WIND Greece: 1.5GB per month free data for the entire 2010

[Evan]

For those visiting Greece or already have a WIND F2G prepaid card, WIND just announced an unbeatable offer. You get 1500 MB of data, 1.500 minutes and 1.500 SMS (for the WIND F2G prepaid card numbers) every month until the end of 2010. Best of all, you don't need to top up your credit. The 1500 MB/mins/texts will be automatically assigned each month without any prerequisites.

The offer can be activated until 30 April 2010 by calling 1245. For those, like me, who live outside Greece but happen to have a F2G card, the offer can also be activated by sending a blank SMS to the same number. I just tried it and it works.

More information (in English), here:
WIND HELLAS

[DaveRo]

Thanks for spotting that, Evan.

Is this data offer only for the WAP portal - gwap.b-online.gr and proxy 192.168.200.10:9401? Or does it work for gint.b-online.gr?

I hope YP works for a balance enquiry as well as ΥΠ!

[Evan]

I read that it works for both APNs, so it's much better to use the gint.b-online.gr that doesn't have a proxy and an 1MB limit per file like the gwap one.

The balance inquiry works with YP as well, I've tried it myself from my non-Greek mobile after I activated the offer.

However, the balance inquiry gave me only the remaining free minutes and texts, not the data volume. Hopefully this will change soon or we'll have to use the data counter of our device.

[DaveRo]

I found the Press Release about this offer.

Only thing not already mentioned here is "... each WIND F2G subscriber can “enroll” only once in 2010" though whether that's once per SIM or once per person (if the SIM is registered to a person) I don't know. Probably of no significance.

I looked for registration forms to download so I could fill them in ready to register my F2G SIM against my passport, but couldn't find any on the website. (There are some on the Vodafone website - but they're Vodafone-specific.)

[Evan]

Originally Posted by DaveRo

Only thing not already mentioned here is "... each WIND F2G subscriber can “enroll” only once in 2010" though whether that's once per SIM or once per person (if the SIM is registered to a person) I don't know. Probably of no significance.

The mentioned quote is somehow confusing but you are right that it doesn't have any significance really. I read on another forum that people contacted the Wind CS and they were told that each person can register an unlimited number of SIMs and take advantage of the offer in each SIM.

Originally Posted by DaveRo

I looked for registration forms to download so I could fill them in ready to register my F2G SIM against my passport, but couldn't find any on the website. (There are some on the Vodafone website - but they're Vodafone-specific.)

To my knowledge, you don't need any special registration forms. You just need to bring an identification document (passport, ID card, residence permit etc) and visit a Wind store. They take a copy of your ID document, enter your data on the national database and finally you sign a formal statement that verifies that the above data is correct.

[DaveRo]

Originally Posted by Evan

To my knowledge, you don't need any special registration forms. You just need to bring an identification document (passport, ID card, residence permit etc) and visit a Wind store. They take a copy of your ID document, enter your data on the national database and finally you sign a formal statement that verifies that the above data is correct.

Yes, but you know what it's like in Greece. You're presented with a form - all in Greek - with a few words scrawled on it and told to sign it. I thought I'd get ahead of the game - prefill the form, or at least find out what I'm signing.

For example the Vodafone form - which is all in Greek - and entitled

ΔΗΛΩΣΗ / ΑΛΛΑΓΗ ΣΤΟΙΧΕΙΩΝ ΣΥΝΔΡΟΜΗΤΩΝ & ΧΡΗΣΤΩΝ
ΓΙΑ ΣΥΝΔΡΟΜΗΤΕΣ ΣΥΜΒΟΛΑΙΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΠΡΟΠΛΗΡΩΜΕΝΟΥ ΧΡΟΝΟΥ VODAFONE

Google translation: DECLARATION / CHANGE OF USER DATA SUBSCRIBERS &
CONTRACT FOR SUBSCRIBERS AND VODAFONE Prepaid

contains this

Use of Personal Data Advertising (to be completed only by prepaid subscribers)
Hereby declare that I consent to notification by the VODAFONE PANAFON A.E.E.T my personal data, limited to CONSENT data identifiers of my identity (name, address, phone, email) to third parties for advertising products and agencies and companies with which it collaborates, market research or similar activity and promote distance own products or services, or third parties. It also expressed consent to direct marketing of products or services and making unsolicited communications for the above purposes and for any promotional purposes.

Somewhere on that form there's a tickbox to deny that consent. There's also an opt-out for inclusion of the number on directories and public databases. I'd like to know in advance where these opt-outs are.

[goldeneyed]

Does the gint.b-online.gr APN work for iPhones?

