Trip to Zurich Provides Insight into Power of Mobile Phone and Broadband Technologies
Dave Aiello wrote, "A number of CTDATA readers probably already know that I was in Zurich, Switzerland since Thursday visiting my close friends (and two of CTDATA's best customers): Peter Frank and Ramona Morel. While I was there, I had the good fortune to meet Peter's father, Dieter Frank, who was also visiting Zurich at the time."
"This Europe trip was uncharacteristically short, but I achieved a series of firsts on this trip worth noting:"
- First trip to Europe with a GSM phone, specifically the Treo 180.
As far as I am concerned, this trip confirmed the fact that having a GSM-compatible phone is the way to go for American power users. What a delight it was to be on-line immediately upon arrival in Zurich for seamless delivery of calls and SMS.
Yes, it costs money to roam this way, in much the same way that roaming used to cost in the USA. But, the ability to send text messages to the people at home for a relatively low cost made me feel that I was not that far away.
- First trip to Europe with broadband access where I stayed.
OK, I was there to visit Peter and Ramona, and not to work. But, I did spend an hour and a half on-line via the DSL connection in their home on Friday night. As a result, the disconnectedness many that Americans sometimes feel with limited English-language television in many places in Europe really wasn't an issue for me on this trip.
In addition to posting a story to CTDATA.com, I was able to resolve a billing issue with AT&T for CTDATA's office in New Jersey via email. All of this took place while I was sitting at Ramona's work desk at her home in Zurich.
Dave Aiello continued, "So, what about the bills? I'm looking forward to seeing the bill from T-Mobile USA that summarizes my roaming charges for the weekend. Although I expect that they will be modest, I probably won't get that information until June."
"Because I stayed with friends, I couldn't beat the price of broadband access if I tried. However, I suspect that broadband access at hotels, where available, is comparable in cost to that in North America. So, if you have the opportunity to stay in Europe where broadband is available, you may be glad you did."