Quick Facts
Country: Greece
Network Name: Vodafone (formerly Panafon)
Website: http://www.vodafone.gr
Owned by/Major partner: Vodafone
Operational Frequency: 900 GSM and 2100 UMTS
Prepaid Package Cost (Just SIM): 20 Euro
CSD access: No (according to se.com)
GPRS access: Yes
SIM applications: Yes
Manual included: Yes
Refill amounts: 9, 18 Euro (Higher available in Airports)
Availability: Vodafone Stores, Independent Dealers, Kiosks, "Psilikatzidika"
Program Name: CU, a la carte
Competitors: Cosmote, TIM, Q-Telecom
More In-Depth Information
Buying:
The Good:
I bought a CU connection package in 2002. The package is 20 euro (19,90 euro to be precise) and it comes with 8 euro of airtime. The process of buying was smooth and I did not have to give my local info (address, landline number, etc) in order to get my account activated.
The Bad:
Nothing bad!
Usage:
The Good:
Overall I liked my CU account. Everywhere I went I had good reception, even underground in the metro system! I was pretty impressed. The SIM applications are on par with TIM's applications. They give you info such as news, horoscope, weather, movie info and more over SMS. Vodafone now has an online WAP portal called Vodafone Live! and you can access this by getting online with their GPRS connection (I think you can do this with the CSD connection as well). I personally bought a CU package because half my friends use vodafone CU and calls to them would be cheaper (calls to other carriers were a bit more expensive) and also SMS messages were cheaper. When it comes to roaming, there are no hassles and no extra steps. You can roam abroad without any problems. You can send and receive SMS messages and you can receive calls. In order to make calls I believe you need to contact customer service to authorize it.
The Bad:
I had to call customer service to activate GPRS - on the good side, I was able to use it within 2 days of when I called Customer service to activate it and customer service was polite and knowledgeful. UMTS is not available yet on prepaid.
TIPS:
1) Don't order online! a 20 euro package is not worth paying 70 dollars for!
2) As always get your GPRS settings before you leave home, conveying info to customer service about getting the settings can be tricky, especially if you do not speak Greek.
3) I believe that the Germanos store at Eleftherios Venizelos Airport in Athens has prepaid packages. Also take this opportunity to see if they sell higher euro amounts of prepaid packages, it is worth it.
4) Research which program you want before you leave, a la carte and CU are geared toward different needs. Their website is bilingual, check it out for more package and tariff info.
5) if you want GPRS, go buy the package at a Vodafone store, have them activate it for you and have the store clerks activate GPRS for you, chances are that they speak English.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I was more content with service from Vodafone than I was with Telestet (now TIM). They did not hassle me for accessing GPRS and getting connected was easy, and cheap. I liked them and I would recommend them without hesitation.
---- Updates ----
7/14/04 - it seems that CSD is no longer available, post edited accordingly
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