Originally Posted by Evan

I read that it works for both APNs, so it's much better to use the gint.b-online.gr that doesn't have a proxy and an 1MB limit per file like the gwap one.

The balance inquiry works with YP as well, I've tried it myself from my non-Greek mobile after I activated the offer.

However, the balance inquiry gave me only the remaining free minutes and texts, not the data volume. Hopefully this will change soon or we'll have to use the data counter of our device.

[Evan]

Originally Posted by DaveRo

Yes, but you know what it's like in Greece. You're presented with a form - all in Greek - with a few words scrawled on it and told to sign it. I thought I'd get ahead of the game - prefill the form, or at least find out what I'm signing.

Somewhere on that form there's a tickbox to deny that consent. There's also an opt-out for inclusion of the number on directories and public databases. I'd like to know in advance where these opt-outs are.

I understand that, since this is a formal/legal document, it must be in Greek

Your safest bet is to ask for an English speaking employee when you visit a Wind store (that you need to do anyway). I guess that in the tourist areas or at the airport, you won't have a problem finding one.

Regarding the use of your personal data for advertising purposes, I'm not sure how Vodafone came up with this but I'm pretty sure that this is not required by the registration law. Could you post the link for that?

Also regarding the inclusion of the number on the phone directories, according to the registration FAQ of Wind: "This choice can change at any moment and is not related to the registration procedure." So even if you don't find an English speaking employee at the store and accidentally opt-in, you can later call their CS to exclude your number from the phone directory.

WIND HELLAS

Originally Posted by goldeneyed

Does the gint.b-online.gr APN work for iPhones?

Yes, no problem.

edit to add: It seems to be a war of offers for prepaid data currently. Q-telecom (a subsidiary of Wind) just announced 100MB for 1€ (max 4 times a month), Wind reduces the price of their Wind Plus from 6.76€/MB to 0.5€/MB and Vodafone announced the "Vodafone On Demand", similar to Wind ADSM. I'll update the info on the sticky thread accordingly.

[DaveRo]

Originally Posted by Evan

Your safest bet is to ask for an English speaking employee when you visit a Wind store (that you need to do anyway). I guess that in the tourist areas or at the airport, you won't have a problem finding one.

This may be true in Athens but I've been into several Wind, Cosmote, and Vodafone shops - mostly on small islands (I'm on a boat) - and only occasionally have I been served by someone who speaks reasonable English. That is they do speak English, but not well enough to understand anything out of the ordinary. Like data. So I like to take screenshots of the website (in Greek) and show them exactly what I want.

There are honourable exceptions though - like the Vodafone guy in Sami - Kefalonia - who, while regretting that he couldn't provide what I wanted, predicted (correctly) the development of Vodafone prepaid data cards the following year.

Regarding the use of your personal data for advertising purposes, I'm not sure how Vodafone came up with this but I'm pretty sure that this is not required by the registration law. Could you post the link for that?

Vodafone.gr - New Connection Documents

The prepaid form has to be completed by someone buying a phone mail order and handed to the courier. So if Wind and Cosmote sell phones that way they must have an equivalent available somewhere.

[Evan]

Originally Posted by DaveRo

The prepaid form has to be completed by someone buying a phone mail order and handed to the courier. So if Wind and Cosmote sell phones that way they must have an equivalent available somewhere.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but it seems to me highly improbable than you can register your prepaid SIM by handing the necessary documents to a courier. The law and the announcements of all three mobile operators (including Vodafone) are very clear that you need to be physically present (or someone else authorized by you) in one of their stores, in order to register your prepaid card.

Regarding the documents, the first one (res14851.pdf) is addressed to the National Telecommunication Regulator and includes only your personal details without opt-ins/outs to phone directories or advertising promotions.

The second one (res14959.pdf) is for Vodafone and includes the opt-ins/outs. On the "Phone Directory Data", just tick the first box if you don't want to include your number to the phone directories. If you tick that box, you also need to tick one of the two boxes below that. Those two boxes ask if you agree to communicate your personal data to the emergency services, in case that you place an emergency call from your mobile (i.e. to 112). If you want to communicate your data, tick the left box ("I wish") or if not, the right box ("I don't wish").

The "Use of Personal Data for Advertising Promotions" field, it's quite a strange field that I've never noticed before. It's also rather strange that is to be completed only by prepaid subscribers. One way or another, there are no boxes to tick on that field, only a place to add your signature, which is not mandatory. If you sign on the right of that field, you consent to use your data. I suggest not to sign there since you don't want that, just add your signature on the very bottom right of the form which is the only place that your signature is required.