Posts Tagged ‘Mobile’
Everyone is trying to cut costs these days, downsizing on everything from day-to-day expenses, such as food shopping and utility bills, to luxury items and activities – like holidays or retail splurges. Yet many people still find that no matter how hard they try, they’re always met with a steep mobile phone bill at the end of the month.
Did they perhaps misread their contracts when purchasing a mobile phone? Or are they actually going over their allotted minutes, resulting in much higher bills than they had originally anticipated? While the latter is most likely the case, there’s no need to sacrifice your social life or the convenience of having a mobile phone because of high mobile phone service costs.
There are a number of things you can do to lower your monthly mobile phones bills. For starters, it’s worth asking yourself the obvious: do you keep track of how many minutes you speak on your phone throughout the month, or do you allow yourself unlimited mobile use, disregarding your minutes until your expensive bill arrives? A lot of people don’t realise just how frequently they use their phones until they see that bill. But the truth is, those minutes add up – so it’s worth keeping a close eye on your usage. It’s also a good idea to reconsider how many ‘free’ minutes your contract allows, and where you might be able to make adjustments to your usage to get yourself closer to that allowance.
Secondly, do you send text messages or photos through your phone? These actions can also add up on a phone bill, so they’re important aspects to consider. Another question to ask is whether your phone service provider can extend any offers on free texting. Service providers usually have a number of deals on offer at any given time, so they’re not likely to advertise all of them to every single customer. However, if you ask and if any such offer is available, you’ll be sure to hear about it.
Another option to lower your phone bills is to purchase calling credit or a subscription through an online software application. Such applications offer minutes at pre-determined, affordable prices; enabling you to make cheap calls to destinations all over the world.
Moreover, buying credit before making your calls means you’ll increase your awareness of your phone usage – which can help to lower your phone bills significantly. So, it can prove worthwhile to make a few adjustments to your usage. That way, you can enjoy all the benefits of having a mobile phone for less.
Using a ‘VoIP’ phone service is a good way of lowering the phone bill. It gets even more cheaper if you can use it with your computer or mobile.Let’s take the example of ‘Skype’, a downloadable Voip service and see how it can be used.
As a ‘VoIP’ service Skype offers free: software, audio and video calls on the network and text messaging. Skype can also be used to call people on their land line and mobile numbers. Here are some its features and drawbacks.
Software Compatibility: It has great compatibility. You can use it with Mac, Linux, Windows, mobiles, ‘WiFi’ phones, cordless phones and I Phone. If you can’t leave your computer on to recieve calls, you can buy a stand alone phone with Skype in it and connect it with your internet connection.
Voice mail: Read your messages from anywhere in the world, store and listen later, personalize greeting messages.
Audio and Video Calls: With this feature, you can call your family, friends or business on the network for free. Similarly, it will not cost you anything to make video calls to people sharing the ’Skype’ network.
Outside Network Calls: For 2.95$/ month you can call within U.S and Canada and for 5.95$/ month you can select a country and make calls to your contacts over there. A world wide plan is also available for 12.95$/ month. Currently they are running a special promotion on 3 or 12 month subscriptions which gives you three months of service in the price of two.
Text Messages: You can type your text message using your keyboard and send the message through your ‘VoIP’ network, showing your own mobile number.
Personal Online Number: This feature is very useful if you have friends and family who do not use the same network. They can call you from their land-line or mobile and only pay their standard call rates. For example, your mother lives in Auckland and you are traveling to Melbourne. You could get a number that is connected to the network. So, when your mother calls you she only pays for the standard call charges.
Call Forwarding: You can receive your calls when you are offline and direct incoming calls to ring on your mobile or phone. If your friend is offline but has activated call forwarding you can reach them when they are away from their computer.
Long Distance Calling: You can call world wide to many countries or choose a specific country and call there with the ‘Skype’ packages.
Note: You can make calls via Skype with the in-built speakers and microphones found on most computers but a headset will give much better audio quality.
Drawbacks
A product like ’Skype’ is competition for AT&T. So, ‘iPhone’ users cannot use the Skype service on high-speed 3G wireless network of ‘AT&T’ ; they can use the ‘Skype’ service only at ‘Wi-Fi’ hot spots.
To my knowledge, customer support staff is not a plus point of Skype. You cannot transfer your existing number to the network, but you can get a new number in your area code (it may take more than one try). 911 is not available with Skype.
