mobile phones - UMA technology

[Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian]

just been on the blower to orange for the last hour regarding the dross signal that i get and the shoite that i am putting up with on a daily basis regarding losing calls, not being able to end calls etc etc etc.

now it's only when i got through to the 'you can stick this and your contract up your arse' department, that the bloke told me about something called 'UMA TECHNOLOGY'. I was talking to the disconnection dept. to find out when i could port my number as Orange are delivering a substandard service with a pathetic signal, which i cant put up with any longer as my business is dependent on the phone and i cant leg it to either the kids bedroom or sit on top of the shed whenever it rings.

UMA phones apparently connect to your wireless router when in range to give a perfect signal, thus eliminating my signal probs, as well as that, the tariff is £9.50 compared to the £35 i shell out at the moment for not much less minute wise than i get at present. i'll probably still ditch Orange though as a matter of principle.

Does anyone have one of these UMA handsets ? and does it connect to your router to give you a perfect signal ?

 

[Dylan]

My Blackberry connect to any wireless network (provided it is open, or I have the key) and routes calls like that. Basically it uses a VoiP (like Vonage or Skype) to do it. It also utilizes the Wi-Fi for my data, providing download speeds that far exceed the current 3G and future 4G network speeds.

UMA is 'Unrestricted Mobile Access' which is just fancy talk for Wi-Fi capability, basically. Thing is, your phone company has to support this. I heartily recommend it...

On my network the phone easily transitions from UMA to cellular networks without a hitch. You can't tell, at all (I guess provided there is cellular coverage there..... )

 

[Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian]

so my broadband connection wouldn't need to be with the same company by the sounds of things, i.e. i wouldnt need to go onto orange broadband if i had orange mobile. the guy said i would have to pair it with my router though, so i'm not sure if it would automatically connect with any open network, he's probably presuming that my router is secure (i didn't secure it when i first plugged in and cant figure out how to).
it seems like a good idea that i'm gonna have to look into further and find a decent phone. cba with a blackberry as too bulky






















and gay.

 

[chicoazul]

Just something irrelevant to this.

If you're have to phone the good folk of back home and you live away you should really deposit some rupees to SkypeCORP who do something silly like unlimited landlines for £3 a month for a chosen country.

Its works perfectly and I only wish Id found this out many years earlier.

TRANSMISSION ENDS.

 

[McBain]

just been on the blower to orange for the last hour regarding the dross signal that i get and the shoite that i am putting up with on a daily basis regarding losing calls, not being able to end calls etc etc etc.

now it's only when i got through to the 'you can stick this and your contract up your arse' department, that the bloke told me about something called 'UMA TECHNOLOGY'. I was talking to the disconnection dept. to find out when i could port my number as Orange are delivering a substandard service with a pathetic signal, which i cant put up with any longer as my business is dependent on the phone and i cant leg it to either the kids bedroom or sit on top of the shed whenever it rings.

UMA phones apparently connect to your wireless router when in range to give a perfect signal, thus eliminating my signal probs, as well as that, the tariff is £9.50 compared to the £35 i shell out at the moment for not much less minute wise than i get at present. i'll probably still ditch Orange though as a matter of principle.

Does anyone have one of these UMA handsets ? and does it connect to your router to give you a perfect signal ?

Just move out of the sticks mate

 

[Dylan]

so my broadband connection wouldn't need to be with the same company by the sounds of things, i.e. i wouldnt need to go onto orange broadband if i had orange mobile. the guy said i would have to pair it with my router though, so i'm not sure if it would automatically connect with any open network, he's probably presuming that my router is secure (i didn't secure it when i first plugged in and cant figure out how to).
it seems like a good idea that i'm gonna have to look into further and find a decent phone. cba with a blackberry as too bulky<snip>and gay

Mine works on any wi-fi network. I don't know if they can restrict it to a network, but it sounds like typical salesman bollocks....."Well, for this to work, sir, you will have to buy our special router which is specially designed for this"

Bollocks to that. Get the phone, if it doesn't work on your router (it should be as simple as scanning for networks and selecting connect) then you take it back.

