[bogman]

Hi

I'm currently with O2 in the UK. I have a SIM only contract that I can cancel with 30 days notice at any point. I get 200 minutes and 600 texts and BIS for GBP20 a month.

I am very interested in moving to BES to get wireless sync'ing. I have signed up to Link2Exchange. When I called O2 initially to enquire they said that there would be no extra charge for BES (they also told me they didn't need to make any changes on their side - but that's been proved to be incorrect!).

However, when I asked them to move me over they said there would be a charge and the cheapest BES tarriff they can offer me is GBP56 a month! While BES is attractive to me - there's no way I can justify about my monthly bill trebling (I also have to pay for Link2Exchange).

Has anyone here got a better deal from a UK provider for a BES subscription? My Blackberry is unlocked and I have a 30 day notice period, so would switch if I could get something more reasonable.

Thanks,
Donal

[voda_black]

Vodafone BES is as follows:

Only available on business tariffs (not personal tariffs):
£25+VAT for 500MB per month (ample)
£37.50+VAT for 5GB per month (unlimited subject to fair usage)

Would suggest the £25 BES add-on.

Both above are additional to voice tariff.

[bogman]

Thanks for the info. I've also called T-Mobile, they offer BES as a £10 add-on. Although, I've read online that someone got it for £5. This seems much more reasonable to me and I'll probably move from O2

[MidnightDraven]

Its not £56 on top, its £28 ontop, which should make it £48 in total, so where they've got the extra £10 from Im not sure.

http://blackberry.o2.co.uk/tariffs_enterprise.asp

[bogman]

Sorry - my original post probably wasn't clear. They told me it was £28 on top and I'd have to change to a business tarriff (the cheapest one was £28). So, £56 in total, up from the £20 I pay today for BIS.

[MidnightDraven]

ahh ok.

[voda_black]

I think £28 is pretty much normal (Vodafone, O2, Orange). I don't know about T-Mobile - but then I personally don't consider to be a network worth being on!

[mpalis]

As a general rule here is how the costs breakdown for most carriers and BES Providers.

1) You need to buy a data plan from your cell carrier - they have many plans that allow or restrict certain activities. The BIS (BlackBerry Internet Service) provided by the carrier is included in the less expensive BlackBerry data plans.

2) Many carriers charge extra to allow you to use a BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Server) on the cellular network. This is why people using BIS are sometimes surprised when the carrier wants a higher monthly fee to use a BES - when the carrier is not supplying anything additional other than the ability to run BES data over the cell network. It is safe to say they are charging an extra premium for the BES data plan due to the increased data needed to constantly keep your BlackBerry in Sync with your Outlook/Exchange Mailbox.

3) In order to use BES you also need a Microsoft Exchange mailbox and a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (Not Generally Providered by any Carriers). If you do not have these available to you you can rent an account on a monthly basis from a provider like Link2Exchange. Standard rates for Exchange Mailboxes start around $9.95/m and the BlackBerry Enterprise Server is an additional $9.95/m so your total with an Exchange/BES provider will be around $19.90/m

Link2Exchange.com is currently offering a 6 Month Free Trial of the BES piece - which will save you $9.95/m for the first 6 months.

Hope this helps break down costs for this type of service for people.

[bogman]

Final update on this. I went ahead and signed up for T-Mobile. When I got my SIM, I called to confirm that BES had been added - it hadn't. They came back and said they'd add it for £35. I explained that I'd been told it was £10. They said that was a mistake. I said I would cancel my new contract in that case - and they apologised and accepted the cancellation! What a waste of time!

Its a real pity that BES is so expensive. I'd like the extra functionality, but I have Google Mail today with BIS so already have good email integration. So, its hard to justify £40 to £50 total cost for the calendar and tasks integration?

[voda_black]

Originally Posted by bogman

Final update on this. I went ahead and signed up for T-Mobile. When I got my SIM, I called to confirm that BES had been added - it hadn't. They came back and said they'd add it for £35. I explained that I'd been told it was £10. They said that was a mistake. I said I would cancel my new contract in that case - and they apologised and accepted the cancellation! What a waste of time!

Of course! - its T-Mobile! They will make such mistakes! I re-iterate, in my view, its not a network worth being on!