Greece GPRS?

caliston · 03-08-2007, 12:20

A WIND SIM will probably work OK... if you have a Bluetooth phone you might want to put it up high (on the mast?) to get better signal. I haven't any experience of using data at sea, but voice calls seem to have enough signal on ferry boats most of the way Patras-Kefallonia so it might be feasible. You may have better signal if you moor in a town. If you're in a remote bay it might be best to moor further away from the shore since the transmitters are often on tops of the mountains and you ideally want line-of-sight to the tall mountains. If you're doing this a lot you could buy a second cheap Bluetooth phone and mount it (with a charger cable) on top of the mast all the time.

The speed is pretty much unrelated to your computer. For GPRS in theory a computer made after about 1995 is going to be fast enough. For 3G maybe 1998-9 or so. If you buy a computer today even the cheapest bottom-of-the-line computers should have no trouble.

Centrino is a brand which basically means wifi+low power processor. Low power's handy if you're often going to be using your computer without a mains connection, as you get more battery life. But wifi is wifi: for the net it'll work just the same on a fast computer than a slow one. Especially in Greece where there aren't too many public wifi hotspots, even if you have a wifi connection it'll most likely be running at a tiny fraction of the 54Mbit/s claimed and so your computer speed isn't an issue.

It depends whether you think you'll be working a lot away from a power point, or whether you might be (say) running from the boat batteries/engine all the time. If the latter, any laptop with wireless will do (and even those that don't, it'll cost about £20 to add). If the former, look for a laptop the advertises the most hours on battery (often they quote another figure with an expensive auxiliary battery - ignore that. Don't believe that you'll actually get these figures, but they're a useful comparison). These tend to be more expensive, but if you don't need a fast laptop you could look for an older model reconditioned/secondhand. Fit a new battery if you buy this way, though, as batteries wear out through use.

If you are running from boat power rather than mains power, it might still be worth looking for a low power laptop as I don't know how big your boat will be - you don't want to drain the batteries for navigation lights!

gmmour · 04-08-2007, 06:08

Hello!

All companies have very good coverage in the sea with both GSM and GPRS! Almost all the teritorial waters are covered! Friends who go sailing in the Aegean call me with no problems...

As for data, since you're staying long and mobile will me your main means for accessing the internet, provided that the WIND Plus non-stop solution works only for basic web browsing and chat, you might want to consider the greek providers' data card solutions with various offers. WIND ofers Data Card Non-Stop with a 20GB/month fair usage policy.

Cosmote currently offers unlimited data until September and I do think that after this offer they will re-adjust their tariffs to at least match the WIND ones, same for Vodafone, they offer unlimited data on their Vodafone Data Card programs until September and are expected to re-adjust prices after that, or even extend the offer!

Cosmote claims to have currently covered 80% of the population with 3G and does have the most extensive 3G network in Greece with optimistic unofficial statements by company insiders that they will try to have a complete (!) 3G network overlay by the end of the year!

Cosmote has by far the best 3G coverage in rural Greece (outside the main cities of Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Larissa etc.) so it might suit you better for mobile internet, if your needs exceed typical low-speed browsing that you can easily do with WIND's GPRS and their inexpensive Plus non-stop offer (3,49€/month compared to more than 20-50€ month for data-card plans).

Cosmote's extensive 3G network though is said to be lacking the necessary backbone, thus the 3G network is "virtual" in some places, meaning that although you have 3G speeds from your mobile to the base station, the speed is limited on the station's connection to the company's network, thus you get slow 2G-like speeds...
WIND on the other side has overlaid its network with EDGE since 2004 but has never offered it to its customers for unknown reasons, it is not known if they're ever going to offer it after all...

Look at the providers' sites for their data-card offers to see if there is one to suit your needs. All sites are available both in English and Greek, so you won't have problems finding your way around. It's www.cosmote.gr, www.vodafone.gr and www.wind.com.gr (not www.wind.gr since some clever guy has taken the domain name before WIND rebranded)!

Notice though that in the last months, mobile data prices are going down due to renewed competition between the companies so prices are expected to fall in the coming months...

For example, the cheapest DC offer right now is offered to university students only and it offers unlimited (20GB/month fair usage) access from 20:00-08:00 everyday and a mere 70MB/month from 08:00-20:00.
This is a quite new offer introduced only two weeks ago, so it is expected that the student offer will be matched by the other companies too and that similar inexpensive unlimited programs (maybe with time restrictions like the afternoon program mentioned above) are expected also for the non-academic community!

beorma_kate · **Thank you! -** 04-08-2007, 10:55

Cheers Caliston and gmmour - you have saved me plenty of money I reckon!

Thanks for your straightforward explanations. Really useful.

Cheers! Katie

gmmour · 15-08-2007, 13:43

Wind mobile TV is no longer free, if you open the links I provided above, you will be charged the wind mobile TV fees for the channel or the program you are viewing!
Wind plus non-stop, however, continues to provide unlimited internet browsing with ?3,49 a month, as described above!
A new info I got is how to view you tube and streaming videos in general, surpassing the gwap proxy server's 1MB limitation:
You have to use the Netscape browser and select continuous streaming, through the settings panel. This will force the program to download the streaming you tube videos continuously in small parts as the video plays. These parts are smaller than 1MB even for big videos and so you'll be able to watch the entire streaming video through wind plus non-stop without problems with the 1MB limitation!

