Telna Again?

[DRNewcomb]

We've also used Telna for the 1+ long distance service on our landline (which amounts to about $1/year). I've received an e-mail concerning the change from Telna to G3. Nothing about TelnaMobile.

[Stu]

Originally Posted by Bossman

Have not been back to their website since I cancelled my SIM a few months ago. I just did not have a need for it, since I also have Piranha. You are correct - I did notice an increase in their rates the last time I checked.

Piranha's website is down. Coincidence?

[gkeeper]

Originally Posted by Stu

Piranha's website is down. Coincidence?

no its not i just logged into my account?

[rfranzq]

Originally Posted by Stu

Piranha's website is down. Coincidence?

More likely bad timing.
Anything to keep a thread alive and showing when I get to PrePaidGSM.
Piranha was there for me also.

[schuster]

Just FYI.

I've been a satisfied Telna customer for a few years - the only postpaid competitor to the international roaming SIM game. Plus they offered SIP calling with much lower rates. Have had great service in Europe and Canada.

Late last year I stated getting notices (with corresponding banners on their web site) that Telna was being acquired by G3 Telecom; all existing services would be retained, and users would be transitioned to a new web site. In January I was invited to register on the G3 web site, which I did.

Problem is, the G3 web site, which now also bears the Telna logo, makes no references to the former Telna cellular services and does not list the details of my existing account (only home long distance, travle card, etc).

Emails to them produced assurances that it would happen; meanwhile, my SIM and SIP credentials continued to work but I had no way of checking usage or updating my billing information.

Finally the email support person started making it up as he went along - telling me their "Travel Card" is what they called a SIM card, and other such ridiculous nonsense. So I called them. The call went to an offshore call center whose rep, despite being pleasant and willing to help, could offer nothing but platitudes. After about 20 minutes of pushing, she finally gave in and transferred me to the REAL support person for the Telna transition. Reading between the lines, one concludes that Telna was not being cooperative enough in facilitating the transition and that it remained a work in progress despite assurances, platitudes, and best-laid plans. To this day, the G3 web site says nothing about the real former Telnamobile services.

I am travelling internationally this summer. While things work now, I can't really depend on this after knowing what the issues really are. Looking for alternatives once again ....

[Bossman]

You may want to try Piranha mobile. I cancelled my Telna account last year.

Originally Posted by schuster

Looking for alternatives once again ....

[GadgetKen]

Likewise I cancelled my Telna account last year. Just signed up for Piranha over the weekend. Spent GBP50 for a sim card with £50 on it and they are also sending a complimentary second sim card with £5 on it.

Piranha apparently is using Telna/G3 for at least some of their back end services (both of the sim cards that are en route to me from the UK have phone numbers assigned from the Telna number pool according to whitepages.com). But Piranha rates, their website and their customer service appear to be very good.

Planning on using both prepaid InMarSat and prepaid Piranha (roaming on Digicel) in Bermuda for a couple of weeks in May/June.

I suspect that the reason the Telna Mobile product is languishing a bit is because G3 bought Telna mostly for the Telna infrastructure. G3 already has the iroam roaming sim card.

[schuster]

Originally Posted by GadgetKen

I suspect that the reason the Telna Mobile product is languishing a bit is because G3 bought Telna mostly for the Telna infrastructure. G3 already has the iroam roaming sim card.

Yes, I noticed that on the bottom banner G3 web site. Silly me, thought "hey, THAT'S where Telna's cellular service went!". Wrong....

[DRNewcomb]

Well, my Telna SIM still registers on T-Mobile. Not in any big rush to sort out the issues. Having lost plenty of $ on prepaid SIMs that went TU (e.g. 09, Riiing, etc.), I've been reasonably pleased with Telna's postpaid system. Not that I've been doing a lot of international travel recently.

[schuster]

Originally Posted by DRNewcomb

Well, my Telna SIM still registers on T-Mobile. Not in any big rush to sort out the issues. Having lost plenty of $ on prepaid SIMs that went TU (e.g. 09, Riiing, etc.), I've been reasonably pleased with Telna's postpaid system. Not that I've been doing a lot of international travel recently.

My Telna SIM still registers on T-Mobile and I am able to make calls.
SIP calling still works as well.

However, as I am planning international travel and need some confidence in the arrangements I have made. While Telna seems to work from the US, the general situation in which it seems to be running on auto-pilot, does not inspire confidence. There is no way to get help, check/update billing, perform simple account maintenance like turning voice mail on and off. If this is the status of the front-end, one can only imagine how the back-end is faring. What if I'm out of the country and one of their local roaming agreements expires?

I do have an original Mobal SIM that is still active; however, it is expensive and I do not like the changes they are making to their service model in general. It remains for emergencies only (I did just that in Switzerland last September in areas where the Telna SIM couldn't connect).

As suggested I am looking at Truphone and Piranha from the standpoint of reliability, ease of use, long expiration period for prepaid credit and SIM, ability to top-up automatically, and perform account maintenance on a trip without data access.