United Mobile changes SMS rates & adds 16 countries
 

Just got the Spring United Mobile e-newsletter.

Outgoing SMS is now down to 0,39 € instead of 0,49 €.

They also added 16 countries:

"In the following 7 countries incoming calls are free:

Ghana
Japan (UMTS only)
Malaysia
Saudi Arabia
Tadzhikistan
Uganda
Uruguay

Favourable calling rates available now in:

Afghanistan
Armenia
Belize
Ecuador
Guatemala
Indonesia (Jakarta)
Iraq
Iran
Maldives"

They also intend to add Paypal auto-recharge (currently only available for credit cards).

A little competition is a good thing :)

As you say, a little competition is a good thing!

Useful to see Saudi added to the free incoming calls.

New Zealand is still notable by its absence!

But actually it's a good thing as it allows one to keep the card active, even from the USA, by simply sending a pretty inexpensive SMS message!

I got the same email early today (U.S. time). None of these countries show up yet in either their rate calculator or their coverage list.
When they do, I'll issue ver. 1.2 of my comparison rate chart.

...mike

No rush. Thanks for your great work on the charts.

The new rate charts just were posted on the United Mobile website directly below their current rate charts(rates are effective April 2).

Some countries are now more expensive and some are less expensive. For instance, Antigua and Barbuda went from zone 2 to zone 3 (not surprising because their competitors still charge much more), and Congo dropped from zone 5 to zone 3. New listing Japan (reported as working a while back by other forum members) is a definite bargain as a zone 1 country...providing you have or can borrow a UMTS handset.

Also worth noting is some countries are footnoted with an asterisk that the service level may vary.

Including Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq, although expensive, is likely welcome news for people who need to travel there for various reasons.

Even though they are still missing some countries (I would like to see the Bahamas and British Virgin Islands included), it's still an impressive list.

That's so strange!

Yeah! Their rates in Japan were undefined. I'm glad that they picked some number and thrilled that it's zero.

so UM is the best solution for Japan, DRNewcomb? :)

Not sure what's best. 09 also lists free incoming and Celtrek is something like 24c/min for incoming calls with very reasonable outgoing rates. These rates are cheaper than with a Japanese prepaid phone.

SMS Actually Working?
 

I was glad to see the new SMS rates and it almost sounded like they've made it more reliable. However, I've yet to get an SMS through to anyone. I haven't tried a lot, but the few times I've tried it just doesn't seem to work. Sent SMS to Verizon, China Unicom, and a german mobile number. So far no one's received my SMS.

I also notice I'm being charged for the SMS even if it doesn't go through. A support request on this issue got me a reply that said they credit back to my account if an SMS doesn't go through, but it can take up to 24 hours. I haven't actually checked this but I'm curious if it actually happens as they state.

Anyone share their experience or tip on getting these through?