Travelsim, First Impressions

[olev_p]

To be understandable:

In Italy I used standard way for calling from travelSIM:

I just dialed destination number.

(no any SMS triks)

[travelsim]

Also - there is no extra charge for SMS - triggering!

[travelsim]

also the reason is that travelsim works mainly with ussd - which brings no setup cost per call, and more speed at the call setup,...

[prion]

Originally Posted by travelsim

also the reason is that travelsim works mainly with ussd - which brings no setup cost per call, and more speed at the call setup,...

I see that one of your vendors ( oneroam) does charge call setup fee,,whereas you do not. Do you really charge set up cost or not;

[travelsim]

We DON?T charge anything for setting up the call - USSD triggering

[prion]

Originally Posted by travelsim

We DON?T charge anything for setting up the call - USSD triggering

Thanks for your reply travelsim!

[Asick]

I recently purchased a Travelsim in St.Petersburg at a local dealer with 10 Euros on the balance (995 rubles, which is 28.68 Euros or 36.93 USD now), so I've already made some tests. The card has MTS Russia network in the preferred networks list. Here, we have four GSM networks: MegaFon, MTS, BeeLine and Tele2. Travelsim gets registered in three of them except of Tele2. However, it actually works only with MTS network (that's why it's in the preferred list, I guess). Although it's registered on MegaFon or BeeLine networks, it's impossible to make an outgoing call or to receive a call (caller gets something like called number error as a voice message or as a phone network response). However, it has no problems with MTS Russia network, I mean both outgoing and incoming calls and SMS (surely, to the separate SMS number) are working. CIDs are correct whatever I call and wherever I receive a call from. I tried some Russian operators to call this Travelsim number (St.Petersburg landline monopolist, MegaFon, some calling card providers), and all of them did work, showing proper CIDs on the Travelsim phone etc. Incoming calls on Travelsim here are free in fact, I've just checked this. So, I guess a visitor to Russia will not have any problem with Travelsim while the preferred networks list properly works in his or her phone, eventually. It's just necessary to keep in mind than Travelsim coverage in Russia (or at least in St.Petersburg) is equal to MTS Russia coverage. By the way, I'll probably test this SIM in Finland on the next weekend, so I'll tell you my impressions on using it there.

[Przemolog]

Originally Posted by Asick

Incoming calls on Travelsim here are free in fact, I've just checked this.

If I think correctly, it might the first time you received a free mobile incoming call in your home city (CPP in Russia not working yet?) . Or, any of your Russian sims already has free incoming calls under some conditions (on-net calls or so)?

[Asick]

Originally Posted by Przemolog

If I think correctly, it might the first time you received a free mobile incoming call in your home city (CPP in Russia not working yet?) . Or, any of your Russian sims already has free incoming calls under some conditions (on-net calls or so)?

Surely, it's not the first free mobile incoming call that I received here. Incoming calls from local mobiles (from any cellular operator of your home city) are free on Russian mobiles for a few years, but it's not the regulation, it's just the common practice. Also, you could subscribe to free incoming calls (any) choosing another (more expensive) tariff and so on. CPP is not officially working yet, it's a sort of NP (nobody pays ) now. For example, MegaFon St.Petersburg declared that incoming calls are free on every modern tariff since May till 30th of June (positioning it as a sort of great offer, while they will just have to keep this 'offer' since July accordingly to the new law), while calls from local landlines to MegaFon cell phones are still free too. Nobody pays, isn't it cool? I was expecting network busy problems etc., but there's nothing like this. Quite surprising.