Vodafone Sure Signal

[filtertip]

I spend half my time in the UK and half my time in Sweden. I have an apartment over in Gothenburg with a 36Mb Internet Feed ( :rolleyes: ).

Can I use a Vodafone Gateway connected to my Internet connection in Sweden and avoid roaming charges?

Cheers

Mik

[clavell]

I spend half my time in the UK and half my time in Sweden. I have an apartment over in Gothenburg with a 36Mb Internet Feed ( :rolleyes: ).

Can I use a Vodafone Gateway connected to my Internet connection in Sweden and avoid roaming charges?

Cheers

Mik

Now that is an interesting question - I look forward to the answer..... In theory you could just take it with you anywhere as long as you had a network to connect to..

[James]

Hey Guys,

This is a very good question which I've never seen before or even thought of to be honest.

Hmmmmm, I very much doubt it would work in other countries as The Vodafone Sure Signal only gives you Vodafone UK 3G signal and wouldn't give you connection support to other non Vodafone UK networks.

Also when you register you Gateway you are required to register it through your landline number so I doubt that it would be able to use it at home and abroad.

James
eForum Team

[filtertip]

Hey Guys,

This is a very good question which I've never seen before or even thought of to be honest.

Hmmmmm, I very much doubt it would work in other countries as The Vodafone Sure Signal only gives you Vodafone UK 3G signal and wouldn't give you connection support to other non Vodafone UK networks.

Also when you register you Gateway you are required to register it through your landline number so I doubt that it would be able to use it at home and abroad.

James
eForum Team

Hi James

Surely, this is a femtocell and so it doesn't actually boost an existing signal like you say in your advertising - it generates one and then routes calls over the Internet connection. If I register it in the UK and then take it to Sweden, apart from an IP address change, how would it know it has moved?

Cheers

Mik

[Adam_V]

Hi Filtertip,

You're absolutely right the Vodafone Sure Signal doesn't boost the 3G network but rather transmits a localised service which is routed through your broadband connection. I'm not sure of the laws in Sweden for transmitting 3G at a local level but there might be IP address filtering to prevent the service being used outside the UK for licensing reasons. I couldn't guarantee you service in Sweden or whether you would incurr 'roaming' charges.

Thanks,

Adam
eForum Team.

[Wildoat]

I was wondering the same when I am in France - best way is to try it I guess! Give it a go in Sweden and let us know as I wont be in France until the snow starts falling.

W

[filtertip]

I was wondering the same when I am in France - best way is to try it I guess! Give it a go in Sweden and let us know as I wont be in France until the snow starts falling.

W

Yup - I will give it a go and see what happens.

Cheers

Mik

[DPH]

I'm afraid it won't work overseas, when you register the femtocell your postcode information is used to calculate the neighbouring cells in your area for the configuration of the device. Also longitude and latitude information is calculated and IP address checks are performed as well, if it is used outside it's registered location the box won't bring up the cell as it's neighbouring cell information won't tie up with the ones in it's configuration.

[clavell]

Hmmm - Not sure about that, as the purpose of getting one is to give you a signal - i.e. you dont have cell coverage - It gives you a femto cell - Guess the only way to find out is to get someone with one who's off on holiday to give it a try..

Would be very interesting though....

[vinsup]

Anybody tried this overseas yet?

[clavell]

Guess not.. grin.. Its down to you mate...

[vinsup]

Not me - at least not yet - recession stopping me from going anywhere let alone overseas

[DPH]

You are welcome to try but it would be a waste of valuable luggage allowance. The manufacturer of the gateway has defined in the software the use of latitude longitude information to stop it activating activate outside of the UK.

[clavell]

But surely, unless it has a gps reciever inside (Which would be pointless as it prob wouldnt recieve a signal indoors), then it wouldnt know its lat & Long - and as has been posted before, the hand off & switch to can be a problem as the cell sites wouldnt be updated with the femtocell info as:-

1. There could potentially be too many femtocells to cope with, along with local signal propagation issues.
2. The Femtos are not "Open Access" - they are restricted to the user.
3. The Femto could be turned off - How would the cell site know, unless it monitored its signal as well - They dont do that.
4. A Femtocel is designed to give a signal in an area with poor/no signal - its designed to work without cell sites - i.e. somewhere without a voda mast - Another country for example?

The only problem could be the ip routing & latency - but otherwise - dont really see a problem unless they are locked to a particular mac - which I doubt..

[WLeg]

It works overseas. But you need a reasonable amount of IT knowledge and kit.

I am aware of a trial/test done by a close friend, who took his cell to his property in South France. The Cell is registered to his office address. His office has a nice fat 2MB Leased line. The house in Antibes has 20MB broadband, and a HARDWARE Cisco VPN to the office (he is a market trader). So the cell's point of presence pops up as his London office, and in Antibes we got UK Vodafone. I doubt this would work with residential gateways though.

[clavell]

Hmm - Interesting - well - If you setup a vpn, then anything would be able to connect - i personally dont think it would even need that, as long as the latency isnt too high, just an internet link via a router should work..

[DPH]

The approximate latitude and longitude are calculated from the postcode, as WLeg correctly states - if you were to create a virtual VPN back to the UK it would technically be possible as it would appear the gateway was in the UK. However just taking it overseas and plugging it into a broadband connection wouldn't work, also i'm pretty sure there would be some way of remotely deactivating a device if you were flitting between Vodafone UK when you were indoors and SFR for example as you left the property. I haven't seen the T&C's for the Gateway but as in most things the right to terminate the service for abuse is probably there - much like the ISP's can throttle or even terminate heavy users and people who use P2P services..

[clavell]

True, the lat & long could be calculated from the postcode - but the whole point of having one, is that you have no service - so no cell to transfer from.. Imagine if everyone in a villiage had one - the cell sites wouldnt know what to do - I dont think that they do a proper handover, as it would be too complicated to arrange & the gateways are restricted access anyway..

[acdeag]

Can the Vodafone Sure Signal be moved around the UK, for example from Scotland to southern England and then back again? Would it need to be re-registered?

[Jon_V]

Hi all,

Sorry to put a damper on your spirits, but I can confirm that the Vodafone Sure Signal will not function if moved outside of the United Kingdom.
The Gateway has a built-in GPS chip which is used to track its location - and if it leaves UK territory, it will automatically cease to function. This is done automatically to comply with radio licensing legislation.

If you move the location of your Gateway within the UK, you will still need to follow these instructions to update your registered postcode information so that full service can be maintained and to ensure you still comply with our terms and conditions.

It may surprise you, but you should even contact us to tell us if you're moving your Gateway within your own home! If for example you're moving it from your basement to the third floor, you'll need to let us know so that we can adjust the radio profile the Gateway is using. Different radio profiles are needed for different height levels to ensure the best coverage possible, so with that in mind I'd recommend updating us of any change made to the location of your Gateway

Jon

eForum Team