Mobile Internet in Europe

[rfranzq]

Originally Posted by Pollik

I am not sure about being able to "afford" a comprehensive solution!

Well, we are all cheap here so I think you will be glad you found us.

Originally Posted by Pollik

I have two dongles, at the moment, one is an Olivetti (part of a deal with TIM in Italy) and the other is ZTE (part of a deal with SFR in France) - I guess they are both locked...not sure how to test this in the UK. If necessary, I am happy to source another, unlocked dongle.

Please find out the model numbers and post here. Those who chime in will be able to tell you all sorts of good things. I suspect at least one is unlockable and probably adequate for the intended purpose.

Originally Posted by Pollik

How long...probably three months on this trip,.........another three months up to Xmas. You have probably worked out that we are retired!!

If there is a contract option, someone will probably be able to tell you about it. 6 months in one year might have other inexpensive options. Actually, that you were retired had not occured to me. I can be very dense at times.

Originally Posted by Pollik

I do travel alone sometimes, and I do have some concerns about being a woman travelling alone.
I missed out on doing gap year things 40 years ago and I want to make up for it now!!

Do you have your non-data phone needs already solved? I guess with the EU setting max rates for voice and SMS [as I understand it] makes those thing very manageable. While you still have health and more brains than 4 decades ago is probably a very good time to go.

The more you can tell the people here about hardware and itinerary [though it does seem pretty much all of Europe], the more ideas and better solutions will find their way here.

[Pollik]

Olivetti - Olicard 145 (S/N: 0C3010404981)

ZTE Corp - K3565-Z ABCD (S/N: 321200825968)

My non-data needs are relatively low...I don't spend much time speaking on the phone or texting, so I think I am OK with what I have. I have a contract with Vodafone which comes with 600 minutes and 1GB Mobile Internet, cost £29.79 and about 18 months to run. The phone itself is a Samsung Galaxy S running Android 2.2. When I am abroad, I turn off the 3G. I have the unlocking code from Vodafone, though I have not done anything about it yet.

I am going away in UK for few days, but will log on if I can find hotspots or I can use the phone, but it is not as good for entering data as my qwerty is for touch typing.

Once again, thanks for your help. :)


Polly

[tux]

TIM doesn't lock its devices

[Pollik]

Well, that is a good start, Tux, thanks.

[MobileMan]

Originally Posted by Pollik

Olivetti - Olicard 145 (S/N: 0C3010404981)

ZTE Corp - K3565-Z ABCD (S/N: 32120082596

My non-data needs are relatively low...I don't spend much time speaking on the phone or texting, so I think I am OK with what I have. I have a contract with Vodafone which comes with 600 minutes and 1GB Mobile Internet, cost £29.79 and about 18 months to run. The phone itself is a Samsung Galaxy S running Android 2.2. When I am abroad, I turn off the 3G. I have the unlocking code from Vodafone, though I have not done anything about it yet.

I am going away in UK for few days, but will log on if I can find hotspots or I can use the phone, but it is not as good for entering data as my qwerty is for touch typing.

Once again, thanks for your help.


Polly

Polly,
Just incase you did not realise, you will not be able to use your 1GB mobile internet and 600 minutes on your Vodafone contract when you are travelling throughout Europe, roaming charges will apply. You can actually use your minutes on certain networks in certain European countries if you are signed up to Vodafone passport but this is subject to a 75p connection charge, there is also a 75p connection charge for incoming calls on Vodafone passport. Internet access abroad and international roaming charges ? Vodafone

For data on your mobile, in certain European countries there is Vodafone Data Traveller which you can either pay £2 for each day you use it for up to 25MB/day, or sign up for the monthly Data Traveller and get Vodafone Data Traveller everyday for £10/month. "To get Vodafone Data Traveller call us on 40062 from your Vodafone mobile phone" Using the internet abroad - it's easy on Vodafone

For data on your laptop, local sim cards will normally be your best route if you can't get Wifi, try a couple PAYG sim cards in the dongle to see if it registers on different networks and is unlocked. If you are only in the country for a few days and can manage on less than 25MB/day it may be an idea to see if you can tether your Vodafone mobile to your laptop.

[Pollik]

Thanks Mobileman. I don't use my mobile very much anyway and it suits me to keep my known number...my parents are getting on a bit.

I tried putting a Vodafone sim card in my TIM dongle...perhaps I was doing something wrong, but I couldn't get it to connect to the Vodafone network. There is no rejection message, just a 'ping' noise.

I am wondering if I need connection set up details - TIM software suggests that I need the following info, some of which I have got from Vodafone's software:

Account:
User name: web
Number: *99#
Password: ***
APN: PPBUNDLE.INTERNET
Protocol: PAP

How do I get the rest of the information? This question is particularly relevant for use in Europe.

(I hope providers get their act together some time...this is a real pain to sort out. True mobile broadband doesn't really seem to exist outside large towns.)