United Mobile+ (new service with +44 Jersey number)
 

Hello,

take a look at attached pricelist or at UML website: they now offer two services: "+423" and "UM+". With UM+, subscriber gets a +44 number from Jersey...

Regards,
Klaus

I have also noticed this and was about to post it!
The sim costs 29.99 (cheaper than UM) and has 10 euro starting balance.
If +447937 is accessed through cheap carriers then it seems a good option.

Until they become expensive :-P

I am not sure if they can be dialed from cheap providers.....I have tried two and none did get through...

...interesting to note that on cbw and enlinea, callback rates to UK mobiles are far higher than to France, Germany and Italy...hm.

While with some of the UK sims it certainly doesn't annoy me much as international rates on some of the UK mobile sims are dirt cheap while in the UK so I don't need cbw or enlinea, if I use a UK sim from Isle of Man the rates I pay on cbw are almost as bad as the rates for Liechtenstein.

More of this conspiracy garbage?

No conspiracy at all! They simply manage to find number ranges that are expensive to dial.

..or they average it out or whatever.

Just another example...for whatever the reason in the United States we have alternate ways of dialing from our landlines by preceding the call with a code. One of the biggest ones is 1016868...that is instead of dialing 011 44 7624 xxxxxx whatever to call an Isle of Man phone we could dial 1016868 011 44 7624 xxxxxx According to the brochure, calls via this method to the UK are 7.9¢ but calls to UK mobiles are 12.9¢ (per minute raised to the next highest minute of course)....it's basically a bargain at least as far as calls to mobiles but guess what...1016868 is disabled it seems if you try to call an Isle of Man mobile (it works as advertised to regular UK mobiles)....conspiracy? Don't know.

The cbw and enlinea prices ot the UK and from the UK must be averagted out to make sure using an isle of man mobile by way of cbw or enlinea is not all that cheap (O9 remains the best alternative and my son is using O9 right now with eninea and it's unbelievable how inexpensive the calls are...pray to god it stays that way!)

Interesting. Some calls (Europe and some Caribbean countries) are cheaper with the new card, but some are much more(some Caribbean countries are very expensive such as Cayman Islands and St. Vincent). The call calculator on their website will do a cross card comparison.
Also note that the new card adds several new countries but is also missing some. New Zealand, British Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Ivory Coast etc. are new countries.
Also there is a seperate FAQ for the new card and it doesn't rule out UMTS data as a future offering like the old card:
"Q: Can I set up UMTS with United Mobile data connection?
A: No, this service is not currently available. If you would like to subscribe to our Newsletter, we will keep you informed of latest developments, like for example UMTS."
This qualifying language might have something to do with the investment by the Skype founder. Wouldn't hold my breath on data anytime soon but they aren't ruling it out.

Most of the Isle of Man cards lack caller id...does this new one give caller id?

According to the web site caller id is visible by default (same like +423 numbers). So unlike Manx sims they do have caller id. I have tried to dial the CS (+447937099911) and was unable from many voip providers!

did you manage to reach this number at all? I didnt even get a connection using T-Com...

Chris

Have you noticed?

http://www.united-mobile.com/downloa...en_um+_eur.pdf

Area 5
EAST TIMOR, GUINEA-BISSAU, KIRIBATI, LIECHTENSTEIN m, NIUE, SOLOMON ISLANDS, SOMALIA, SUDAN m, TOKELAU, WALLIS & FUTUNA

So, calling UM+ to UM starts from 1.29€/min from free-incoming countries. I suppose this pricing is "forced" by Jersey Telecom but it's sad UM couldn't do anything about it.

But in general, the UM+ offer doesn't look that bad. Almost all western and central Europe (not only EU) is covered with free incoming calls and outgoing calls to landlines and on-net are priced at 0.29€ (except for Andorra, Bulgaria, Liechtenstein where the rate is 0.59€). The only "expensive" European countries are Russia, Ukraine (no surprise), Faeroe and Greenland. No coverage in Belarus, Macedonia and Montenegro.
Of course, 0.59€/min for outgoing calls to mobile phones from the EU countries (even disregarding the setup fee) isn't any big deal to compare with "euroroaming" tariffs or Travelsim...

