09 Mobile - Another International Card (!)

[Stu]

I have not had any luck either. I generated a one-off credit card number with a credit limit set at a little more than the purchase price and attempted a purchase. No response. This is a screwy company.

Add on: After hanging up, I called Telestial. They have been granted dealer status and expect their first shipment in two weeks. Knowing Telestial, they won't be the cheapest offering in town, but they will be reliable.

Stu

[RTuesday]

Originally Posted by Stu

I have not had any luck either. I generated a one-off credit card number with a credit limit set at a little more than the purchase price and attempted a purchase. No response. This is a screwy company.

I also tried ordering one nearly three weeks ago (free incoming in Mexico is good).

Heard nothing from o9 till yesterday, when they replied to my question about rates with a PDF information file. So I asked them what had happended to my order - next thing, I get an email from Orate telling me my order was passed on to them (but they don't take Amex cards yet so can't handle the order).

I haven't yet decided whether to bother calling Orate with another card number or cancel. If it's like this for ordering, what will delivery be like... The prices for outgoing calls in the US are really incredibly high also.

[AndreA]

Originally Posted by RTuesday

Heard nothing from o9 till yesterday, when they replied to my question about rates with a PDF information file.

Can you post it?

Also you can use our official email: info@prepaidgsm.net

Thanks in advance :

[RTuesday]

Originally Posted by AndreA

Can you post it?

It's similar to what is shown on the Orate site, except the Orate site includes a few extra destinations for clarity, such as Jersey etc, and has Singapore in two zones by mistake,adds Colombia, etc.

I can't think of a practical way to attach a PDF, so here's the text extracted from the information pack, minus formatting.

 
  
The 09 Roaming SIM 

 
Customer Information Pack 
 

 
The 09 Roaming SIM ? at a glance 
 
 
 
? Roams in 170 countries  
 
? Free to receive calls in 112 countries  
 
? From as little as ?0.29 to a maximum of ?0.99 in others (c 20p to 68p) 
 
? Calls from Western Europe back to the UK cost at most ?0.49 (c 34p)  
 
? Calls ?in country? cost as little as ?0.39 (c 27p)  
 
? SIM valid for 9 months from the last top up 
 
? Retail price of ?43 including ?25 airtime 
 
? Backed by a GSM network operator  
 
? 24/7 European customer services call centre (English language) 
 
  
Roaming 
Roaming is defined by the GSM Association as the ability for a cellular 
customer to automatically make & receive voice calls when travelling outside 
he geographical coverage area of the home network, by means of using a 
visited network. 
Because of the high proportion of the population who have used their mobile 
phone while on holiday or business abroad, the term has become widely 
understood, along with the implications:  
? You pay to receive incoming calls on your mobile phone 
? You pay substantially more for your usual calls to home and the office  
? Calls ?in country? cost much more than calls ?at home?.  
? Calls to part of the same group travelling abroad are doubly 
expensive, billed on the call-originating phone as an international call, 
and on the call-receiving phone as an inbound roaming phone call.  
? Calls are particularly expensive if ?pay as you go? phones are used 
There are some marketing programmes of the UK networks to lessen the 
costs to some of their subscriber groups, but the fact remains that mobile 
phone roaming is expensive; it is often justified as being less expensive than 
alternatives such as using hotel phone systems.  

The 09 SIM  
 
 
The 09 Roaming SIM is the perfect answer for the ?leisure traveller? and the 
business traveller alike and provides low cost calls home. Calling from 
Western Europe back to the UK costs no more than ?0.49 (c 34p).  
 
Unlike conventional roaming, it is free to receive calls in over 100 countries.  
 
These two features make phone calls on group travel particularly 
inexpensive: previously, there was the high cost of a call back to the UK, 
and then the cost to receive the inbound call on the called phone. Two high 
charges are replaced by one low charge and one no-charge!  
 
The SIM roams in some 170 countries (a full list is provided below). At the 
time of writing, this was more than any of the UK network operators.  
 
Calls ?in country? cost as little as ?0.39 (c 27p).  
 
The SIM retails for ?43 and includes ?25 of airtime.  
 
The SIM is valid for a remarkable 9 months from the date of the last top up.  
 
A top up is required when there is only ?1 of credit left on the account. 
Topping up can be done online and by phone using Amex, Diners, JCB, 
MasterCard or Visa credit or debit cards, and vouchers purchased from the 
your supplier. With your agreement and pre-registration, it is also possible 
to have automated top ups so that the phone doesn?t run out of credit.  
 
It is not possible to call toll free numbers or premium rate numbers, and at 
this time data connections are not possible.  
 
  
The Tariff 
 
These are the steps to calculate the cost of the calls you make while abroad:  
 
1. Locate the country you want to call from and note its ?origination zone? 
2. Locate the country you want to call, and note its ?destination zone?.  
3. Refer to the matrix below to see the cost per minute.  
 
09 Rates in Euros To: Destination Zone 
September 2005 Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4 Zone 5 Zone 6 
From: Zone 1 ? 0.39 ? 0.39 ? 0.55 ? 0.75 ? 1.52 ? 1.80 
Originating Zone 2 ? 0.49 ? 0.49 ? 0.65 ? 0.85 ? 1.62 ? 1.90 
Zone Zone 3 ? 0.54 ? 0.54 ? 0.70 ? 0.90 ? 1.67 ? 1.95 
Zone 4 ? 0.74 ? 0.74 ? 0.90 ? 1.10 ? 1.87 ? 2.15 
Zone 5 ? 1.39 ? 1.39 ? 1.55 ? 1.75 ? 2.52 ? 2.80 
Zone 6 ? 2.19 ? 2.19 ? 2.35 ? 2.55 ? 3.32 ? 3.60 
 
