Free, All Ports GPRS Access Through T-Mobile?

[Kris Kumar]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=271179' target='_blank'>http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=271179</a><br /><br /></div><i>"I'm not sure if this is a mistake or a policy shift, but it appears that T-Mobile has removed all port restrictions from their free GPRS access. Review Team member Ryan Joseph broke the news in this thread, which I was able to confirm almost immediately. Prior to this, Pocket MSN Messenger would not work, nor would any secure site. Now I can use MSN Messenger without a hiccup, and Ryan was able to make a Handango purchase over the air. This seems a bit odd, especially since T-Mobile sells what appears to be the exact same access for $20/month. I'm happy, since the free GPRS was the primary reason why I chose T-Mobile - this is making a good deal even better."</i><br /><br />8O :? :D <br /><br />Do let us know if you are able to get through. And what are your thoughts? Is T-Mobile planning on launching a more aggressive strategy to increase its subscriber base. Or is it just a mistake?

[NYC567user]

I can see why they would do this. Since they are releasing the h6300 series, MSN Mobile would need to work (SSL, IM and Hotmail via Inbox) thus those ports would need to be opened.

Also, at the moment if you use the unlimited plan (internet 3), then MMS does not work because it requires access to their MMS gatway located in the wap gateway....

Now with all these ports open on the wap gateway, you can use a myriad of nework apps as well as MMS messaging...for free.. :-)

I still remain to test VPN or other ipSEC and see if that works.

So far everything on the wap gateway works telnet, FTP, HTTP, HTTPS, IM (MSN, AOL, Yahoo), XML feeds, weather, etc.

Also I would thing that with the upcoming EGDE network, this free GPRS would take a backseat to this new paid fast 384k+ bps service.

Very cool!

[possmann]

cool - now i wonder how long they will keep this "open". I'm hoping until after I get the 220 - taht would be waaaay cool.

[Kris Kumar]

Also I would thing that with the upcoming EGDE network, this free GPRS would take a backseat to this new paid fast 384k+ bps service.

Thanks for confirming the opening up of ports. Do let us know about the VPN.

Also have you tried the USB/IR based connection? I mean hook up your PDA/Laptop to the internet thru your Smartphone.

I am right now thinking whether I should pay $20 a month or not :?

Regarding EDGE, I haven't heard much from T-Mobile regarding EDGE. When are they planning to launch it?

[kennyg]

Ok, I'm confused, are you saying that T - Mobile was offering a free GPRS service? I've been a subscriber of the all you can eat data for $20 and this is news to me.

Kenny.

[JonnoB]

VPN - I am using the unlimited data plan to get onto my corp. network via VPN. If someone can confirm a VPN connection through the free GPRS, that would be appreciated.

[Kris Kumar]

Ok, I'm confused, are you saying that T - Mobile was offering a free GPRS service? I've been a subscriber of the all you can eat data for $20 and this is news to me.

Kenny.

T-Mobile offers free GPRS service, which can be used to surf http:// prefixed sites (i.e. port 80) and also for POP3/SMTP emails.

If you needed to do anything else like access streaming media or https:// sites (secure sites), basically unrestricted access to the net, you needed to get the $20 account.

[palmsolo]

There is a ton of talk about this on the Howard Forums and nothing seems very clear right now. I personally bought the $20 data plan back in 2002 with my Sidekick and then kept the $20 plan with my resulting smartphones. Last fall, I heard GPRS was free (with limited open ports) so I cancelled my $20 plan and used it for about 8 months for free. I could not access secure sites or use MSN Messenger. Last Friday on vacation, my free GPRS access through wap.voicestream.com stopped working. I called up and ordered the $20 plan and was zooming away within an hour.

Today, my friend in Boston (I am in the Seattle/Tacoma area) told me his $4.99 T-Zones plan didn't block any ports. So I called up this morning and switch from the $19.99 plan to the $4.99 T-Zones plan. I can now use MSN Messenger, access my businesses secure (https) Groupwise web access site, etc. using only the $4.99 plan. I think the $20 plan is an excellent deal, but $5 is even better and I am willing to pay this for reliable access.

My loss of free GPRS access may have been a temporary deal, but I don't mind paying $5 to gain MSN Messenger and secure access.

[Kris Kumar]

Oh! So the plan cost $4.99, its not free. I was under the impression that T-Mobile had a free GPRS data plan and now they have enabled access to all ports on the free plan. So there is no free plan? I was checking out the website. They have $4.99 Unlimited T-Zones, $9.99 Unlimited T-Zones-Pro and $19.99 T-Mobile Unlimited Internet. Wonder what the differences are?

[palmsolo]

There was a free plan and others state they still can get full access for free, but I personally was unable to access my free plan last week. I know that the $4.99 plan works with all ports, so I am sticking with that for now.

I asked about the $4.99 vs. $9.99 and the rep said the $9.99 plan will allow you to access a business email account. He may have meant VPN, which my company doesn't have anyway so it wasn't a concern for me since I access my company email via a secure website.

[aristoBrat]

The difference between the $4.99 and $9.99 t-zones plans is that the WAP mail interface for the $9.99 plan can connect to Exchange/Notes servers (giving you access to your calendar, contacts, etc) in addition to POP3/IMAP servers.

Typically, the t-zones plans are limited to ports 25, 80, and whatever POP3 and IMAP4 are, along with the secured ports for POP3/IMAP. There have been plenty of times over the last few months where all ports were opened, but that usually only lasted a few days.

The $19.99 plans have no ports blocked.

T-Mobile's in the process of doing some MAJOR GPRS changes, so I wouldn't necessarily count on anything that's happening now definately working in the future.

It used to be that the only T-Mobile accounts that had GPRS access were the ones that had a t-zones (or full Internet) plan.

