| Vodafone Malta launches 3G
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| Written by Maltameter (Webmaster) |
Thursday, 17 August 2006
You've probably already heared - this morning TV and radio stations,
newspapers, and Vodafone's website were filled with news that Vodafone
has just launched their 3G UMTS network. As we were so eagerly waiting
for this to be announced, immediate interest was aroused.
Unfortunately, we were a bit disappointed with what we saw on
Vodafone's site.
So why were we waiting for UMTS? Data of course!
Upon visiting Vodafone's website,
one can see a number of adverts for 3G. But what are they promoting it
for? Video calling and video messaging! I don't know about you readers,
but I, for one, will probably never use video phoning... OK, maybe I'll
use it just once - to try it out. The price plan for video phoning is
25c/min to Malta, and 60c/min for an overseas call. The price for video
messaging is 10c and 25c to local and international destinations
respectively.
For data, Vodafone then came up with a new data plan called "Vodafone
Liberty". Unfortunately, this data plan is intended for business users,
and its cost reflects its target. Vodafone is asking you to pay Lm19.50
monthly, and that avails you to 1GB of download. If you exceed that
gigabyte, you'll be charged 54c for every extra MB downloaded.
Impressive! By the way, UMTS is only available in the Valletta/Sliema
and airport areas for now. Also, there is no mention of HSDPA which would offer much faster data rates.
After these depressing thoughts, I believe there is still hope left.
The service is just starting up, Go Mobile will be rolling out their 3G
network soon, and things may change in a relatively short time. Also,
although the current data prices are SO bad, they are still much lower
than for GPRS, although Lm19.50 monthly is still way too much to pay
for 1GB. We'll keep you informed as things develop.
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 17 August 2006 ) |
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