UM Data sim card bundle

[Stu]

I might do this. Particularly if I can port the +423 to ICQ.

I carry a data enabled PDA but would love the option to tether it. The data sim would murder me with push e-mail or pulling e-mail on a semi-regular basis to my PDA.

The ICQ SIM might make more sense. As noted in another post, I'm also eying Vodafone's new offering which is 12 euros a day for unlimited in the EU roaming. I still haven't seen the terms and conditions so I don't know things like whether it is a new 12 Euros each time I cross a border. Imagine sitting on a train and going through four countries!

I'm wondering if we want to expand our data roaming section and possibly come up with some sample transactions tied to a common currency so that we can compare like things. I know two users are the same, but we can probably come up with some benchmarks.

[inquisitor]

@stu
The UM data SIM and the ICQ SIM are not the same! They differ in roaming countries, pricing and especially in the session-setup-fee.
Whereas ICQ customers pay only € 0,39 for each day of data usage, UM data customers are charged € 0,39 for each datasession. And since datasessions are regularly interrupted (e.g. if you're out of coverage, if handovers fail or if a cell is overloaded) you must reckon with extra costs for the session-setup-fees of the UM data SIM.
Anyway as +423 customer you'll only be able to switch to the UM data tariff and not to the ICQ tariff. Also keep in mind, that voice tariffs of the UM data SIM are worse than the +423 SIM in many places - so you should exactly compare the prices for the countries you regularly travel to before you switch.

[inquisitor]

Roaming of the +423 SIM card has been limited in Germany. Allthough I was able to register on all four German networks on May 3rd, today I determined, that my +423 SIM is being rejected by T-Mobile Germany and O2 Germany, so only Vodafone and eplus work.
I suspect this limitation to be caused by some HLR-modification, that will enable +423 customers switching to the new data tariff soon.

[f300]

First of all it looks like the new data UM plan is considerably more expensive in some countries like France, Ireland, Luxembourg (1.49 EUR/100 kB versus 0.99EUR for Germany, Italy,...). I can't remember how this works: do we pay VAT on top of it like with skype for example or are this the "real" rates?

Anyway it doesn't look so good: not even all EU countries are covered and I am really curios to see if more exotic destinations like Turkey, South Korea or even Japan or US work at all.

Also I don't like the connection fee but on the other hand this might be a price United Mobile really has to pay (not precisely that amount but something proportional).

I don't have any news but the anounced conversion of old UM sims to data doesn't seem to go anywhere (maybe they just have some delays).

I am really looking forward for the time when I'll be able to do some very very light surfing and email checking in roaming without breaking the bank.

[f300]

Update: without too much advertisement it is now possible to add the data option to normal UM (not UM+) SIMs. One-time fee for this is 3EUR. Anyone willing to give it a go?

[Effendi]

Dear customer

United Mobile is expanding the data service portfolio for the use in mobile handsets. Existing customers with voice tariffs +423 can activate the new data option on top of used voice SIM cards.

Be online, surf in the internet or check your emails while you are on the road - the new data option is already available in more than 60 countries. Get attractive data rates in Europe for 1,39Euro/MB.

Easy activation via my account:
The activation of the new data option can be done online via web in your my account (activation fee 3 Euro) Please take into account that the activation of "data option" limits the number of roaming providers to operators with voice and data services

Best regards,
United Mobile Team

[bourbonkiller]

@f300

I just tried this out today. It states that it may last up to 5 days until the data option will be activated. As everyone might have seen, in the service area of the sim card there is a option to activate.

The 3 Euros will not been charged againt your balance, they will again bill your credit card or paypal.

They nowhere state if the voice tariff will change? They only state how much it cost to activate, that you will be limited with the number of roaming providers and the cost of data. Let's see what will happen...

Bourbonkiller

[VladS]

The per MB cost is higher than on the data cards and still comes with the per connection surcharge.

My understanding is that enabling the data profile on voice-only +423 cards will dramatically limits the networks the card can roam on.

As far as I'm concerned I'll stick with my ICQ card for data and secondary voice and the voice only +423 card (ex Riiing) for voice.

[inquisitor]

I've also ordered the data service in the afternoon, but it has not been activated yet. Also there's no info on the required configuration details (APN, username, password) on the UM website and the customer support couldn't provide them, too.

[VladS]

APN: UML.com
username: umdata
password: internet