Late last year, T-Mobile added GPRS to ALL ACCOUNTS. This meant that phones without a monthly t-zones plan could get to the T-Mobile "pay-to-download ringtones/wallpapers" WAP deck without requiring a t-zones monthly subscription. Great money maker for them.

However, they never locked down their network. A non-t-zones account had the same access to GPRS as a t-zones account did. The only diference was the default WAP deck. t-zones had a bunch of links, non t-zones only had the "download ringtones/wallpaper" links. On either plan, if your phone supported it, you could type in/connect to any URL.

Last week T-Mobile started to fix this by redirecting off-site WAP requests (made from T-Mobile branded phones) from non-tzones accounts to the "pay-to-download ringtones/wallpapers" WAP deck.

So who knows what's going on. There's even rumor that the $4.99 t-zones plan will be restricted to the links on that WAP deck, which would really suck. Not that $19.99/month isn't one of the cheapest full Internet plans around, it's just a lot to add to your monthly bill if you surf only a little bit here and there.

[aristoBrat]

Oh! So the plan cost $4.99, its not free.
The "FREE WAP" (which gave you GPRS access) was never sold by T-Mobile as an actual plan -- it was the side-effect of giving everyone GPRS access to download the ringtones/wallpapers.

Lots of folks on HoFo like to argue the point "well, I called, and some CS rep told me that it was free, so now I get to cancel my account since T-Mobile took it away".

My take is that if T-Mobile was really offering free GPRS on purpose, they'd be advertising the heck out of it. :)

[Kacey Green]

I just signed up for Tmobile with the $20 unlimited plan, do the block smtp? their techs wern't very helpful

[Kris Kumar]

T-Mobile's in the process of doing some MAJOR GPRS changes, so I wouldn't necessarily count on anything that's happening now definately working in the future.

I hope the major changes enhances the speed a bit :-) wishful thinking.

Thanks for the explanation. I will not bother about calling T-Mobile folks and signing up for a $5 account or canceling the GPRS account all-together.

[Kris Kumar]

I just signed up for Tmobile with the $20 unlimited plan, do the block smtp? their techs wern't very helpful

SMTP is not blocked. It could be that your SMTP requires authentication for outgoing email. It can be setup in the account options.

Also certain SMTP mail servers (to prevent spam) allow emails from only trusted addresses or sources.

[aristoBrat]

I just signed up for Tmobile with the $20 unlimited plan, do the block smtp? their techs wern't very helpful
Try what Kris said (authenticating to your SMTP server), or using T-Mobiles SMTP server: myemail.t-mobile.com

[Phoenix]

Smartphone Thoughts is asking for our thoughts on whether or not we think T-Mo may be launching a new campaign to acquire new customers. Well I have some thoughts on how I believe they would - beyond just focusing on GPRS.

I think T-Mobile could put a real dent in their competitors by offering only one plan with the following, for every customer:

-Nationwide coverage on all plans
-No long distance charges of any kind
-No roaming charges of any kind (digital or analog)
-Voicemail, detailed billing, call forwarding, three way calling
-Free unlimited GPRS/EDGE coverage
-Unlimited voice minutes

$50/mo.


Impossible? No. They could do this if they wanted. Not every customer would make use of everything I listed above - everything would balance out in the end and T-Mo would make their money from volume. But customers would have these features if they wanted them.

Imagine if your wireless carrier actually thought out of the box like this.

Imagine having only one plan from your wireless carrier that would meet every single person's needs.

Imagine it being an affordable flat fee like this.

This is how simple it should be. All confusion would be eliminated. There would no longer be what seems to be endless choices. People of all ages would understand what they'd be getting. You'd walk in, sign up for the only plan they have (and based on what I listed above - would meet everyone's needs and still be relatively affordable) and walk out. That simple.


All T-Mobile would have to focus on then, would be three things:

-Offer a great variety of phones - from very simple to very sophisticated.
-Offer great customer service and tech support.
-Continue to offer better and better coverage.

And maybe they could offer a family version of this plan to make it a bit more affordable (package deals/plans?) for someone coming into the store with the intent on buying two or three or more phones and/or plans. I say this, because with unlimited minutes, what would be the point in having a home phone and service? You and everyone else in your family could just use their cell phones for calls at home or out and about. Not everyone would do this, even with unlimited cell minutes, but many would.


T-Mo would make a serious dent in their competition if they offered this. T-Mo's coverage is good - it may not be as good as Verizon's, but coverage isn't everything.

Think of how many people would sign up for a plan like that. Is there anyone who wouldn't?

[Kris Kumar]

I think T-Mobile could put a real dent in their competitors by offering only one plan with the following, for every customer:

-Nationwide coverage on all plans
-No long distance charges of any kind
-No roaming charges of any kind (digital or analog)
-Voicemail, detailed billing, call forwarding, three way calling
-Free unlimited GPRS/EDGE coverage
-Unlimited voice minutes

$50/mo.


I would signup for it, because it would save me $15+ a month :-)

It may still be overpriced for some people.

But have to agree that it will simplify things for the customers. And the T-Mobile billing department and the customer support will also benefit greatly. And I believe you are right in suggesting that it will save them money.

The other challenge with unlimited or aggressive pricing is that, in the metro areas they may run into bandwidth problem if they signup too many customers.

OT: I do somewhat like Sprint's Flexible plan.

[Kris Kumar]

Was at the T-Mobile store today to get a phone for my friend.

Spoke to the rep about the free access to internet. He said it must be a mistake and he is not aware of any such offering. But was surprised at his reply, he said something like this "Not yet, but maybe pretty soon it might. Has to be a mistake."

So maybe T-Mobile might offer free internet in the future. But I sure it will NOT be unlimited all ports access. :-)