BIS pricing comparison

Surely you can just add an additional parameter to the Modem init string like : AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","BlackBerryApn" ?

RichardG said:
I do roughly around 4gig
Click to expand...
Really, at 14kb/s you do 4gb?

That is 4194304 bytes which will take 299593 seconds or in other words 83 hours - about 3 and a half days of solid downloading at modem speeds?
 
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Rouxenator said:
Surely you can just add an additional parameter to the Modem init string like : AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","BlackBerryApn" ?
Click to expand...

Well, for a phone BIS is quite nice, but it is slow because of it going through the servers etc, so I would not want to browse on my pc through BIS, but I think it is possible - read on the internet about people that did it.
 
phoneJunky said:
Well, for a phone BIS is quite nice, but it is slow because of it going through the servers etc, so I would not want to browse on my pc through BIS, but I think it is possible - read on the internet about people that did it.
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I get the feeling they're generally in countries that don't offer the unlimited data plan that we enjoy. I've tethered mine on occasion and it works pretty well.
 
I have a BB Torch on Prepaid from Vodacom. I also have a contract with MTN. The plan was to get BIS on my MTN contract so that I only had to carry one phone (my BB) around but when I enquired about BIS and found out that it would cost me more on MTN contract than any other provider or on prepaid, I ditched the plan.
I'm waiting for my MTN contract to expire and then I might port the number to CellC Prepaid, or just cancel it entirely and use the Vodacom prepaid SIM.
It's the principle of the matter - MTN is charging between R10-R12 more for exactly the same service, breaking the "R60 BIS" RIM-prescribed "rule" for Blackberry pricing.

As to BIS speeds - I get 3G and EDGE speeds depending on where I am. I download apps and updates, chat online through my GTalk, browse a horde of sites and send a million BBM messages to friends and colleagues. For me the big saving comes from BBM and GTalk (Nimbuzz) - I barely send SMS's anymore. The equivalent number of messages sent via SMS would be well over R60 in airtime or bundles. The "free" internet is a very nice convenience. I don't have to worry about how much data my apps are using in their updates or if I'm going to hit a limit when I download stuff or send my friends pictures and such.
 
For R20 more a month on CellC (24GB Pre-Paid sim) I can download 2GB of data a month and able to use a real smartphone :D
 
So if pricing is much the same, it comes down to:

- speed of internet
- uptime
- pricing of the contract with handset

So who wins then? :confused:
 
AniV said:
I have a BB Torch on Prepaid from Vodacom. I also have a contract with MTN. The plan was to get BIS on my MTN contract so that I only had to carry one phone (my BB) around but when I enquired about BIS and found out that it would cost me more on MTN contract than any other provider or on prepaid, I ditched the plan.
I'm waiting for my MTN contract to expire and then I might port the number to CellC Prepaid, or just cancel it entirely and use the Vodacom prepaid SIM.
It's the principle of the matter - MTN is charging between R10-R12 more for exactly the same service, breaking the "R60 BIS" RIM-prescribed "rule" for Blackberry pricing.

As to BIS speeds - I get 3G and EDGE speeds depending on where I am. I download apps and updates, chat online through my GTalk, browse a horde of sites and send a million BBM messages to friends and colleagues. For me the big saving comes from BBM and GTalk (Nimbuzz) - I barely send SMS's anymore. The equivalent number of messages sent via SMS would be well over R60 in airtime or bundles. The "free" internet is a very nice convenience. I don't have to worry about how much data my apps are using in their updates or if I'm going to hit a limit when I download stuff or send my friends pictures and such.
Click to expand...

I have a data bundle on my 5800. Works out cheaper than BIS and I get ~150megs a month.

I have Nimbuzz on all day, so no more SMSing. I can make extended VOIP calls and I don't get charged extra. I use the on phone browser every once in a while, and can download whatever and watch Youtube. All for no extra charge. In about a year I have once had my usage get to within 95% of bundle value, so ~150megs seems fine for my usage patterns. I get carryover too. I'm probably way above the average BB user in terms of data.

The BIS sheeple just love the uncapped bit, which usually equals no surprise bills. I have a 3G contract through a 3rd party, so when my bundle is used up, that's it. No OOB. No shock bills.

I'd love to know what the oke that gets "4GB a month" does to use that much data. Is it usable, quality stuff, or just random stuff for the sake of using data? Can it be sustained for 24 months?
 
McT said:
So if pricing is much the same, it comes down to:

- speed of internet
- uptime
- pricing of the contract with handset

So who wins then? :confused:
Click to expand...

An excellent question, but a difficult thing to measure (except for the last one - which is something that changes over time).

Personal experience with Vodacom's BIS has been generally favourable, but it has been down a number of times in the areas were in at the time. On MTN I've only heard of the downtime earlier this year which was also rectified fairly quickly.
 
Budza said:
I have a data bundle on my 5800. Works out cheaper than BIS and I get ~150megs a month.
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I've used that much since Sunday. Mine's on PAYG so there are also no "shock bills". :)

Now that I think of it my missus has hers on contract and also - no shock bills. :)
 
Speaking of downloads and data, anybody know how you can see how much data you've used on your BIS?
Do you need an app to track it, or is there somewhere on the BB where it says?
 
According to Mobile Data Alerter (an app from the App World) so far I have used 708MB from the 5th of January so you can get the picture and thats light surfing with the occasional podcast download
 
OK, in the past I may have taken a stab at blackberry just because it seemed like fun at the time, but after reading what blackberry users actually experience in real life the picture has changed. Now I am not sure anymore who deserves the stabs, inferior phones using inferior servers or the users that fall for (and appear to enjoy) such nonsense.

Really, I expected more than just [-]free[/-] R60 narrow band on half backed handsets. I can now understand why the underpaid secretaries and tea girls at work use these phones.
 
Rouxenator said:
OK, in the past I may have taken a stab at blackberry just because it seemed like fun at the time, but after reading what blackberry users actually experience in real life the picture has changed. Now I am not sure anymore who deserves the stabs, inferior phones using inferior servers or the users that fall for (and appear to enjoy) such nonsense.

Really, I expected more than just [-]free[/-] R60 narrow band on half backed handsets. I can now understand why the underpaid secretaries and tea girls at work use these phones.
Click to expand...
Say what you like about blackberrys but their users can actually afford to use their phones. :)
 
Rouxenator said:
Surely you can just add an additional parameter to the Modem init string like : AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","BlackBerryApn" ?



Really, at 14kb/s you do 4gb?

That is 4194304 bytes which will take 299593 seconds or in other words 83 hours - about 3 and a half days of solid downloading at modem speeds?
Click to expand...

I have a 3G handset not a stupid EDGE handset - I download videos, porno etc but the trick only works if you are pre-paid and must have zero-rated airtime
 
Rouxenator said:
OK, in the past I may have taken a stab at blackberry just because it seemed like fun at the time, but after reading what blackberry users actually experience in real life the picture has changed. Now I am not sure anymore who deserves the stabs, inferior phones using inferior servers or the users that fall for (and appear to enjoy) such nonsense.

Really, I expected more than just [-]free[/-] R60 narrow band on half backed handsets. I can now understand why the underpaid secretaries and tea girls at work use these phones.
Click to expand...

I don't get why he bothers, if it doesn't say Nokia on it then it's a waste of time to Roux.
 
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