Idiot Question

digisocialist

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Both I and my wife are considering an iPhone 3Gs (each). I'm still reading through the wealth of info here about the various pricing tariffs in order to work out the best option for us between PAYG and contract. If that weren't difficult enough, there's one question I can't seem to answer in my own mind; what exactly does all of this mean when it comes to Internet Access?

My wife currently uses a macbook. She wants an iPhone because it will be easier to carry than her macbook. She can't drive so uses public transport and sees the world from a very different perspective to me as she is truly mobile i.e. isn't sat in a car most of the time simply traveling to and from work. Rather, she travels on bus/train to and from work, works around the country (getting there by national rail services) and does spend time in cafes, libraries, museums, conference centres etc (a lot), due to the type of work she does. She often gets FREE Wi-Fi access in many of these places!

As I understand it, you can currently use a FREE Wi-Fi hotspot (wherever one is available e.g East Coast Mainline train) and this is at no charge (my wife currently does with her macbook). However, where a FREE Wi-Fi spot is not available my wife has a couple options; she can pay to access the Wi-Fi HOTSPOT where it is not free e.g. a BT Openzone access point (such as when procrastinating in Starbucks), or if she became an iPhone user, she would simply (a) use one of the available FREE Wi-Fi host pots (as she currently does with her macbook), (b) use one of the Wi-Fi hotspots provided by a partner of the network operator you have your iPhone with (which is limited) OR (c) switch to 3G on the iPhone (when out of Wi-Fi range) and accesses the internet over the 3G/GPRS network.

So, with this in mind, if considering an iPhone, I don't understand what exactly you are paying for (on the internet side of things) because 'unlimited' Wi-Fi access provided under the terms of an operator contract tariff or via PAYG seem to be limited to a 'partner' provided Wi-Fi access point e.g. Openzone and therefore this to me is not much different from the limitations of using available FREE Wi-Fi access points i.e. its down to coverage - basically where they are. My wife currently encounters lots of free ones on her journeys, though admittedly there are times when she doesn't and wants to hop on the internet on her journeys.

So, is paying a contract tariff or PAYG monthly charge to use the Internet on an iPhone (this is besides all the mobile calls/txt stuff), really only to access available Wi-Fi points for that operator - am I correct? And, when a wi-fi point isn't available you can switch to 3G and access the internet via GPRS and this cost is included in the tariff with no extra charge for the duration of the session i.e. if browsing the internet for 3hrs over 3G you're not charged some extortionate mobile call rate for doing that because its GPRS are you?

Understanding this is fundamental because it massively influences whether there is a real value add to us. Of course there are loads of pros with the iPhone such as portability, features/functionality etc etc... but these devices are very expensive and the main reason for getting one is to have internet access on the go and it not cost a bomb.
 
I am interested in this too. As I have an iPhone, but whenever I am on these free zones I am automatically taken to an internet login screen by my iPhone after I say I want to join that network. But I have no idea what to enter.
The zone I was trying to access was a mcdonalds cloud one if that helps.
 
I am interested in this too. As I have an iPhone, but whenever I am on these free zones I am automatically taken to an internet login screen by my iPhone after I say I want to join that network. But I have no idea what to enter.
The zone I was trying to access was a mcdonalds cloud one if that helps.

You usually have to enter your number, so they can verify you're entitled to connect.
 
AIUI The charge is for accessing the internet via 3G, so you don't rack up a ridiculous bill on 3g data charges.
 
The tariffs which have internet included do not automatically cover wi-fi, they are distinctly different.

The internet is accessed by the 3G connection and though labelled 'unlimited' there is usually a fair usage limit which could be like 500mb/1gb a month.

Where the tariff offers wi-fi this is via partners such as BT Cloud and you are asked to login in to register (this normally logs your mac address so you can login automatically next time). And, as it is an often asked question, you don't need this to access your home or work wi-fi.

I know the O2 sims for the iphone have both internet & wi-fi; I would think the other carriers offering iphone would do something similar.
 
StevieDVD, I understand that the internet and wi-fi are distinctly different but from a 'user' pov most people accessing a wi-fi AP are only doing so to hop onto the internet to do the usual stuff; google, youtube, twitter, facebook (procrastinate). Therefore, even if you can access the internet via 3G connection, you needn't bother if near to a wi-fi AP as you might as well use the local infrastructure to hop onto the internet that way. Using 3G, AIUI is a means of accessing the internet from the GPRS network when no wi-fi AP gateway to the internet is available.

The question was really about whether accessing the internet would be an additional cost above the tariff. It seems that as long as I stayed within the fair usage limit as you describe, a monthly tariff would cover all internet browsing I wanted and using 3G (for the times when I could not access an available partner/free wi-fi AP) would not be an additional network operator charge above that tariff.

In amongst all the gloss, this side of things is difficult to get to the root of. Don't get me wrong, I like many others are attracted to the iPhone for many reasons but surely its biggest selling point is multi-media accessibility on the go via the Internet. As, under the covers, this is actually massively limited by the constraints of current network operators (e.g. 3G coverage depending on network operator), or by partner wi-fi AP availability e.g. BT Openzone points, then I am starting to question how flexible the iPhone will be i.e. is it truly Internet on the Go? It looks like the combination of accessing the internet from available wi-fi points (generally in most city centres) and then via 3G when out of wi-fi reach, through the network operator should in theory give a pretty good all round experience - UNLESS you're a happy camper like me and find yourself up a mountain side or live on a moor.
 