	(#1)
caliston (Offline) Junior Member Amateur Member Posts: 22 Join Date: 11 Jun 2007 Country:	03-08-2007, 12:20 A WIND SIM will probably work OK... if you have a Bluetooth phone you might want to put it up high (on the mast?) to get better signal. I haven't any experience of using data at sea, but voice calls seem to have enough signal on ferry boats most of the way Patras-Kefallonia so it might be feasible. You may have better signal if you moor in a town. If you're in a remote bay it might be best to moor further away from the shore since the transmitters are often on tops of the mountains and you ideally want line-of-sight to the tall mountains. If you're doing this a lot you could buy a second cheap Bluetooth phone and mount it (with a charger cable) on top of the mast all the time. The speed is pretty much unrelated to your computer. For GPRS in theory a computer made after about 1995 is going to be fast enough. For 3G maybe 1998-9 or so. If you buy a computer today even the cheapest bottom-of-the-line computers should have no trouble. Centrino is a brand which basically means wifi+low power processor. Low power's handy if you're often going to be using your computer without a mains connection, as you get more battery life. But wifi is wifi: for the net it'll work just the same on a fast computer than a slow one. Especially in Greece where there aren't too many public wifi hotspots, even if you have a wifi connection it'll most likely be running at a tiny fraction of the 54Mbit/s claimed and so your computer speed isn't an issue. It depends whether you think you'll be working a lot away from a power point, or whether you might be (say) running from the boat batteries/engine all the time. If the latter, any laptop with wireless will do (and even those that don't, it'll cost about £20 to add). If the former, look for a laptop the advertises the most hours on battery (often they quote another figure with an expensive auxiliary battery - ignore that. Don't believe that you'll actually get these figures, but they're a useful comparison). These tend to be more expensive, but if you don't need a fast laptop you could look for an older model reconditioned/secondhand. Fit a new battery if you buy this way, though, as batteries wear out through use. If you are running from boat power rather than mains power, it might still be worth looking for a low power laptop as I don't know how big your boat will be - you don't want to drain the batteries for navigation lights!

	(#2)
gmmour (Offline) Member Advanced Member Posts: 92 Join Date: 03 Oct 2006 Country:	04-08-2007, 06:08 Hello! All companies have very good coverage in the sea with both GSM and GPRS! Almost all the teritorial waters are covered! Friends who go sailing in the Aegean call me with no problems... As for data, since you're staying long and mobile will me your main means for accessing the internet, provided that the WIND Plus non-stop solution works only for basic web browsing and chat, you might want to consider the greek providers' data card solutions with various offers. WIND ofers Data Card Non-Stop with a 20GB/month fair usage policy. Cosmote currently offers unlimited data until September and I do think that after this offer they will re-adjust their tariffs to at least match the WIND ones, same for Vodafone, they offer unlimited data on their Vodafone Data Card programs until September and are expected to re-adjust prices after that, or even extend the offer! Cosmote claims to have currently covered 80% of the population with 3G and does have the most extensive 3G network in Greece with optimistic unofficial statements by company insiders that they will try to have a complete (!) 3G network overlay by the end of the year! Cosmote has by far the best 3G coverage in rural Greece (outside the main cities of Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Larissa etc.) so it might suit you better for mobile internet, if your needs exceed typical low-speed browsing that you can easily do with WIND's GPRS and their inexpensive Plus non-stop offer (3,49€/month compared to more than 20-50€ month for data-card plans). Cosmote's extensive 3G network though is said to be lacking the necessary backbone, thus the 3G network is "virtual" in some places, meaning that although you have 3G speeds from your mobile to the base station, the speed is limited on the station's connection to the company's network, thus you get slow 2G-like speeds... WIND on the other side has overlaid its network with EDGE since 2004 but has never offered it to its customers for unknown reasons, it is not known if they're ever going to offer it after all... Look at the providers' sites for their data-card offers to see if there is one to suit your needs. All sites are available both in English and Greek, so you won't have problems finding your way around. It's www.cosmote.gr, www.vodafone.gr and www.wind.com.gr (not www.wind.gr since some clever guy has taken the domain name before WIND rebranded)! Notice though that in the last months, mobile data prices are going down due to renewed competition between the companies so prices are expected to fall in the coming months... For example, the cheapest DC offer right now is offered to university students only and it offers unlimited (20GB/month fair usage) access from 20:00-08:00 everyday and a mere 70MB/month from 08:00-20:00. This is a quite new offer introduced only two weeks ago, so it is expected that the student offer will be matched by the other companies too and that similar inexpensive unlimited programs (maybe with time restrictions like the afternoon program mentioned above) are expected also for the non-academic community!

	(#3)
beorma_kate (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 2 Join Date: 02 Aug 2007 Country:	Thank you! - 04-08-2007, 10:55 Cheers Caliston and gmmour - you have saved me plenty of money I reckon! Thanks for your straightforward explanations. Really useful. Cheers! Katie

	(#4)
gmmour (Offline) Member Advanced Member Posts: 92 Join Date: 03 Oct 2006 Country:	15-08-2007, 13:43 Wind mobile TV is no longer free, if you open the links I provided above, you will be charged the wind mobile TV fees for the channel or the program you are viewing! Wind plus non-stop, however, continues to provide unlimited internet browsing with ?3,49 a month, as described above! A new info I got is how to view you tube and streaming videos in general, surpassing the gwap proxy server's 1MB limitation: You have to use the Netscape browser and select continuous streaming, through the settings panel. This will force the program to download the streaming you tube videos continuously in small parts as the video plays. These parts are smaller than 1MB even for big videos and so you'll be able to watch the entire streaming video through wind plus non-stop without problems with the 1MB limitation!