I am also unable to get in touch with their customer care on Jersey number. Tried several routes. Just don't get connection.

No, I did not. I assume they have not activated CS at this number yet... I can not think of anything else.....

I don't think so - they probably left it out of the dialplan through not knowing about it, as there aren't any other +4476 mobile numbers

or have you had this with 07924 as well?

So far, UK mobiles only started with 077, 078, 079. There will soon be some starting with 075, so I expect that some providers will take a while to catch up with that

is was able to dail the UM CS nummer using betamax voip and also on a regular line here in holland.

I still have an IOM number an lack of caller id is a big problem I think. If the UM +44 can be reached from anywhere I will be switching over to this number and drop my +423 number from them.

This is their response
 

Dear Customer,

Your case with United Mobile Customer Service has been updated.

CASE NOTES
-----------
[26/7/2007 15:47:57 - 1stlevel_deu]
Dear Mr. Kucera,

thank you for your inquiry and your interest in our new product. We have just launched this new UM+ card, and therefore the new hotline was not yet activated. Please apologize this inconvenience.
The new hotline is up an running now, so you are now welcome to contact us around the clock, seven days a week. We will be happy to answer all your questions.

Kind regards,

Jakob Kirsch

United Mobile Customer Service

You can now contact United Mobile around the clock. Our Customer Service Team is now available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.






CASE DETAILS
------------
ID : 17633
Customer: Lukas Kucera
Date : 26/7/2007 10:57:19
Title : Erreichbarkeit UM+ hotline

DESCRIPTION
-----------
Dear sirs,
I would like to get some more information about the United Mobile+ service, unfortunately your service number +447937099911 is not possible to reach.I have tried several routes including my local telcom. Then is very hard to believe that your United Mobile+ service will work well if the same or similar phone numbers allocated will be used.

Best Regards,

Lukas Kucera

BTW it works now. I called by JUSTVOIP and got in ti their system.

Ok this explains a lot. I have thought that this would be the case. Voiptalk charges 24 pence/min to connect to 07937!
Since Bbob says that he was able to reach them using other routes then probably pricing would not be a problem unless you are using a uk based provider (which has interconnection with them).

P.S. If they can be cheaply called from betamax then that makes it a very interesting product

it does concern me a bit that some people can't call the number using regular routes, i would like to know a bit more from other users if they have the same problem.

at the moment i have UM +423 and IOM +44.
The IOM number can be called by anyone it seems without problems but I don't have caller id which is not helpfull as I can't see who called my when missing a call.
The UM+ solution seems the answer to all this, caller id, I can use betamax, justvoip and forward to the number at 6 cents but if reaching the number through other channels is a problem I don't know.

so my question is do more people have problem reachin the new number using a regular telecom provider.

Well I have already talked to CS. Their real start should be on Monday. You could even choose your own number for fee, but I was warned there will be only limited range of 50000 numbers available.

BTW God bless JustVOIP for their 5Ect/ minute rate.
I can call this number also from normal telecom line. So it should be possible to reach these numbers from any number now.

Bbob, I think the problem begun, because they have not activated the Cs number and because this was the only number we had to test if it was accessible. At present things seem to work.

Just received a newsfalsh from UM. They current holders of the +423 sim to replace it with the new one and they will transfer the credit over too. This option is available up until 07/31 I will jump on it right now. It will almost make no sense not to. I will not be surprised if they eventually do away with the +423 number

Here is a cut/paste....
-------------------------------------------------------


Replace your existing SIM card with the NEW United Mobile+ SIM

The advantage of the United Mobile+ SIM card:

From 0,29 EUR/minute calling worldwide
and save up to 25%
Incoming calls in over 80 countries for free
Attractive prefix +44 (UK)
Globale Coverage
Data Service in Q4 2007 avaliable
Replace today your SIM card on your personal MyAcccount.

Full transfer of your balance to the new SIM card
Automatic recharge parameters can be transferred with one click
Replacement and shipping FREE of Charge
until 31st of July 2007! REPLACE NOW

Yours truly,
United Mobile Team

wow
 

well, I got the same email here, seems one does pay the 29.99 fee though for the card.

