Slovenian mobile operators
I used to believe I had lots of choice in the Slovenian mobile phone operator market. How could I not, at first sight it seems there’s plenty of choice. Mobitel, Simobil, Tuš mobil, T-2, Debitel, MMobil, Izimobil, these are all operators offering their services on the Slovenian market. Well, the last three are MVNOs, operators without their own networks, so they lease them, which also means that they can hardly offer much more competitive prices than network owners and are usually further down the line when it comes to implementing new network features. Tuš mobil didn’t have enough 3G coverage, I would love to check now but the coverage map on their website isn’t working.
I started off at Mobitel where I was a subscriber since the I started using a cell phone (apart from a short stint at Vega), but I had to change subscriptions due to a change in packages. I’m an iPhone user so good data rates and bandwidth are important to me.
The Simobil fiasco
So I tried Simobil, as they had slightly lower prices and the majority of my friends were there. Network coverage was a bit worse, as were the mobile internet speeds, but nothing that I couldn’t tolerate with the lower prices. But shortly after I left Mobitel, they introduced new plans for students which equated the ones at Simobil and even bested them in terms of included data (1GB per month is plenty). The price incentive was gone, but why change for something that similar. Then I went abroad for two weeks. I took care to check out the data rates for the Netherlands and Belgium, seeing how they were waaaay to high, I opted for a package with which I bought 10MB in advance as I knew I’m going to use at least that much. I took care to always check out the used bandwidth statistics on my phone when using the data. In the whole time I went a bit over the quota, but still bearable by my calculations. Home a few weeks later, I get a bill for 180€ which of course included a lot more data than what I had used according to my statistics. Of course I complained to Simobil, first by e-mail, then when that proved fruitless, by snail mail, with no avail. At every part of the process the support staff were completely unhelpful, they didn’t bother to present any more proof beside the bill with the listing that I got at first. No logs, no bills from abroad, their own statistics, nothing. At every step of the way the basically just kept repeating that my request for more information cannot be granted and to pay the bill. The signatories on the support responses kept changing but none of them would produce any new information. In the end I had no choice but to give in as any legal course would take a lot more of my time and nerves and they are not worth it. But to this day, I get all riled up if someone asks me about my opinion regarding Simobil. I cannot stress enough that I don’t recommend Simobil to anyone, if for nothing else, because of the sheer incompetence and arrogance they displayed in my dealings with them.
T-2 fail
T-2 are new as a mobile operator, but they are already my ISP for my home fiber internet connection. While they are mostly great in that regard, their mobile operator side is a completely different story. The subscription per month is only 4€, so incredibly cheap that I had to try what’s it all about. I knew that their network is only 3G, they have only a few central areas covered, but in the rest of the country, the network is provided by contract by Mobitel. The catch is that you can’t get any data apart from calls and SMSes when hosting on Mobitel’s network. I could almost live with that if the signal wouldn’t keep dropping in buildings even in areas that are supposed to be well covered. Apart from that constant switching which had a extremely detrimental effect on my phone’s battery and my nerves, MMS sending to multiple recipients wouldn’t work and I constantly wouldn’t get SMSes sent to me. Sometimes they appeared later on during one of the switches to Mobitel’s network. Anyway, it was a complete technical fail and I gladly escaped after only a month and a half.
Mobitel
So now I’m back at Mobitel, which turned out to be the only decent mobile operator suited to my needs in Slovenia. It’s only been a bit more than a month since I’m back but so far the experience has been good. Recently we went hiking to Stol, a mountain just a bit over 2000m in altitude. With surprise I noticed a good 3G signal and decided to do a speed test. Here’s what I got:
Mobile bandwidth Speedtest on iPhone at the altitude of 2236m.
The view from Stol, the very same place where the test was conducted. Line of sight is pretty good.
Disclaimer: this post isn’t sponsored by anyone, nor do I own any stock in the mentioned companies. My main motivation is solely the utter contempt I feel toward Simobil and T-2’s mobile operations.
Photos from Moldova – Part 1
Despite the fact that quite a lot of time and other events have passed since then, I still haven’t fulfilled my promise to put up some photos from the trip to Moldova, which we went on during this summer. Before this innocent debt becomes a toxic asset as these thing tend to happen these days, here goes…
Moldovan government and the main square in Chisinau. A new liberal coalition was just forming when we got there, just after the second round of elections where the communists (in name only) lost.
The main church of Moldova, right vis-a-vis the government. The great majority of the country is Christian orthodox and on weekends, this square is full of newlyweds.
Selling cheese at the truly vibrant market of Chisinau.
Plenty of vegetables at the market as well, people from all around come to sell.
You can get a really nice quick lunch for a Euro or two.
Main boulevard, nice and clean, with electric buses which have been here for decades.
Mixing old with the new. Post office in front.
The boards and Lonely Planet were promising a lake full of swimmers, rowers...
...what you get is not quite as advertised. The lake was polluted and emptied a few years ago.
That lead to a certain level of frustration. Let's hope they fill it up again soon. Are you listening, new government?
Exploring the city, while using some quirky optical illusion. Or is that supposed to be a national symbol? 
Partying at night with friends from Moldova. Clubs are pretty awesome, relaxed and always with something going on.
The gobnik/čefur cultural elements seem to be amazingly internationalised.
Our hotel room, pretty good for 18€/night. And that's only half of it, there's another bed and a large fridge on the other side.
Moldova has wine of incredible quality at laughable prices. Of course that warranted a visit to Milesti Mici, a famous winery with 170 km of underground tunnels. Wine tasting & debate with a friendly Russian with dubious stories is mandatory.
World War II memorial with honorary guard scorching in the sun. Every 15 minutes another guard comes to wipe the sweat from their foreheads as they stand still.
Memorial to the soldiers who died in the war Afghanistan. The previous one, back when the USA were sponsoring the Taliban and Soviets fighting (occupying) them. Oh my, how the tables have turned.
A Soviet-era jet. They didn't leave the keys in, I checked.
Yes, iPhone is available in Moldavia while we in Slovenia still wait. In fact Orange has their most modern 3G mobile network there.
Orhei Vechi, monasteries carved in stone next to a river meander.
The dwellings of an orthodox monk.
The dwellings of goats.
If you ever wondered, cows indeed are fond of bananas.
Spectacular views.
Fishing old school, like with phishing, they also use the nets. 
Wandering off on the green fields.
The friendliness of our Moldovan friends really cannot be overstated.
Oh but there is more…
Filed under Travel | Tags: Chisinau, gobnik, iPhone, market, Moldova, monastery, Orhei Vechi, orthodox church | Comment (1)