Can anyone summarise the availability of Data Calls on the UK GSM networks?
What tariffs are available that support it?
That’s Circuit-Switched Data (CSD) - not GPRS.
With Vodafone, on pre-pay (“Pay as you talk”), you have to get a separate Data Number assigned to the SIM to allow it to receive CSD calls;
On the other networks, as I understand it, CSD is not available at all on pre-pay - certainly not Data Numbers.
The Networks’ normal “customer service” lines are useless on this - they can’t even understand the concept of a GSM device that isn’t a mobile phone!
I’m not interested in fully packaged services that include servers, gateways, and stuff (like Orange M2M Connect) - just support for dialling & receiving CSD calls.
Does anyone know of a good supplier of data-enabled SIMs in the UK?
In Oz, you get a blank look when asking about csd data numbers.
However, I have had some success using a normal voice number but changing the default dial out bearer type on the modem from data to voice, then making a conventional data call from the modem to base. I didn’t require a separate data number and it all just worked. I can’t remember the exact sequence of AT commands - but can check when I get back into the office on Monday if you’re interested.
Not real fast, but I wasn’t concerned with speed - just short data bursts on a regular basis. And because of the group plan my SIMs were on, there were free calls between mobiles in the group so it worked out cheaper than Packet data (which was an additional plan that had to be added to the SIM plan). And finally, I could connect to the remote device from base without having to worry about network NAT issues…
