Click below to
find interesting
information from our
March 2011
newsletter
relating to:
Roaming
Travel
Mobile phones
Roaming
Network
manipulation
There is a
war going on in
the roaming
world over your
phone. And
you're probably
not aware of it.
Networks
apply a weapon
called
"steering" (and
a counter-weapon
called
"anti-steering")
that affect your
quality of
service when you
roam and travel
overseas.
When you land
in your
destination and
turn on your
phone with a
Telstra/Optus/Voda
SIM inside (you
did turn it off
on the plane,
didn't you?), it
scans the
frequencies and
finds a few
networks it can
connect to. It
then picks one
and tries to
register on that
network. If
Telstra/Optus/Voda
doesn't like
that particular
network, then
the registration
fails and your
phone tries the
next one. That
way your home
network can
"steer" your
handset to the
network it
prefers. This
"steering" is
used widely,
with very few
travellers being
aware of it.
It's got a
downside, which
is that in some
areas maybe the
preferred
network isn't
available, and
you might be
left without
service.
The
counter-measure
is that overseas
networks know
about steering
and have devised
a new tactic.
Because you
might be trying
to manually
select a
network,
eventually your
home network
will allow the
registration
from the
non-preferred
foreign network
(after multiple
registration
requests). So
the foreign
network can
simply ignore
the registration
rejection and
repeat their
request to
register your
SIM several
times until
registration
succeeds. This
method of
"anti-steering"
is also becoming
widespread.
At vRoam, we
don't try
to steer you
where you don't
want to go with
our vSIM
cheaper
post-paid
alternative.
Travel
Sleep
tight...
...And
don't
let the
bedbugs
bite.
A
traveller on
British Airways
complained of an
infestation of
bedbugs on a
recent flight.
28-year-old Zane
Selkirk claimed
she was bitten
by the bugs on
two separate
British Airways
flights. BA
wasn't sure if
she was or not,
but fumigated at
least one of its
747s
subsequently.
Apparently
bedbugs are
getting
increasingly
resistant to
common
insecticides,
and are
extremely
difficult to
eradicate as
they live in
small crevices
and are very
hardy (they can
live for a year
without eating).
Currently
there seems to
be a plague of
bedbugs in New
York, even in
high-profile
places such as
cinemas, a Nike
store, Google
offices,
Victoria's
Secret,
Abercrombie and
Fitch, and the
Empire State
Building. With
over 24000
infestation
complaints, New
York has
appointed a
bedbug advisory
board. There are
reports that
bedbugs have
spread to the UK
and elsewhere in
the USA and
Canada.
When
travelling,
bedbugs can
transfer to your
clothes and
luggage. If you
think you have
seen any
evidence (the
bugs themselves,
blood spots on
clothing or
sheets, itchy
spots after
sleeping) then
you'll need to
take action,
preferably
before you move
again (to avoid
simply
transferring
them to a new
place). Apart
from
insecticide/fumigation,
launder clothes
and soft bags
with high-heat
drying, and find
a new place to
sleep! Whatever
you do, don't
simply come home
without action -
all you'll do is
infest your
home.
Mobile phones
Mobile costs
become less
transparent
Telstra
announced this
month that it is
changing to
per-minute
billing for all
mobile and fixed
(long-distance)
calls.
Previously
Telstra billed
fixed-lines on a
per-second
basis, before
changing to
30-second
billing in 2009.
This
will
substantially
increase
telephone bills
(by around $100m
per year), in a
way that few
customers will
be able to
detect (although
many customers
will not be
affected because
of bucket or
capped plans).
In our opinion,
this is a real
step backwards
and
unfortunately we
expect many
telecom
providers to
have to follow,
simply because
customers tend
to compare
per-minute rates
and ignore the
fine-print on
what is charged
To
subscribe
to our
Newsletter
click
here
