Customer services told me that they can’t deal the matter further, and suggested I write to their customer services department in Doxford. Sent the letter yesterday. Will let you know the result.
What she did say on the phone is that the 64kbps speed will last two weeks, but if I subsequently exceed the data allowance then they’ll make it permanent. I’ve asked for confirmation or clarification of the policy as I can’t find it on their site.
My phone, an MDA Vario III (HTC TyTN II) uses WiFi or HSDPA mobile broadband. If I leave WiFi on, when I leave the house I get an annoying popup every time the phone finds a WiFi connection asking if I want to connect. So, I’ve been using the mobile broadband exclusively.
What was putting me way over the data allowance was downloading audio and video podcasts overnight. I use the excellent Beyondpod, a “free, open source, RSS feed reader and podcast manager (podcatcher) for Microsoft Smartphone and Pocket PC. ”
I’ve set BeyondPod to download new podcasts at 4am daily. What I didn’t know (and there was no way to find out) is that the podcasts used 4.27GB in October. The T-Mobile ‘fair use’ amount is 1GB. 1GB = approx eight one-hour audio podcasts or less than three video podcasts a week. I think it was October that I found the video podcasts, and BeyondPod will have downloaded some older podcasts too. In any case, three hours worth of video podcasts isn’t that much. That’s without any surfing too.
The day after my call to T-Mobile about their ‘fair use’ letter, BeyondPod released a new beta version. One of the features of this new version is an setting that prevents the downloads if the only data connection is mobile broadband. In other words, it only downloads if I’m connected to my home broadband via WiFi. I also found a button on the keypad that toggles between WiFi and mobile broadband, so all I have to do is remember to toggle when Ieave or return to the house. Even if I forget, BeyondPod won’t download the podcasts if the phone is set to mobile broadband.
In summary, I’ve worked out a way of reducing my mobile broadband usage considerably. I’ve told T-Mobile about this in my letter. Now I’m waiting to see whether they’re going to take a ‘fair’ view of my situation.
CBits Tech Support 