Zambia – Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband
Zambia’s GDP growth has remained almost unaffected by the global economic crisis. After briefly dipping to 4.5% in 2009 it is expected to return to the level of between 5% and 6% p.a. from 2010 which it has enjoyed consistently over the past six years. The country’s telecommunications market is dominated by mobile network operator Zain (formerly Celtel) which has a market share of almost 75%. However, the fastest subscriber growth is currently seen by the runner-up, MTN (formerly Telecel) from South Africa. The average revenue per user (ARPU) on the other hand has dropped sharply in 2009 after it had already reversed its long-term downtrend in 2008. ( http://www.bharatbook.com/detail.asp?id=129463&rt=Zambia-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband.html )
The third competitor in the mobile market is Cell Z, the mobile division of the national telco, Zamtel. Zamtel has been performing poorly in the mobile as well as the fixed-line sector, despite monopoly rights in the latter, including the international gateway. This has also limited growth in the Internet and broadband sector, with some of the highest prices for international bandwidth on the continent. The monopoly on the international gateway and restrictions on VoIP Internet telephony are set to fall under the new ICT Act of 2009, which will make international calls and borderless international roaming much more attractive. The Act will also establish a new unified licensing regime which will enable more competition in all market sectors from existing and new players. With penetration rates in all sectors still below regional averages, the growth prospects are excellent.
Since 2009 mobile handsets are being manufactured in Zambia for the domestic market as well as export.
A majority stake in Zamtel is up for privatisation in the first half of 2010. One of its key assets is a national fibre network that is currently being rolled out, including connections to neighbouring countries which will provide transit links to international submarine fibre optic cables off the African east and west coasts. However, alternative domestic fibre is already being rolled out by three other companies, and one of them has recently completed the country’s first ever connection to an international submarine fibre optic cable, SAT-3/WASC.
Alternative international fibre links will go live in 2010 and 2011, reducing the dependency on a single provider, which will first and foremost benefit the broadband sector with cheaper international bandwidth. Zamtel’s expensive ADSL service is still dominating this sector, albeit at a very low level. Competition exists from several ISPs which have rolled out WiMAX wireless broadband networks.Mobile data services using GPRS and EDGE are available but have remained expensive under the current conditions. Third-generation (3G) technology rollouts are in progress, including 3.5G HSPA.
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It can be minefield out there, trying to pick the perfect phone. So, let me help you make the decision. Let me help you get it clear, in your head, exactly what you want from a phone, and therefore, what will be the perfect phone for you.
First up, you have to ask yourself: what is you want from your phone? Do you want a camera phone, to snap away for hours? Or do you want a music phone, to replace your mp3 player? Or maybe you want a smartphone, a phone that will do everything except give you a back rub after a hard day’s work? Or maybe, just maybe, you want a simple, basic phone, that will just give you the calls and texts you need, without all the frills anbd frivolous bits you don’t need!
So, once you’ve decided exactly why you want a mobile phone, then you need to sit down and think about what spec you’re looking at. It’s all well and good saying, ‘I want a camera phone,’ and then going out and buying the first one you see. You need to compare costs versus features. So, if you want a camera phone, you have to think, ‘Do I want a top-end 5 megapixel phone, to get photos as good as my digital camera, or will a cheaper 3 megapixel camera phone do?’
Likewise, if you’re looking at buying a music phone, you need to stop and think before wading in with your wallet out. Ask yourself whether you want to entirely replace your mp3 player, and if so, check out different phones. Do you want to get one that has masses of built in memory, or is that too big a phone (that is, you don’t have enough music to fill it), and if so, will a cheaper phone that uses memory cards do? With smartphones, it’s slightly more complicated. Because they’re so packed with features, it’s hard to choose between them… but then, if you’re in the market for a smartphone, you probably know exactly what you want!
Once you’ve decided exactly what spec you want your new mobile phone to be, then it’s time to budget for it. Set yourself a price range, and stick to it! Find a phone that does what you want within your price range. There are a wealth of mobile phones out there, and even mobile broadband, but once you narrow your search down to what you realy want, and what you can afford, you’ll find it gets a lot easier!
Mobile Broadband
Get online on the move.
Waiting for a dial-up service to connect to the internet is like watching paint dry. However, a landline is not a prerequisite for an online connection anymore. Welcome to the world of mobile broadband. Originally aimed at laptop-friendly business users who move around a lot, the latest communication service can be yours for only £10 a month and is designed to be fast, cheap and convenient. Wireless, portable and charged by the imaginatively named ‘dongle’, mobile broadband is yet another way to keep in touch, wherever you may be.
Sound too good to be true? Well, it all depends on where you live and how you use the internet. A 3G phone signal is essential for accessing mobile broadband however, despite the fact that this signal is available to 90% of the population, the more remote one’s location, the more difficult it is to get a strong signal.
Other considerations include how often and how much you download from the internet. Those who like to download regularly may find landline broadband a cheaper option until mobile broadband downloading prices fall. As it is, most providers offer around 3GB a month for a one off payment, charging more if you exceed this limit. However, if you’re not a heavy downloader, mobile broadband could definitely offer you more for less.
And this is only the beginning. Giant service providers such as 3 and T-Mobile hope to provide mobile broadband to 98% of the UK by 2010. In addition, their proposals to double speeds make for a very attractive package, leaving landline and dial-up connections in the shade.
One thing’s for sure, if you can’t live without the internet and you’re always on the go, mobile broadband will revolutionise your working relations and you won’t miss a breath.
