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PhotographyAnd I’m online again! Hooray! 
It’s interesting to see how easy it actually is to acquire a sales-advantage over competitors (by selling more products): Vodaphone currently hands out their DSL and telephone flatrate for 20 euros the first 12 months and 30 euros the second 12 months – as do other companies like Alice, Arcor et cetera, the prices are really the same, as is the basic speed of 6mbit – but they supply you with a nifty UMTS stick enabling you to start surfing as soon as you get home.
And it actually works.
This is not only a very nice gimmick (not waiting 3-4 weeks = for the win), but is also profitable for Vodaphone: you can use the stick for free up to 3 months, after that the costs are rather … high.
I guess they hope people will keep using the stick. It’s very handy, after all. Thank god I don’t have a netbook, so I can’t be tempted really.
July 21st, 2009 at 09:10
Oh man, don’t get me talking about how long it usually takes internet providers to equip you with a new line!
The last one (M-Net) let me waiting for 5 weeks without even confirming my order, and that fun cost me 300 Euro for cell phone calls. The problem wasn’t even the internet (thanks to the university), but the very frequent international calls.
I saw the ad of Vodafone’s service, and I think it’s a good idea. I bought one of those UMTS sticks, too – for an area where WLAN is fully covered by T-Mobile hotspots, which charge you 8 Euro per hour if you are not a subscriber…
Now I get one month for free, and after that I can purchase a daily flatrate, a monthly flatrate, or surf by the minute. Perfect.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:12
Surfing with the Vodaphone UMTS stick actually automatically decreases image quality while browsing, and there is no option to turn it off … those guys simply want to safe traffic.
Nrgl.