Orange UK - Making UMA calls

[mattzkn]

I know very little about the technology or how carriers operate but you might find my situation enlightening.

I have just got a Blackberry Curve 8520 on Orange Panther 30 (although i pay £20 because it is through tesco mobile contracts who will apparently discount it by £10 each month.)

This includes 600 anytime minutes, unlimited texts, and free blackberry data plan.

Whenever i am at home, UMA is displayed and i have checked 'usage since last bill' online and it shows many calls under 'homezone'. These are all free except to 0845/0800 numbers which were still charged.

I have also made two calls to mobiles in Thailand (from the UK), one when out using GPRS, and one when in my house using UMA. The GPRS shows on the bill under 'talk' and is charged accordingly, the UMA call shows as 'homezone' and does not have a charge next to it.

However, if i add all the minutes up shown as 'talk' then it only accounts for 23 of the 40 minutes that i have used up in my allowance, suggesting that calls labelled 'homezone' (UMA) also use my allowance (i cannot definitely confirm this because it does not show the duration of homezone calls i make).

This all makes sense with what people have posted in this forum so far, except that my UMA homezone call to Thailand has not cost me anything (it has just simply used my normal allowance like other UMA calls).

Can we interpret that UMA calls (shown as homezone) come out of your allowance like GPRS calls, except that it doesn't matter where you are calling (except 0800/0845) and therefore all international calls will not cost extra if using UMA?

[Tinyk]

I never really call abroad but I did try ringing a couple people when I first had UMA and they were charged.

You are correct with the bit abut showing as homezone and no charge, yet when you get your bill you will find they come out of your allocated minutes as they show as homezone then talk *** beside them as per your bill.

My personal feeling is the homezone calls do not get priced until your bill is done, though I'm more than happy to be wrong

Maybe when you get your first bill you can clarify.

[oldbill1969]

Unless of course you have Orange Broadband (Broadband U/L) which gives up to 8mb speed, 40gb downloads, free second line with free calls 24/7 to 01,02 & 03 numbers, Orange Numbers and 30 international destinations (Subject to fup of 1000 minutes), all for the grand sum of £5 per month. The service is Orange Unique.

[RobxK]

I have been using UMA for a couple of months, I have always been charged for international calls.

Now I would like to draw on the personal experience of UK Orange customers, when you have been to a foreign country and used your phone via UMA, have you been charged roaming charges or have the calls come out of your standard mins and txt allowance?

according to orange you should be charged at roaming rates but I don't know as I have read both ways on the forum from different people.


Regards

Rob

[TheGrinder]

Originally Posted by mattzkn

I have just got a Blackberry Curve 8520 on Orange Panther 30 (although i pay £20 because it is through tesco mobile contracts who will apparently discount it by £10 each month.)

This includes 600 anytime minutes, unlimited texts, and free blackberry data plan.

you are on the same deal as me mate, except I actually pay £30!

do you if the BB plan includes mobile web (not uma) for browsing when you're not in a wi-fi area? all my contract says is unlimited push e-mails, but i think that includes all the BB features.

my broadband at home is actually through Orange also (I get my Broadband free, as I joined them years ago when they were giving it free to all customers), so I wonder if this means I could get free international calls, or whether my mins are still taken off? v. interesting.

[Tinyk]

Originally Posted by RobxK

I have been using UMA for a couple of months, I have always been charged for international calls.

Now I would like to draw on the personal experience of UK Orange customers, when you have been to a foreign country and used your phone via UMA, have you been charged roaming charges or have the calls come out of your standard mins and txt allowance?

according to orange you should be charged at roaming rates but I don't know as I have read both ways on the forum from different people.


Regards

Rob

Well if you dont get a 100% positive answer in the next 6 weeks I will give you one for sure as were packing off from the uk to visit vegas for a boys only weeks holiday yipee, and I plan on using my 9700 with me whilst there. Having said that just to be very very safe and not to end up with a whacking great big bill I'm taking an 8520 with me with a payg sim in it, my thoughts are if its out of inclusive minutes on a payg then its the same on contract, I'f i'm wrong then the £10 I put on the payg sim is going to last all of two minutes lol but it will save me a packet with not being faced with a huge bill thinking I was talking on my inclusive minutes.

fingers crossed it works, but if anyone else can say for sure I'd also love to hear it.

thanks

[oldbill1969]

Originally Posted by TheGrinder

you are on the same deal as me mate, except I actually pay £30!

do you if the BB plan includes mobile web (not uma) for browsing when you're not in a wi-fi area? all my contract says is unlimited push e-mails, but i think that includes all the BB features.

my broadband at home is actually through Orange also (I get my Broadband free, as I joined them years ago when they were giving it free to all customers), so I wonder if this means I could get free international calls, or whether my mins are still taken off? v. interesting.

why dont you ask to be switched to the broadband unlimted package as described in my previous post, you can then make use of free international calls to 30 countries when going through the livebox.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[RobxK]

Originally Posted by Tinyk

Well if you dont get a 100% positive answer in the next 6 weeks I will give you one for sure as were packing off from the uk to visit vegas for a boys only weeks holiday yipee, and I plan on using my 9700 with me whilst there. Having said that just to be very very safe and not to end up with a whacking great big bill I'm taking an 8520 with me with a payg sim in it, my thoughts are if its out of inclusive minutes on a payg then its the same on contract, I'f i'm wrong then the £10 I put on the payg sim is going to last all of two minutes lol but it will save me a packet with not being faced with a huge bill thinking I was talking on my inclusive minutes.

fingers crossed it works, but if anyone else can say for sure I'd also love to hear it.

thanks

That will be great ill look forward to it, hopefully they will be included in the mins.

Rob

[tecksquad]

they come under homzone if they use uma just your nomal mins the only phone i have found that works overseas is the old nokia 6301 and that also use your normal mins rings as if its in the uk also rings out the same way they cant tell where it is in the world

[TabletMadness]

I am very happy I found this thread, although it seems like it stopped.

I just tried to make a UMA call today between my phone and my wife's phone and it works perfect.

We have 2 x BlackBerry Bold
1 x Orange Business Plan with 1000 minutes included for UK calls (thats hers)
1 x Orange Business Plan with 1000 minutes included for EU calls (thats mine)
1 x Wifi router from BT, with unlimited BT download included (as I like to download a lot)

Making my first UMA call between the two phones worked fine. Question is now who will charge me. Will Orange charge me or will BT?
Regardless what, I will be on the phone tomorrow with both to see how I can get a sweet deal on this one. Preferably to call unlimited to anything with the phones as long as I am on UMA.

[tecksquad]

I have to use uma at home as I can't get a signal and I am charged my normal mins my son has orange broadband at his granddads so he gets free 1000 mins to orange phones,01 02 numbers and 26 countries soft phone and mobile and my younger son was getting for 5 pounds a month the same on uma but wasn't using them so just cancelled it now I am in the USA at the moment I have just managed by changing a few settings been able to use data and uma calls as in the uk and I Am using a 8900 and my son is using his nokia 6301 the same on wifi only