Google for more information or check out sites like link bidder , compare the markets , A1 Directory or compare
Good Luck.
Are you toying with the idea of a change from your fixed line broadband to mobile broadband? Do you know enough about the difference between the two to be able to make a sound judgement call?
In this article we aim to make it easier for you to decide by comparing such things as speed, reliability, cost, downloading options and ease of access.
Which is better for broadband speed?
Mobile broadband speeds depend on the accessibility of 3G mobile network coverage.
The speed of landline broadband connections, on the other hand, mostly hinges on how far you live from your local exchange.
Mobile broadband speeds currently range between 1.8Mbps and 7.2Mbps. These speeds are very competitive with some landline broadband connections but vary considerably, dependent upon the network being used and the coverage footprint.
As with landline broadband, you cannot set too much store by advertised speeds and mobile broadband connections become far slower outside the 3G coverage areas.
If your present fixed line broadband connection is faster than 5 or 6 Mbps, it is doubtful at the moment whether you would be able to improve on that with a similar mobile broadband connection.
Which is cheaper?
At the bottom end of the mobile broadband deals range, prices start from £10 a month for Three Mobile’s basic package with its 1GB limit, comparing favourably with several budget land line broadband packages.
At the other end of the spectrum, mobile broadband is for the most part more expensive than say a typical fixed line broadband provider like Virgin Media broadband, which offers a broadband, TV and phone bundle for £30 a month.
Which is best for downloading?
If you are a prolific downloader, landline broadband should definitely be the broadband of your choice.
Mobile broadband connections at present have relatively small monthly usage limits and restrict users to little more than checking emails, some surfing and perhaps watching a few YouTube clips.
You would have to be careful not to incur too many additional charges when watching your favourite weekly programmes on BBC iPlayer, as a single one of these might take up as much as 10% of a 3GB monthly download limit.
If that is a bit of a turn-off, the good news is that T-Mobile mobile broadband, one of the mobile broadband providers, doesn’t penalise anyone who exceeds their monthly limit, though it does come with a ‘reasonable use’ stipulation.
So where does this leave us?
At present, a mobile broadband connection is invaluable for anyone who needs internet access when they are away from home or beyond hotspots.
The time will undoubtedly come when mobile broadband connections are used in every home in the UK, though whether as the main form of web access or as a backup is uncertain at present.
It’s easy to see why it is thought that mobile broadband users will eventually exceed landline ones, though the jury is still out on whether landline connections will be replaced altogether.
The final word on this subject, and what can confidently be predicted, is that the number of mobile broadband customers will without a doubt increase, suggesting that the mobile broadband market will eventually become as widespread and indispensable as the landline broadband market is right now.
Not all that long ago the internet was just for nerds, but now it seems everybody needs the internet in order to survive. No really, think about how much we rely on the internet. We use it for shopping, entertainment, for communication, and we even use it to work. The internet has come on in leaps and bounds, now people would laugh at the idea of a 14.4kbps modem, but they were state of the art not too long ago!
You have been able to get the internet on your mobile phone for quite a long time, however the results were never really very good. Then it was possible to connect your phone up to your computer and use it as a modem, however the speed was absolutely terrible.
Recently however this has all started to change, it is now possible to get very high speed broadband mobile internet almost anywhere in the UK. Some people will try to tell you that 3G internet is broadband speed, however it’s not. What I consider broadband is HSDPA technology, this stands for High Speed Downlink Packet Access. It’s even better than 3G, in fact it’s about 14 times faster than 3G internet! This is commonly known as 3.5G because of the differences.
If you can get your mitts on a phone that supports HSDPA then you will be able to surf the internet and download files at similar speeds to when you are at home.
What’s more is that you can get a modem to connect to your computer so that you can surf the internet wherever you are. These modems are available from all of the major networks, including t-mobile, O2, Orange, Vodafone and Three.
Not only can you have fun surfing the internet when you are on the train, or on holiday but you can also be doing work. These also involve very little configuration, all you need to do is plug the modem in and away you go. Mobile wireless broadband is a great way to get online!
All of the networks are pretty competitive, most offer a free modem if you sign up to a 24 month contract, however if not then the modem normally costs around £100.
All of the networks are frantically trying to improve their 3G coverage throughout the UK. Vodafone is able to offer download speeds of around 7.2Mbps which is amazing! Although this service is not available countrywide it is available in major towns and airports.
The great thing about this new exciting technology is that it’s so easy to use, plus it’s getting cheaper every day. T-mobile offers a tariff that costs just £4 a day, and you only pay when you want to use it. This is idea if you already have the internet at home and think it would be a waste paying a monthly fee for something that you’re only going to use once.
It is now easier and cheaper than ever to get mobile internet. Mobile wireless internet is also very convenient. Thanks to your mobile internet connection you can enjoy the internet wherever you are, you no longer have an excuse not to be working!