But, i'm not sure how to figure the cost savings or increases? Anyone have a general concensus?

What is the complete full prefix and number pattern to plug into CBW and Enline and such.

[QUOTE=Bossman;16258]Just received a newsfalsh from UM. They current holders of the +423 sim to replace it with the new one and they will transfer the credit over too. This option is available up until 07/31 I will jump on it right now. It will almost make no sense not to. I will not be surprised if they eventually do away with the +423 number

I just received this notice as well (pretty short notice, though!). Any reason NOT to change to UM+?

Well, there seems to be one nice LARGE hole in this for me, China is no longer a free roaming country. Bummer. Wonder why that would be carved out.

But, what is the prefix. Obviously, it cannot be just +44, that would be too cheap to route to. Is it going to be the +44 spc, or +44 mobile, meaning about .40$ to hit it with CBW and others?

I did not see anywhere what it says you pay the 29 euro for the card. BTW, I just did my replacement. My account is now showing as upgraded. I will do the tranfer of credit after I receive the sim, and then as mentioned on their site, they will then deactivate the +423 sim.

From my email above....

Replacement and shipping FREE of Charge
until 31st of July 2007! REPLACE NOW


After 07/31, yes you will definitely pay for card and shipping.

Well, not to knock a good thing as it is better in some senses with the absurd termination fees to Liechtenstein mobiles...however

On both the receiving end and the making call end, it is nowhere near as good as we had it last year.

Last year at this time, I could use my AT&T and verizon callforwarding accounts to forward calls from my landline to the +423 account for $0.11/minute...that has been raised to $0.43/minute...calls to UK mobiles via this method are $0.28/minute which is obviously better than current Liechtenstein rates but nowhere near as good as last year. But it's not terrible (that is provided the calls to the new number are billed as UK mobile calls!)

However, to make calls...well last year with cbw I could make calls from anywhere in Europe back to the USA for the abovementioned $0.14/minute with the 6 second timing intervals...it is interesting to note, as I have said before, that calling via cbw (and enlinea) is now well over $0.40/minutes to the US from UK mobiles which is much more than German and French mobiles...as I said I wonder if part of this is the Isle of Man mobiles. As I said also, I never really cared that callbackworld and enlinea rates were very high on UK mobiles as there are enough cheap alternatives to call home from the UK for as little as 4p/minute without worrying about other services (actually right now I have sprung for the Orange Abroad at 5p/minute)...I am in the UK frequently so that is a partial solution.

My friend has been in Europe and has been using O9 along with enlinea and that is still working very well...calls from Europe to the USA are running about 16¢/minute (US) with the 6 second interval....he is also using an enlinea US toll free number at the same rate to the Icelandic sim at the same rate and of course that can be forwarded off his US mobile or if need be off the US landline. The only problem a major hole in O9 coverage is Switzerland. Here's hoping the Icelandic number does not suffer the same fate as Liechtenstein.

Even kall8 rates to UK mobiles are very high. Voicestick is somewhat lower at 31¢/minute for the higher priced UK mobiles (at 13¢ for Orange UK mobiles as well as T Mobile UK mobiles as I remember)......but of course we all know the big problem with voicestick is your credit quickly becomes history if a call goes into voicemail as there is something dreadfully wrong with their system that they refuse to fix (even if you hang up, the clock keeps running).

Anybody know of any call through services preferably with US toll free numbers to UK mobiles that are pretty low that would help ease the financial strains this is putting on me and protect me if and when O9 rates go sky high or when I'm in Switzerland?

The trade in offer sounds very good. Big thing for me is that they will offer data service in the 4th quarter plus I can save 10 eurocents a minute for calls home to the US when I go for an aviation museum trip to the UK in mid-September. I usually just do United Mobile direct dial rather than using CBW because just a few calls home when on vacation and I still save a bundle over the roaming costs T-Mobile or AT&T would charge if I were on a postpaid plan.

