The Orange Access (GPRS) pack is genuine, I have it, and it is �4 per month for a 10mb per month soft limit (in the T&Cs it says something like "users may be charged for access over the 10mb limit"😉.
Though it exists, getting it is a damned chore.
Call to Orange no. 1:
Operator has no knowledge of Access pack, can't help me, is sorry.
Call to Orange no. 2:
Operator hasn't heard of the Access pack, but when I mention GPRS something clicks, "�4 pounds a month GPRS package sir?", "hell yes" i say. But all is not a well as it seems, she signs me up for the standard �4 GPRS package (250kb per month). Bitch.
Call to Orange No. 3:
Operator hasn't heard of Access pack but when i mention GPRS she says she will have to transfer me to "Orange Data Services". After 7 minutes on hold Data Services are a god send, finally I can talk to someone who knows what GPRS and WAP actually are. He signs me up for the Access Pack and removes the other GPRS i just signed up for, took about 30 secs.
So my advice:
1) when calling orange ask to be tranfered to "data services" or "data access services" (somthing like that). They will actually know what u are on about.
2) Be careful an operator doesn't sign you up for the standard �4pm GPRS package (its only 250kb per month with a hefty charge if you go over the limit).
3) Remember its only for WAP use, which is fine for email as they offer a WAPmail service on the WAP home site. Anyway, I'm sure someone could come up with some software to redirect other protocols through WAP requests or sumthin! (dream on).
Hope this helps some people 😊
Yes, just echoing the fact that you shouldn't dial 150 (standard OCS) to discuss data issues/add data packages on Orange - always use the specialist team on 156. Having said that, I added the access pack to my existing GPRS bundle yesterday, and the 156 bod on the other end told me I'd have to wait for a sim update. I doubted this (since the service and phone were obviously already GPRS-enabled), but complied. An hour later, I phoned back to say I'd received no SIM update, and opined that maybe I didn't need one and could use the service straight away. Nope, I was told, I'd have to wait for the update, which was 'going though the system'. This morning I spoke to a different 156 bod who agreed that no update was needed or due and I could just access wap through the access pack straight away.
The moral is that quality of information varies depending on who you speak to, unfortunately.
Anyway, now I've only got the problem of distinguishing between the amount of data I've had through orangewap (i.e. the access pack) and through orangeinternet (i.e. my GPRS bundle). With the cost of these things, it's important to know how near the limit you are on each, but there's no easy way to separate the two in the 7650's data log. Unless anyone here knows differently?...
I was told I had to wait for a SIM update, I got one after about 10mins (sim updates don't go into the normal inbox you have to go to Messaging->Options->SIM Messages) and all it did was add another Access Point called "orangewap".
I already had the orangewap AP set up on my phone, and since I was already using it on GPRS I would have expected data services to know that. Plus, if they didn't, the fact that I told tham I did and suggested I didn't need a SIM update might have alerted them. 😉
Ah, well, it's no big deal. Pity you can't access orangeinternet through the access pack, though - now that would have been a big deal.
hahaha
not just Orange but here in Australia i called vodafone last week to activate the GPRS and the MMS. First i asked the guy (This already transfered to Data service) is it enough if i just apply for 1 Mb of GPRS and i'm just using GPRS maybe for browse the WAP. He replied sorry sir but i don't even know hiw big 1 Mb is. Then oh ok i said. Also i asked him can u activate the MMS for too please then he replied waht it MMS. lol i explained him for about 10 minutes and maybe around 3-4 times put me on hold while he asking the other staff to find out what is MMS. Finally i said it is to send pics with sound. Then he realise that this MMS feature is called PXT not MMS.
thanx for the advice headshox, i an now considering getting the access pack but was wondering what i can use it for, I am on orange as well.
Heres a bunch of questions for anyone that can answer them for me 😊
1) Is wap faster thru gprs and would i be able to use my phone as a modem via gprs so i can use the net thru my laptop on the move?
2) U pay �4 a month on top of your normal bill/subscription and you get 10megs of gprs data transfer?
3) Also what is the speed of gprs on orange and how would i know if i have exceeded my allocated 10mb or close to it?
While i'm here lol, anyone got any good gprs media links, movies and things? 😃
Thanks in advance 😊
OK, I'm not a GPRS/WAP expert but these the answers to the best of my knowledge:
1) WAP is faster over GPRS, it is theoretically possible but not always actually possible to achieve speeds of around 40kbps over GPRS. No you would not be able to use the 7650 as a GPRS modem for your laptop with the Access Pack, unless you fabricated some amazing software that could fool the Orange servers into thinking all your traffic was WAP.
2) The �4 is on top of the service plan and excluding VAT, so if you are on Everytime 200 (�30 per month) then you would pay �34 per month ex. VAT.
3) The speed is reasonable, I havent been astounded by it, but it is noticably faster than GSM access and connects almost instantly. You need to watch the GPRS counter on your phone for the limit, Orange do not supply a service to find out your actual usage of the plan, but they could do quite easily in the future much in the same way as the Online Inclusive Minutes Enquiry works.
Movies are a no no, whilst the movies may be linked to on a WAP page, the third party media player would almost certainely run on a different protocol and therefor not be allowed on the Access Pack. For links goto http://www.sdjb.net/wap for my wap links (in WAP format) it is small as I only created it last night, but it will grow as i find more interesting WAP sites. 😊
Hope this answers your questions.
great thx for that 😊
so in very simple terms its high speed wap? One last question question hehe, would downloading of my email from my isp be allowed or only the orange wap/email service?
Not allowed from the Orange WAPmail, but there are services out there that alow this, though I havent yet got around to trying them. For now i just set the IMAP server to automatically forward all my mail to my orange mail account, which is cool becuase you get free text message alerts when you receive a new mail. 😊
On a side note I am thinking of writing a module for the Horde/IMP PHP application to allow linked WAP and Web mail to any POP3 or IMAP server. If you think this would be handy, or are a PHP coder and would like to help, let me know.
I tried to sign up for the Orange World service and I got all the SIM updates normally, It didn't work so when I phones them back they told me that the person who setup my phone entered the wrong D.O.B so now I can't do anything. SOmething just has to go wrong