Teltarif reported recently that O2 Germany have now configured their packet core to accept any kind of Access Point Name (APN) configuration of the mobile to activate a default Internet connection. According to O2 this will make it easier for customers to use the mobile Internet as configuring the mobile is simplified.
However, the article also mentions the bad side of this move: In the past, a non- or wrongly configured APN prevented accidental use. Now if the user forgets to lock his mobile before tugging it away in his pocket and that "@" key gets pressed, O2 happily starts charging. It already happened to me a couple of times under different circumstances. Especially nice when you are abroad...
So despite their probably good intentions I am a bit sceptical that this is a good move for consumers. From my point of view it's not the APN configuration that keeps people from trying the mobile Internet but the inadequate standard pricing many operators still have in place.
Did you mention pricing? I can keep going on and on about it but I have to mention the most rip off thing i saw.
Recently, I was planning a trip abroad and checked the data prices on my '3' network. Per MB cost for most of Asia including China is £6.00. Luckily for India its £3.00 but this is just unbelivable. In most of the countries, I would be far better off getting a local Sim even for couple of days (and I would still save money).
Posted by: Zahid Ghadialy | August 25, 2008 at 10:20 PM