GSM WORLD

>I will in Co Kerry, Ireland for about 2 weeks from next week.
>There is no access to a landline and I wil need to get online on a
>dialup 1890 ISP number via GSM cellular for 3-5 hours a day.
>
[...]
>In any case, I believe it may now be less expensive if I picked up a
>Irish SIM and used this instead?
>
>So my question is, which prepaid SIM should I go for, bearing in mind:
>
>1. Coverage in Co Kerry (near Castlegregory)
>2. Needs to support GSM Data
>3. Easy Top-Up (voucher?)

> Chris Tay writes
> >I will in Co Kerry, Ireland for about 2 weeks from next week.
> >There is no access to a landline and I wil need to get online on a
> >dialup 1890 ISP number via GSM cellular for 3-5 hours a day.
> >
> [...]
> >In any case, I believe it may now be less expensive if I picked up a
> >Irish SIM and used this instead?
> >
> >So my question is, which prepaid SIM should I go for, bearing in mind:
> >
> >1. Coverage in Co Kerry (near Castlegregory)
> >2. Needs to support GSM Data
> >3. Easy Top-Up (voucher?)
>
> 1. TBH, you are best placed to check to see if coverage is acceptable
> when you get to Castlegregory. Do a manual network search with your
> phone and log onto each network in turn; O2-IRL (may be shown as
> Digifone), Vodafone IRL (may be shown as Eircell) and Meteor. Then see
> what the signal level is like.
>
> 2. All three networks support it. I know for definite that Meteor PAYG
> does, never used the other two.
>
> 3. All three have easy top-up.
>
> Cost of 1890 calls;
> Meteor AnyTime/LeisureTime; 15c/min at all times.
> Vodafone Ready to Go; 50c/min peak, 15c/min off-peak - with a 3c min
> call charge.
> O2 Speakeasy NightOwl/EarlyBird; 30c/min peak, 23c/min off-peak.
>
> So in terms of costs, Meteor wins hands down - but being the newest
> network, coverage may be an issue. Otherwise, if you can restrict
> yourself to off-peak usage, then go for Vodafone - being the oldest
> network, coverage should be better.

>I cant find the info on GPRS for 02 - they seem to support it on
>their pay monthly but not sure if they support it on their PAYG.

>Meteor do not seem to support GPRS at all (no mention of it on their
>web site).

>How would costs compare between GPRS and GSM? I spend most of the time
>online receiving and sending email, and once a day download and
>uploading files (via FTP)c. 10Mb down, 10Mb up. I would also use it
>for VPN and Remote Desktop Access (Terminal Services) for about 3
>hours a day.

>What about HSCD - Vodafone website mentions this but there isnt much
>info on it. I have a Nokia 6210 which supports HSCD. Would this be
>another option?

> Well, GPRS at 2c/kb on Vodafone Ready to Go would cost you eur40.96 in
> total for your 10Mb up & 10Mb down. The same would cost eur61.44 on O2
> Speakeasy.
>
> 3 hours dialup to 1890 on Meteor at 15c/min would cost you eur27.00

> >What about HSCD - Vodafone website mentions this but there isnt much
> >info on it. I have a Nokia 6210 which supports HSCD. Would this be
> >another option?
>
> I found some info in the Business section of their website;
> http://www.vodafone.ie/workonthemove/datatech/hscsd/index.jsp
>
> A normal voice call is allocated 1 slot, where a HSD call can achieve
> as many a 4. Despite this there is no extra charge for HSD, all calls
> are charged at the rate of one slot. The cost of calls is based on
> Vodafones current voice tariffs.
>
> This would give you a theoretical best connection of 43.2k one way and
> 14.4k the other. But being as its in the business section, I couldnt
> say if this applies to PAYG.
>
> AFAIAA, Meteor dont support HSCSD - a 14.4k connection is the best you
> can expect.

> >How would costs compare between GPRS and GSM? I spend most of the time
> >online receiving and sending email, and once a day download and
> >uploading files (via FTP)c. 10Mb down, 10Mb up. I would also use it
> >for VPN and Remote Desktop Access (Terminal Services) for about 3
> >hours a day.
>
> Well, GPRS at 2c/kb on Vodafone Ready to Go would cost you eur40.96 in
> total for your 10Mb up & 10Mb down. The same would cost eur61.44 on O2
> Speakeasy.
>
> 3 hours dialup to 1890 on Meteor at 15c/min would cost you eur27.00