Origination Zones ? The Country you are calling from 
Zone 1 
Australia, Austria, Balearic Islands, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Brunei, Canary Islands, Cyprus, 
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, 
Lichtenstein, Madeira, Malaysia, Monaco, Mongolia, Norway, Singapore, Sudan, Sweden, 
Taiwan, United Arab Emirates (UAE), UK 
 
Zone 2 
Algeria, Andorra, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Congo, Dominican Republic, 
Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Faeroes, Gabon, Georgia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, 
Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Netherlands, New 
Zealand, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Swaziland, 
Switzerland, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Zambia, 
Zimbabwe 
 
Zone 3 
Albania, Armenia, Aruba, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, 
Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Fiji, 
Hungary, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, 
Moldova, Namibia, Netherlands Antilles, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Senegal, 
Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Yemen 
 
Zone 4 
Afghanistan, Cape Verde, China, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, French Polynesia, Greenland, 
Hong Kong, Kenya, Korea Republic, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, New Caledonia, Peru, Qatar, 
Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Syria, Tanzania, Vietnam 
  
Zone 5 
Bangladesh, Bermuda, Cuba, Indonesia, Macau, Philippines, Reunion, Sri Lanka, Thailand 
Tokelau, Ukraine 
  
Zone 6 
Alaska, Argentina, Canada, Hawaii, India, USA 

 
Destination Zones ? The Country you are calling to 
 
Zone 1 
Alaska, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azores, Balearic Islands, Belgium, Canada, 
Canary Islands, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, 
France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guam, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, 
Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea (South), Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malaysia, 
Monaco, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russian 
Federation, San Marino, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK, USA, 
Venezuela, Virgin Isles (UK), Virgin Isles (US)  
 
Zone 2 
Bahamas, Bermuda, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Columbia, Croatia, Dominican Republic, India, 
Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Macau, Malawi, Mexico, Palestine, Samoa (USA), South 
Africa, Thailand  
 
Zone 3 
Albania, Algeria, Antigua & Barbuda, Armenia, Aruba, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bolivia, 
Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Congo, 
Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Faeroes, French Antilles & Martinique, French Guiana, Gabon, 
Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, 
Lesotho, Malta, Martinique, Mauritius, Moldova, Mozambique, Netherlands Antilles, New 
Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Paraguay, Peru, Reunion, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, 
Slovenia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Swaziland, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, UAE, Uganda, Ukraine, 
Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe  
 
Zone 4 
Angola, Anguilla, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Dominica, Egypt, Gambia, 
Guinea, Haiti, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, 
Madagascar, Maldives, Mali, Mayotte & Comorros, Montserrat, Morocco, Namibia, Nicaragua, 
Oman, Philippines, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, St. Lucia, St. Pierre and 
Miquelon, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, 
Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos, Yemen 
 
Zone 5 
Belarus, Bosnia Herzegovina, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Chatham Islands, 
Cuba, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, French Polynesia, Marshall Island, Mauritania, 
Pakistan, Qatar, Rwanda, Surinam, Tanzania, Vietnam  
 
Zone 6 
Afghanistan, Antarctica, Ascension Island, Christmas Islands, Cocos Islands, Comoros, Cook 
Island, Diego Garcia, Djibouti, Easter Islands, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Greenland, 
Guantanamo Bay, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Kiribati, Korea (North), Micronesia, 
Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, Niue, Norfolk Islands, Northern Marianas and 
Saipan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa (Western), Sao Tome and Principe, Solomon 
Islands, Somalia, St. Helena, Syria, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna  

Incoming calls: Zones referred to are the Originating Zones 
 
Incoming calls are free while you are in Zone 1, Zone 2, and Zone 3.  
 
Incoming calls to Zone 4 are charged at ?0.29.  
 
Incoming calls to Zone 5 are charged at ?0.69.  
 
Incoming calls to Zone 6 are at ?0.99 
 
 
There is a surcharge of ? 0.20 per minute if a call is being placed to a mobile 
phone. 
 
There is a one time connecting fee of ? 0.25 per call.

Note that Orate add 17.5% vat to the 25 euro recharge, so if you use an EU billing address you'd need to add 17.5% to the quoted per-minute prices. It's not clear if this applies to phone/online top-ups (or even if such top-ups exist yet).

[andy]

Just a couple of observations on that ...

The number of countries is slightly indeterminate at the moment - somewhere between 150 and 170

On the life of the SIM - the man at CS told me this 9 months top-up version, but the FAQ on the site mentions to keep it valid, either top up or make a call in 9 months.
__

Note that Orate add 17.5% vat to the 25 euro recharge, so if you use an EU billing address you'd need to add 17.5% to the quoted per-minute prices. It's not clear if this applies to phone/online top-ups (or even if such top-ups exist yet).

The vague question of VAT added again in UK seems to apply to Riiing as well; either that or the dealers here like charging more (so a ?15 Riiing top-up costs ?12.80 from Oneroam).

I spoke to the Customs and Excise about this months ago, when I was thinking of buying 20 to 40 for friends; because Switzerland (and Iceland now) is not in the EU, VAT gets added, but can you buy at source for export without Swiss or Iceland VAT, and why doesn't something similar apply to Germany? - so it's cheaper (or it was) for UK users to buy from a German dealer.

The whole thing is a grey area anyway - where are the phone calls supplied (choice of up to 5 countries?); is the credit imported, or used in the country of origin or use? My guess is that one interpretation is that the SIM is exported, but not the credit, but that the various countries' tax authorities differ. Maybe UM are supplying from within the EU now? .... Yeah, I know .... yawn!

So, like Riiing, it will be better for UK users to top up direct from the 09 site, if/when this becomes possible.

Perhaps the same tax ambiguities (for some buyers) will apply to the IoM SIMs as well ...