Only negative I can see for me is some, but not all(some are Zone 1), Caribbean countries are more expensive. I am likely getting a Digicel card in advance of travel to Grand Cayman, Grenada, and Union Island, St. Vincent, so this will take care of that problem (Digicel prepaid sims do allow roaming on other islands with Digicel coverage).

Will still use local sims for US (an AT&T MVNO called Beyond Wireless GSM) and Canada (Fido) because these beat both the new and old United Mobile cards on price plus I get needed local numbers for Hartford and Toronto.

The only point I might make to you is that at this point in time, on Orange Call Abroad, T Mobile UK bundle or Mobile World, calls to the US are 5p/minute and they are literally giving away the sim cards (all you pay for is time)...why would you want to use UM (or O9 or Travelsim) for calls from the UK to the USA? (maybe I am missing something; not meaning to be nasty to you or anything like that)....

Just wondering.

No offense taken. Good reason is that I rarely visit Europe (international travel tends more to be business trips to Canada and personal trips to non-US Caribbean). For a one week trip to the UK with maybe one phone call home a day, not really worth getting a UK card. Plus I have about 40 Euro on my Liechtenstein UM card that I will transfer over, so the first 40 Euro will essentially be free (that beats Mobile World 5p/min calls) and I can use any unused balance in other countries. And can also auto-recharge with UM so I don't have to hunt for prepaid vouchers, can briefly test out the new sim in the US in advance of travel and give the number to family. Also have Skype-Out on a Sony Mylo that I may be able to use on wi-fi for 2 US cents/minute back to the US.

Just went on the United Mobile website and ordered the new card with a zero Euro balance...want to make sure it arrives in one piece before transferring or adding money to it.

New UM upgrade
 

Hi, anyone knows what hapenned to prefix +423 after upgrade? does it mean my phone # now is +44 663 xxxxxx or still +423 663 xxxxxx? thanks for any info.

I was wondering if the upgrade is mandatory.....What would happen if someone did not upgrade?

My reading of the announcement and website is that you will get a whole new number. But I have no inside info on that.

The offer is good, pity that I'm going to Armenia in a couple of weeks and the new offer has no coverage there.... :( So I think I'll stay with the +423 offer by now, even if I could buy an Armenian card (and I'll probably do anyway)...

You'll definitely get a completely new number starting with +44 79 3700 xxxx.

During the order process sometimes silver and gold numbers will be shown. However you'll need to reload the UM+ order page several times in order to see those numbers, as the system obviously has some problems yet.

From what I read on the "transfer credit" page (don't know the exact English translation, as I'm seeing the German version), the +423 SIM will immediately be deactivated if you transfer your credit from the +423 SIM to the new one. So I guess the +423 will stay activated if you don't transfer your credit.

At least they should let us setup a mailbox, through which we can announce our new numbers.

Vonage?
 

Anyone know the cost per minute using Vonage to this new UM+ number?

I'm very disappointed China went from free incoming to some insane amount. That is one of the places I must frequent for business. Anyone suppose they will lower the rate there back to free in the future? I know, just speculation...

Cheers

I've just called CS and they told me the +423 SIM won't be deactivated
- unless you transfer your credit to the new SIM
or
- unless your credit declines to € 0.

Regarding the roaming in China UM is dependant on roaming agreements and fees of some other network operators and so pricing is not subject to their free choice.
Why don't you buy a Chinese prepaid SIM? China's mobile networks are reachable at landline rates, so even a call forwarding from the US wouldn't be expensive.

As I don't use Vonage, I can't tell you their rates, but voipcheap.com charges € 0,08/min to UM+ numbers. If you want to know the price of Vonage just call UM CS for a minute and check your bill afterwards: +44 7937 099 911

The UK also allows use of indirect carriers and dial-thru' access codes.

For example 18185 (www.call18185.co.uk) offers UK residents calls to UK mobiles at 3p/min weekends and 6p/min weekdays, also cheap calls internationally and nationally.

International call checker (lists the various providers and the call charges): http://callchecker.moneysavingexpert.com/intcallchecker

France has similar services too, both indirect access and dial thru'.

Upgrade is definitely not mandatory. If the UM +423 works well for you, I'd stay with it.