Mobile telephones information
The Telephone Office can provide limited advice on mobile telephones, such as reception quality in and around St Andrews, the differences between analogue and digital services and the differences in the tariff structures offered by the mobile telephone operators.
Purchase of mobile telephone equipment is the responsibility of individual schools/units, but the Telephone Office can now offer cheap line rental and calls utilising the Vodafone / T Mobile / O2 and Orange / CCTA Mobile Telephone Offer which has been arranged by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC). Requests for mobile telephones should be made using the request for data/voice and mobile telephone order form.
- To view details of the Vodafone, Orange, O2 or T Mobile agreements/details please select the relevant item from below.
Mobile telephony is a solution to the requirement for you to maintain two-way contact at all times with your office regardless of where you are in the UK or abroad.
Further information about mobile communications services available at the University of St Andrews.
The four suppliers of University mobile services are:
There are four main types of mobile cellular radio telephony:
- Analogue TACS (Total Access Communications System) - the UK standard for analogue cellular phones.
- Digital DCS (Digital Communications System) - one of the UK standards for digital cellular phones.
- Digital PCN (Personal Communications Network) - one of the UK standards for digital cellular phones.
- Digital GSM (Global System for Mobiles) - the most widely used national/international mobile standard.
Some common terms explained
Short Messaging Service (SMS) Text Messaging
With the advent of the GSM standard comes the ability to send text-based messages using your GSM mobile telephone. All of the major carriers allow the use of text messaging and they all charge a fixed fee for sending and receiving these messages.
A text message can be useful if you wish to impart brief information to the recipient and you are unsure whether they are presently available. It may well be a cheaper option if sending the message at peak charging times. Be aware, however, that composing a text message is time consuming.
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)
WAP enabled mobile telephones function exactly the same as a normal mobile phone with the addition that you can browse specially created WAP Internet content directly on your phone.
The Wireless Application Protocol is a secure specification that allows users to access information instantly via handheld wireless devices such as mobile phones, pagers, two-way radios, smartphones and communicators.
WAPs that use displays and access the Internet run what are called microbrowsers--browsers with small file sizes that can accommodate the low memory constraints of handheld devices and the the low-bandwidth constraints of a wireless-handheld network.
Although WAP supports HTML and XML, the WML language (an XML application) is specifically devised for small screens and one-hand navigation without a keyboard. WML is scalable from two-line text displays up through graphic screens found on items such as smart phones and communicators.
Because WAP uses the present GSM standard its speed is limited to 9600 bps and it is therefore a slow means of browsing the Internet, hence the need for WML web pages.
General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)
GPRS mobile telephones are not generally available at present and no pricing structures have been announced by the major network providers. However the major players, such as BT, Vodafone, etc. paid many billions of pounds for the rights to use GPRS and these costs inevitably will have to be born by the consumer. Expect charges for GPRS access to be similar to or greater than ISDN and ATM land line costs.
GPRS is a standard for wireless communications which runs at speeds of up to 150 kilobits per second, compared with current GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) systems' 9600 bps.
GPRS, which supports a wide range of bandwidths, is an efficient use of limited bandwidth and is particularly suited for sending and receiving small bursts of data, such as e-mail and Web browsing, as well as large volumes of data.