abroadband

[mingelli]

You can try it on both PC and Android if you can and check out the connection quality and amount of data used and charged then in account management per minute. Ciao Grazie

[snidely]

Tux -
We will be waiting for your review. What kind of delivery option did you use? I am thinking of using the "express" (DHL) option and gamble by having them send it to our hotel in Spain. How long did it take for you to get the order?
How does the billing work? Do you set up an account on line after you get it? They say, somewhere, they warn you if your bill hits 60 Euros.
I definitely would be interested in knowing how it works with Skype. Our primary use would be for Voice. Would like to know the data usage when making a voice call.

Chris -
You said lots of online sellers only want to sell within the EU. That makes no sense for a product like this that is meant to be used by "outsiders". I have ordered 2 or 3 SIMS from Europe in the past with no problem. After all, they provide the ability to use it everywhere from Israel, to the U.S. to Australia. If I want to buy it to use the next time we go to Israel, I can't buy it here or or there.
I offered to "hold them harmless" if they ship it here and it gets stopped because of customs. Never got a response.

...mike

[tux]

@snidely:
I used standard delivery; they always use DHL, even for the standard method. I ordered the sim on Sunday 6th afternoon, they shipped my sim on Monday and I got the sim this morning.
The billing works in this way: after you register the sim, every 14 days they generate a bill which you pay with your debit/credit card or with PayPal (I use PayPal), but only if you surfed the web. You are debited per kB.
After you have put the sim into the internet key (and have configured the dashboard for the internet key), you just open the browser and you are automatically redirected to an abroadband page where you have to put your invoice number, your details and the payment method.
They are obliged to advise you when you reach 60€ of traffic because of the European legislation. I don't know if they block internet for the remaining days of billing, but I think they do.

By the way, I've just tried a Skype-to-Skype call of about 2 minutes between 2 PCs, and I've been debited 0.66€ (1.05MB). The quality of the voice is quite perfect

Here in Italy they use Vodafone, and where I live Vodafone has an average speed of about 3Mbps in download and 1.50Mbps in upload. Navigation, so, is quite fast. But this depends on the traffic on the BTS you are connected. The ping is about 130ms, but i didn't notice a significant delay in voice calls.

IMHO this is a good service

[snidely]

Tux -
Thanks for quick reply. Why pay the extra amount if they ship DHL on "standard". We would use it with a Blackberry using UMA over wifi. We would insert the SIM into a Zoom We3G 4520 Radio Modem. Abroadband said it should set up automatically. This generates a wifi signal within a 10 meter radius. While mainly for voice, might use it with an Ipad to dl Google Maps.
Am disappointed you only got 2 min./mb. They claimed on their web site that with Skype you would get 4 min. Still would pay to use for voice in some circumstances.
One good deal is there is no monthly fee. You just need to use it once a year to stay active.
I wonder if Skype to Skype burns more or less than "Skype to phone"? Hmm. Unfortunately, I would guess less.

Thanks again.

...mike

[dg7feq]

Originally Posted by snidely

Tux -

I wonder if Skype to Skype burns more or less than "Skype to phone"? Hmm. Unfortunately, I would guess less.

Thanks again.

...mike

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

[dg7feq]

Originally Posted by snidely

I wonder if Skype to Skype burns more or less than "Skype to phone"? Hmm. Unfortunately, I would guess less.

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

[tux]

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"

[snidely]

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

[tux]

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

[snidely]

Originally Posted by tux

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