And you should really get that network encrypted...anyone can use it. When the cops come kicking your door down for downloading all that child porn........

Blackberries aren't gay, they actually show your inherent manliness.

This is the one I want.....(and it does Wi-Fi and UMA....just it is only available on Verizon's CDMA network )

 

[Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian]

no, he said it will connect to my router, i just suspected that you may have to get broadband from them for it to work, seems not.
so is yours set to automatically connect to any network it comes in range of, or do you have to search manually each time ?

the more i look into it, the more i cant believe it's not more common.

i'm looking to still change network though, but i think i may find it difficult to beat their plan. if it still keeps dropping calls though when i'm in other peoples houses, and also outside then it will be as useless as what i'm having to put up with at the moment.

as far as i can see, the future's not orange.

 

[Dylan]

Mine is set up to connect to any open network, except when at home it prefers mine, even though there is about 3 other open networks.....(mine is the strongest signal strength)

As for it being more common, I am also surprised it isn't, but I will pt that down to ignorance and lack of marketing. I mean why would you pimp a phone and service that will potentially take away subscribers from your juicy fat contracts on 3G networks???

I am not ashamed to say my BB isn't a 3G phone. It is an Edge phone, which is good enough when I am out and about, especially with the amount of free wi-fi hotspots out there.

 

[maddison]

Just a quick question Dylan, when you mention you are using UMA; are you still using the same cell number to make and receive calls when you are on a wifi network?

 

[Dylan]

Yes I am.

 

[chicoazul]

Just a quick question Dylan, when you mention you are using UMA; are you still using the same cell number to make and receive calls when you are on a wifi network?

Conclusion: get an iphone?

 

[maddison]

Cool b)

Do you ever notice any issues with it routing back to the cell companies IP network? Lag/ latency etc? I'm just wondering if the lack of Qos causes much of an issue?

I don't know any network that gets perfect coverage, so that's pretty good if Orange are offering that service in the UK.

 

[Dylan]

I have initiated a UMA based call over data and it transitioned to voice and I didn't even realise it had done it. And it happens vice versa. Never a hiccup or anything.

And the cool thing is, if I initiate the call on UMA, then it if free and doesn't use any of my minutes.

Example.

Initiate call on UMA, spend 1 minute talking on UMA and transition to voice and spend 60 minutes before hanging up. The call is billed as a UMA call and as such is free and doesn't count against the plan minutes. But it works in reverse too....if I started for 1 minute on voice and spent 60 minutes on UMA, then the call is billed for 61 minutes and the usage is deducted from my plan.

So, combined with my in-network calls, and my Family Fave plan, I chose the lowest number of minutes per month (400 between 2 phones) and we don't come close to using them all.

 

[maddison]

Conclusion: get an iphone?

Haha no, I'm genuinely interested in Dylans experience. I've heard this being yapped about for years in the industry, and wasn't aware that anyone was offering it in the UK yet. I realise Dylan is in the US, but I'd still like to be nosey and find out how he's found the service

 

[maddison]

I have initiated a UMA based call over data and it transitioned to voice and I didn't even realise it had done it. And it happens vice versa. Never a hiccup or anything.

And the cool thing is, if I initiate the call on UMA, then it if free and doesn't use any of my minutes.

Example.

Initiate call on UMA, spend 1 minute talking on UMA and transition to voice and spend 60 minutes before hanging up. The call is billed as a UMA call and as such is free and doesn't count against the plan minutes. But it works in reverse too....if I started for 1 minute on voice and spent 60 minutes on UMA, then the call is billed for 61 minutes and the usage is deducted from my plan.

So, combined with my in-network calls, and my Family Fave plan, I chose the lowest number of minutes per month (400 between 2 phones) and we don't come close to using them all.

I'm liking the sound of this!

Is there some sneaky overseas clause with this service though?? i.e if you're abroad and on a different IP address, meaning a different countries IP prefix, can you still make calls back to your home country using your UMA minutes? Or will you still be billed international?

Making the assumption you stay on an IP connection for the duration of the call, just to keep things simple