinite wisdom told me to be sure I was registered on T-Mobile rather than Cingular.

Stan

Why would T-Mobile block +423 numbers? I don't doubt your story, it just seems odd. Anyway, maybe the answer is to adios UM for another prepaid?

T-Mobile claimed FRAUD but
 

I was told back in Spring when I first investigated this that it was FRAUD. There are several other countries that are "blacklisted." NO big ones, however.

I really don't understand how UM can work. How can they offer FREE INBOUND to all those countries and still persuade their roaming partners to go along with the deal? If say T-Mobile Germany were getting 0 from allowing the SIMs to roam, why would T-Mo Germany allow them to roam? I conclude that T-Mo Germany is getting some portion of the termination fee. On the other hand I believe T-Mo Germany (and I would suspect the parent has passed some policies on down to the subsidiaries) would like to drive UM out of business. Therefore, they make it quite impossible for anyone in US to be contacted via their UM SIM.

BTW, as late as Sept 2006, there was no problem.

Stan

The game is easy. UM pays the use of FL1's network, simply they have a termination fee higher than the cost of international roaming.

Of course...
 

And the high termination fees cause all carriers to increase their rates to +423 663 #. I tried MCI this weekend and with my calling card. After entering the # the friendly voice announced the rate would be $1.18 per minute. Needless to say I hung up before letting it ring.

I also tried dialing with Voicestick. When I do that their system tells me my UM # is not a valid phone number. I left them a voicemail and will probably have to follow up with another call.

Stan

Good luck with emails to voicestick...I have written them several times concerning being charged for a 5 minute call to an Isle of Man sim when the phone was hung up before the call was completed.

I have sent the e mail 3 times and they have ignored it. I have called on their number and told all customer service reps were busy and to leave a message and the call would shortly be returned. I am still waiting.

Somebody from voicestick used to participate in this forum. He or she seems to have disppeared.

They are a bunch of rip off agents...this thing of being charged for a 5 minute call they've been aware of for almost a year and they've made no effort to clean up their act.

Unfortunately I must recommend not to use them.

Agree on their poor customer support
 

I did manage to speak with someone at there support # -- this was another day on another topic altogether. All of my previous emails had been ignored.

Agree they should fix the problems if they expect to be around long.

I do have a bit under $5 remaining and retrieving voicemails via internet while I am away is good.

Stan

To add to the Voicestick problems. Almost every time I place a test call to my IOM number, I am billed for 5 - 6 minutes for calls that never connected. On one ocasion (this pass Friday), I disabled VM and tried. After 4 rings I hung up. Heck! voicestick wiped out my balance and put it into negative (automatically disabling the number) by charging me for 120 minutes. I emailed them right away and they refunded my balance. They did acknowledge that they are aware of the problem, but did not mention anything about a fix.

BTW, it's my understanding that Bruce, who was a voicestick VP or so, is no longer with the company. There several complaints about voicestick and this same call end/termination issue in the voip forums.

Tried sending a test United Mobile SMS from US (Connecticut) to UK on both T-Mo and on AT&T to an auto-response website (airline lounge listing service). No responding SMS on either service, but a balance request call will work fine so it's just SMS that doesn't work anymore on either carrier. SMS worked fine back at the end of March, but doesn't work anymore.

This isn't a problem with my phone because the AT&T/Beyond GSM and Fido/Rogers prepaid sim cards use SMS services without any problem.

So let's see when I get the new UM+ Jersey card in the mail if SMS works through AT&T and T-Mobile USA again (as other pointed out these carriers now block the old UM Liechtenstein cards). My local prepaid sims are much cheaper for US or Canada, but an SMS would keep the card alive if I don't travel internationally for several months. I'll post my results.

Estonian Mobiles with CBW, Enlinea
 

I have never been able to get a callback on my estonian sim card with either cbw and enlinea....has anybody? Interestingly enough, though, the pin2dest on cbw does work and my US toll free number on enlinea to Estonia does work too!

I was able to receive the callback some weeks ago, but not always. 2/3 attempts failed.