There are three methods of accessing the internet on your iPhone

1) Via your own, home WiFi connection to your own broadband.
2) Via a WiFi hotspot
3) Over the mobile network

Option 1 is free, you have already paid for your home broadband and if you have a wireless router attached, you're good to go. Simply enter the connection details and you're off.

Option 2 is included in the iPhone contracts each network offers. There are some differences though....

O2, for instance, offer WiFi access via The Cloud and BT Openzone hotspots. This covers around 75% of all hotspots you're likely to find. With this included, it doesn't matter if the WiFi hotspot is free or chargeable as it's all included. This of course does not cover hotspots by providers other than The Cloud and BT Openzone, although there is nothing stopping you paying the charge for another provider.

Vodafone and Orange offer the same, but only via BT Openzone. The Cloud is not included.

So as long as the hotspot you're connecting too is included in your tariff, you can connect for free. When you connect for the first time you'll be presented with a login page, where you enter your O2 mobile number. Once done you wont be asked again for any hotspot from the same provider, it will connect automatically.

Option 3 is provided again by all network operators, the only differences are coverage and any fair usage policy applied. Orange state a FUP of 750MB a month. Vodafone have a limit of 1GB a month. O2 have no limits or FUP, just some T&C's that say you can't use it in a way that will negatively effect other O2 users.

Coverage does vary by location and in some areas, one operator may be significantly better than another. But if your wife travels all around the UK you have little to gain from each network. You will find some places where you don't have a signal on each of them. This is a limitation of mobile networks in general, the iPhone itself plays little part in this.

With regards to WiFi vs 3G, the iPhone will automatically connect you to WiFi hotspots it knows of and will use this in preference to the mobile network. This is because WiFi almost always offers a better connection than the mobile network and this applies to the included hotspots as well as home WiFi networks.

So if ultimate coverage is your goal, in my personal opinion, O2 are the way to go. The extra hotspot provider is going to be of benefit and their network coverage is very good.

If your wife didn't travel around so much, my advice would be to find the network that provides the best coverage in the areas you spend most time. But no network has 100% coverage, so you need to look at the bigger picture, WiFi included.
 
On a day to day basis the option of using wi-fi is mainly for the speed, makes the internet so much more usable. The downside to that is the battery drain of wi-fi - one of my most used apps when my iphone was jailbroken was the SBS settings as it makes switching wi-fi on/off much easier.

Have not heard of many people exceeding the fair usage, but there have been some, but it seems the carriers are increasing internet provision so that should hopefully dwindle as an issue.

Sorry if my response may have appeared to be preaching to the converted but I tend to answer as if others will read my answers later on as well.
 
Wow thats a long winded and confusing question :eek:

If you get an iPhone contract with unlimited data then you are covered for all data use (within the fair use policy) on your iphone over the 3G or GPRS network.

To make things easier to understand I would totally ignore the wi-fi part of things, thats only something you will use if you are in an area covered by the networks or their partners "cloud" and if you arent you can still use the 3G or GPRS network to do what you need.
 
I'm on PAYG with O2, so I can tell you how (I think) it works with that. Not sure about other providers such as Orange.

With PAYG, you get 12 months of the internet and wi-fi bolt-ons for free. The 'Internet' part of this refers to unlimited net access via O2's cellular network, i.e. 3G, Edge or GPRS as available. I believe this is supposed to be genuinely unlimited when you're using a 'proper' iPhone sim/tariff (i.e. you haven't swapped the SIM or tariff for one not intended for the iphone), so there are no fair usage limits enforced, though I stand to be corrected on this bit.

The 'wi-fi' part refers to access to BT Cloud or Openzone hotspots. As mentioned above, this does not have anything to do with accessing open or public wi-fi, such as your home router, which you can always connect to.

When your free 12 months has expired, you would have to pay a monthly fee to continue to access the net via the cellular data network or the Cloud/Openzone hotspots. Last time I looked it was £10 a month for both the 'Internet' and 'Wi-fi' bolt-on (i.e. to continue with the exact same access you had when it was free) or £7 a month for just the 3G access alone. AFAIK, you have to make sure you top up enough each month as they take this fee straight from your PAYG credit.

There are no additional charges per amount downloaded, hours of usage etc. Everything is included as long as you have one of the proper iPhone bolt-ons in place.

If you don't want PAYG, I thought all the O2 contract iPhone tariffs included unlimited internet and wi-fi in the monthly contract fee, but perhaps someone could confirm.
 
Thanks for replies guys, these have confirmed some of what I suspected and clarified some other points for me.

I'm interested in PAYG atm as I dislike the idea of being tied to a contract (things can change so quickly in 12 months!) I was unsure about what happened on a PAYG after 12 months of free access but it sounds like the £10 fee for the bolt-on is what happens. I do like the idea of an iPhone and am very tempted; certainly it would make my wifes life easier and for me it would simply be fun! I already pay £30 a month though for BT Internet at home; paying potentially another £20 pcm (x2 iPhones) makes for an expensive way to keep us on the grid as much as possible.

Perhaps some introspection is called for on our habits! That said the £240p/yr bolt on fee for both phones might only just stretch to two new pairs of hiking boots and they wouldn't get the same usage - so comparatively its not that bad. :)
 

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