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Telecommunications
The UK has undergone something of a telecommunications revolution over the last ten years. Where once you might have found overloaded, crackly and expensive telephone networks, now you'll find efficient services with helpful operators. Most urban areas have been wired for digital services, cell phones are abundant, and the Internet revolution has taken the UK by storm. Prices are still not cheap but they are heading south under the weight of intense competition. We look forward to the day (and it's coming soon) when all Internet access is free.
In the UK mobile phones are virtually given
away, although you will pay handsomely for calls you make. The good thing about
having a mobile phone is that you have the same number no matter how many times
you move. Therefore recruitment consultancies and, more importantly, your
friends are able to stay in touch. GSM works in the UK, as well as in Europe.
Some networks have special rate deals between certain times of day or on
weekends, or banded tariffs depending on how many hours you use. You may even
decide to forgo the BT service and use your mobile exclusively. These days there
are mobile phone outlets on every High Street. Shop around - the market is
fiercely competitive. Because you've travelled from abroad, retailers may not be
able to undertake credit checks. Don't worry. There are scores of
prepaid cell phone deals available, none
of which require credit checking.
The Networks
Four real networks and one ‘quasi’ network
currently serve the UK. The four networks are: Vodafone and BT Cellnet (the
original networks) operating on the GSM 900 system, and Orange and One2One (the
new players) who are on the GSM 1800 system. The ‘quasi’ network is Virgin
Mobile, who do not have their own licence but ‘piggy back’ on the One2One
network.
Pay as
you go vs Contract
Prepaid Phone Card Packages
Pioneered in South Africa, "pay as you go" (PAYG)
style mobile phone packages were a revolution in the industry as it gave the
general, not so well off, public, access to the convenience and security offered
by mobile phones. For young travellers that have just arrived in London, "pay as
you go" packages are a cheap and easy way to get started – and its important to
be contactable if you’re looking for a place to stay and a job.
PAYG packages can be bought at a variety of
stores from specialist mobile stores to supermarkets. Do shop around for the
best deal, compare what’s on offer. All the networks offer different benefits –
free voicemail retrieval, all sorts of levels of call charges etc. Generally the
phones offered with these packages are not the smallest, lightest or trendiest
on the market. All phones need to be given a thorough first charge (sometimes up
to 16 hours). Then you need to go through the initial setup (read the manual).
In order to make and receive calls you will need to purchase PAYG vouchers
(generally from the same places that sell the phones) and ‘load’ them onto the
phone by entering the unique number on the voucher. The vouchers are available
in denominations of £10, £20 and £50. Many of the PAYG packs include one voucher
to get you started.
Some people stick with PAYG, as it’s convenient
to keep your number – and it gives you a lot of control over your spending.
Once young travellers have been in London for a
while, settled down and found a half-decent job – they tend to start looking
around for a mobile phone with a contract. Once again there is a wide selection
on offer. There are new deals advertised in the press daily. Sometimes the best
deals are offered by merchants who sell phones exclusively over the phone or on
the internet – as they cut out costs and pass on the savings. Contracts give you
less control over spending but do offer far more competitive rates on monthly
charges and call charges. Many contracts also offer free talktime. Try and get
lots of free stuff – like pouches, handsfree kits, car chargers – as these are
quite often included.
Be wary of deals where the phone is supposedly
free of charge, as normally the cost of the phone is being recovered elsewhere –
like higher call charges or monthly fees. Contracts also commit you to paying
for, normally, at least a year – so be prepared for the commitment. Something
else to ask about is whether itemised billing is included, and what it costs.
All the mobile service providers prefer to bill you by direct debit.
Insurance
Often, when taking out a mobile contract, you
will be forced into taking out an insurance policy to cover theft and damage of
the phone. This can be quite useful, but it is another ‘hidden’ cost that can
cost an extra few pounds a month.
Theft,
Loss and Damage
If your phone is lost or stolen…
It is essential that you place a bar on the
line as quickly as possible. You can contact your service provider or the
network in order to do this. You may wish to contact your local police station
and obtain a crime reference number.
If you have an insurance policy please contact
them directly for advice on how to proceed. It is likely that you will need a
crime reference number.
If you do not have any form of insurance you
can give notice on your contract by contacting your service provider but you
will normally be held to the full term of the contract.
If your phone has been damaged, contact your
service provider and find out what they can do to help and if it’s covered by
any insurance.
Bringing over a phone from your home country
This might be an option, but do all the
research first and ensure that your phone is compatible with the GSM 900 or 1800
networks in the UK, and that your phone is not exclusively ‘locked on’ to your
home network – a somewhat unfair trade practice that makes networks feel happy
about subsidising the cost of your phone when you got it for free!
International Roaming
Once you’re really rolling in cash and are
popping into Europe every second weekend, you may want to have International
Roaming activated for your phone. This allows you to use your phone in other
countries that operate on the GSM network (i.e. most European, African and
Australasian countries). This can be really convenient, but convenience always
comes at a price – and the billing for roaming is complicated and pricy. You can
pay multiples of what a call would cost you in the UK. The other thing to be
aware of is incoming calls, with roaming you are charged to receive calls –
because the calling party shouldn’t be penalised just because you’re holidaying
in some exotic destination. Most networks offer the option of disallowing
incoming calls while you’re abroad – and sending them to voicemail instead.
SMS
– Short Message Service
This is a hip and funky service that arrived
with the mobile phone revolution. Mobile phone users and even internet users can
send text messages of up to 160 characters long to other mobile phone users. A
small charge is levied – but this is often enough to put your point across and
is cheaper than a voice call. You can Text Message people internationally for
the cost of a local message – which has obvious benefits. Keying messages in
using the abbreviated keyboard on your phone keypad can be a bit tiresome – so a
growing number of websites are offering the ability of sending messages from the
internet, and these messages are free of charge – even better! Setting your
mobile phone up for text messaging can be tricky, ask your service provider or
network for help.
WAP
Wireless Application Protocol is the future of
GSM mobile phones. This new technology will enable your mobile phone to access
the internet and give users access to a variety of simplified websites designed
for the WAP platform. Initially this will be useful for getting directions,
booking movie tickets and a bit of online banking – but more and more businesses
are getting in WAP. WAP phones are available now, but cost more than the
standard ones. Technology is moving fast so don’t get stuck with new, yet old
technology.
Traditional multi-player card games for which rules are available from this site are listed below in alphabetical order, together with the number of players needed. Alternative numbers of players are given in brackets, so "4 [5] players" means that the card game is basically for 4 players, but it is possible for 5 to play.
Individual card games of these types are not necessarily listed in the index below.