Vodafone works in ... San Marino

[AndreA]

I just wrote it in my blog (sorry, it's in italian :P ), but Vodafone Italy has the first agreement of international roaming with SMT

It's not a real international roaming, in fact VodaIT customers don't pay incoming calls in San Marino and I think that in the future SMT customers won't pay anything in Italy for the use of "red network".

The nice thing is that SMT doesn't have yet a tariff plan and any customer while its coverage (2G+UMTS) is very good (they have a good coverage in Rimini too )... at least, VodaIT customer when they are 'abroad' pay using SMT a 25 ct / min (60/30) tariff. So strange... I hope for RSM's people that they can have a better deal for the use in Italy :P

[DRNewcomb]

So just how does a small place like RSM keep a VodaIT or Wind customer from just picking up a signal from Italy? I remember some years ago when I was in Aqaba, Jordan, Powertel didn't have a roaming agreement with Jordan but I could use the signal from Partner (Orange) in Israel. In fact I could pick up signals from Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia standing in one spot.

[AndreA]

Originally Posted by DRNewcomb

So just how does a small place like RSM keep a VodaIT or Wind customer from just picking up a signal from Italy?

Well, SMT has many BTSs for its necesseties and a lot of them are oriented to... Rimini So easy to have an italian customer roaming on their network

It's almost impossible anyway for an italian network to keep a (future) RSM customer in San Marino... except Tim (commercial agreement with Tms.sm) Vodafone and Wind don't have any installation there and they don't use BTSs oriented to RSM, so their coverage is very low 'abroad' and... random.

[gmmour]

Originally Posted by DRNewcomb

So just how does a small place like RSM keep a VodaIT or Wind customer from just picking up a signal from Italy? I remember some years ago when I was in Aqaba, Jordan, Powertel didn't have a roaming agreement with Jordan but I could use the signal from Partner (Orange) in Israel. In fact I could pick up signals from Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia standing in one spot.

Actually, until a few months ago, San Marino didn't have its own GSM network and the italian networks provided service and coverage for the sammarinese!

It's just that a new network is opening, I don't think (although I don't know what the San Marino government has decided by giving a license to a local GSM network) that the italian networks will stop having coverage and antennas in San Marino nor that they will stop selling their products in San Marino! In any case if they do stop selling products, a resident of San Marino can walk to Italy and buy his cellphone connection from there, but not his cellphone because the devices themselves are cheaper in tax-free San Marino!

[AndreA]

Originally Posted by gmmour

Actually, until a few months ago, San Marino didn't have its own GSM network and the italian networks provided service and coverage for the sammarinese!

Not true. Tim gives its infrastructure - thanks to an agreement with the Republic - to TMS (www.tms.sm) and you found until a few months ago only Tim network (Code 222-01). Well, surely around San Marino you found Wind and Vodafone too, but their coverage in RSM is coming from... Italy. In fact in the capital you have a lot of difficulties to find the Voda or Wind network because the only BTSs in RSM are powered by Tim/Tms (check the broadcast, channel 050)

It's just that a new network is opening, I don't think (although I don't know what the San Marino government has decided by giving a license to a local GSM network) that the italian networks will stop having coverage and antennas in San Marino nor that they will stop selling their products in San Marino!

No one said that they will stop that... simply Vodafone and Wind have a so low coverage there that probably they will roam to SMT all the time that a their sim card stay 'abroad'. I repeat: Wind and Vodafone don't have a coverage oriented to RSM while SMT has already a great coverage that can just arrive to Rimini Sud (the exit of the highway to reach Rimini Beach and the Republic)! And Tim/TMS won't stop to stay there, maybe they will be the 1st operatore of RSM for a long time... but for a RSM resident now the choice will be better.

In any case if they do stop selling products, a resident of San Marino can walk to Italy and buy his cellphone connection from there, but not his cellphone because the devices themselves are cheaper in tax-free San Marino!

It's not so smart to buy a Voda or Wind simcard for a RSM resident. If they use TMS (or SMT) they don't pay any taxes, using Voda and Wind they have to pay italian taxes (without any refundation!) and... a local crappy coverage

It's not so easy

Italian networks in San Marino are logically

[gmmour]

Thank you!
That makes a lot of sense now! I was there 3 years ago and I remember we could roam on an italian network, I didn't notice it was only TIM and no Wind or Vodafone...

That makes also sense because I just read this blog (http://www.andreatrapani.com/2006/08...arino-telecom/) and I didn't quite understand what he was talking about until you clarified that TSM is renting network from TIM and now they've got clearance to build their own network. The blog sais they are going to need 17 base stations to cover the entire republic!

It's good that the sammarinese get TIM service without VAT!
I do suppose now that they have their own network and won't depend on TIM anymore, they will offer better roaming prices for visiting vodafone and Wind customers also.
But I do think it's stupid to pay high roaming tariffs for an italian visiting san marino...

[AndreA]

Originally Posted by gmmour

That makes also sense because I just read this blog (http://www.andreatrapani.com/2006/08...arino-telecom/)

Well... this is me

and I didn't quite understand what he was talking about until you clarified that TSM is renting network from TIM and now they've got clearance to build their own network. The blog sais they are going to need 17 base stations to cover the entire republic!

Yes. SMT uses 17 base stations I don't know how many ones for Tim/TMS...

It's good that the sammarinese get TIM service without VAT!

Pay attention. A Sammarinese doesn't pay taxes using a TMS simcard (www.tms.sm, only postpaid contracts)... using a Tim card they have italian taxations (20% VAT not refundable, Italy and RSM don't have any agreement about taxation )

I do suppose now that they have their own network and won't depend on TIM anymore, they will offer better roaming prices for visiting vodafone and Wind customers also.
But I do think it's stupid to pay high roaming tariffs for an italian visiting san marino...

Well, it's stupid but very similar to Andorra, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar, Man, Jersey etc etc