Comments on: The mystery of Vodafone’s mobile broadband filtering

By: Peter

Peter — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 14:15:37 +0000

I’m trying to access hackaday.com but since the filter list management are clueless I cant. A very good reason why manditory censorship is a very bad idea. Fortunately I can RDC out of the country to a place where this sort of rediculousness does not exist.

By: Mark Boucher

Mark Boucher — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:24:28 +0000

In my point of view vodafone services are the best services

By: foeverfred

foeverfred — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:51:10 +0000

I like this idea. they should just implement into computers already. schools/library etc. In the long run. It probably won't work... No need, I tried theres moniters the other day. No reason to make it 3D how about it projects 3D and only can see with those glasses like minority reports. Two Voices | Two Guys

By: Steve Cassidy

Steve Cassidy — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:40:53 +0000

Alan, thanks for the response, it’s all interesting stuff. I’d like to be able to have a full conversation on the pressures on Vodafone and others (for instance, I don’t see what the pre-pay issue is, since mine is a contract dongle, and I’d love to understand who actually maintains and justifies the ban list(s))…

If you can ask your internal PR team to get in touch with me, let’s see if we can take this further,.

By: Alan Burns

Alan Burns — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:17:32 +0000

I work for Vodafone UK, and (even though I’m not a high-up in the company) I can answer a few of these questions. Firstly: Gmail inboxes are encrypted with SSL. There is no way for Vodafone to view this information, nor would it be legal for us to filter it. Please note however that this bar (we call it content control) causes us FAR more problems than you would believe. If we had the choice it would be disabled by default, but unfortunately UK laws do not allow us to do that and to also still sell prepay versions of our 3G internet dongles that do not require registration. Likewise for the other uk network operators that actually offer prepay versions of their mobile internet services.

The bar is designed to block any content that could potentially be inappropriate for people under the age of 18. That includes: Alcohol-related websites, gambling sites, and of course, adult-only content. In addition, it may seem “random” at times because it also filters entire sites based on adverts certain sites show – if they are related to any of the categories listed above, then it will be blocked until the filter is updated (approximately 6 times a day). Please note that that was not an extensive list simply because we haven’t been given an extensive list – however, it would stand to reason that sites with excessive use of bad language may also be blocked, as I have found myself.

@rob That is indeed a setting you have full control over. I’m sure some reasonable middle ground can be arranged between you and Vodafone Italy, but because that setting is stored on your phone (Usually called APN name or access point address, in the internet settings part of your phone), it means your phone was misconfigured. GPRS data is far cheaper for the network, and for you, because it’s billed per byte rather than on a timescale. Older devices with basic internet connectivity often require the older WAP connectivity to be active, and unfortunately that’s billed just like a phone call – per minute even if you’re downloading nothing. I do understand that though, it happens quite often, and even though in the UK we generally offer refunds if it’s below £20, I’m expecting you’ll need to battle with Vodafone Italy to get them to reimburse you. One tip would be to not give up when speaking to customer services, and don’t get angry at the advisor you speak to – quite often there just isn’t anything they can do. If that happens ask to speak to their supervisor or manager, who can usually email the higher-ups to determine a reasonable outcome.

By: Steve Cassidy

Steve Cassidy — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:46:46 +0000

(yes James, I know. I’m hoping that the strange worlds of Google and PR will conspire to bring my rant to Vodafone’s attention)

By: James Turner

James Turner — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:35:45 +0000

I bought a vodafone 3g for use when I’m away. The first time i tried to use was to download a Divx codec and the content filter blocked it. I tried a few other things. Vodafone’s 3G dongle is useless with content filtering enabled.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:56:57 +0000

Oopsy, I meant b3ta.com

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:57:24 +0000

My mobile phone company (3) bars access to b3ta.co.uk and takes me to a page that provides links to:
Playboy TV, Planet XXX, Fetish XXX TV, Hot Lesbian, Bi Guys, Non Stop XXX, Gay XXX Videos, Raw XXX Videos and Channel 69 TV. I’m not sure what is on those pages but I presume it’s worse than the occasional swearing on b3ta.

By: Steve Cassidy

Steve Cassidy — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:22:01 +0000

contest it, of course, though I can’t say that you’re guaranteed to get a refund. A client passed through NYC on a trip with roaming data turned on and came home to a bill for £1,100: O2 refused to send the traffic logs with the domain names left in due to “data protection” (of course…) but would send the IP addresses of the servers accessed. We pointed out that the phone log and the billing log were nowhere near similar, and perhaps he’d been cloned, unawares: O2 refunded his account – or more accurately, left his phone bill 1,050 in credit.

It was then they discovered that he’s a lawyer.