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[IP] more on ITU Telecom World 2003


Delivered-To: dfarber+@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 19:16:23 -0800
From: Sid Karin <skarin@xxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [IP] ITU Telecom World 2003
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Dave,

Thanks for sending out Robert Potter's ITU summary.  In light of
item 9,  I can't resist relating my own experience with Vodaphone
last month in Europe.  I bought a Vodaphone pay as you go phone
in London and ran out of minutes in Switzerland.  As it turns out
there doesn't appear to be anyplace in Switzerland that you can
go to to to top off a Vodaphone phone.  I went to an Orange store
to see if they could help.  They tried, but no luck.  It seems that
Vodaphone modifies the Nokia phones that they sell so that
competitor's SIM cards won't work.  So much for interoperability
and standards.

I later tried to top off the phone by phone and was similarly unable
to do so.  This time it was because they required a UK issued
credit card (remember I bought the phone in the UK).  I pointed out
that I had bought the phone with U.S. credit card, but they refused
to add any minutes using the same card that they accepted for
the purchase of the phone.

        Cheers,

                ........Sid
9. Arun Sharon (CEO of Vodafone) gave a strong warning to their vendors to focus on interoperability and said, "We have to satisfy our customer, and you have to satisfy us." Vodafone has 120 million subscribers spread across 26 countries, the largest GSM provider in the world. 



--
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
     Sidney Karin, Ph.D., P.E.       858-534-5075 (voice)
                                        858-822-5443 (fax)

        skarin@xxxxxxxx
     Professor,
     Department of Computer Science and Engineering
     San Diego Supercomputer Center
     University of California, San Diego
     9500 Gilman Drive
     La Jolla,  CA  92093-0505



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