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You might have heard the acronym UMA before in reference to BlackBerry. It stands for Unlicensed Mobile Access, but that’s probably not what you’re wondering. What does it do for you? In short, it allows you to move between an unlicensed network, usually in reference to WiFi, and a mobile network. For an article detailing the nuances of what UMA means, you can check out this article at Network World. It’s the best article I found on it. UMA BlackBerry devices include the 8820, the Pearl 8120, the Curve 8320, and the Bold.
Now that we know this, you might be wondering: What’s the difference between UMA and uma, as displayed on my BlackBerry?
If your browser says UMA in capital letters, you’re set. This means you can use basically all functions over the UMA connection. This includes making calls, if you have T-Mobile’s Hotspot @Home service, or the comparable Rogers service. Have fun surfing at high speeds with a WiFi connection, while plenty of suckers out there plod along at EDGE speeds.
If the phone says uma in lowercase letters, you can use phone functions, just not the Internet. This, clearly, is not optimal, and can usually be resolved by turning your WiFi off, and then back on. However, it might come down to using the solution to every BlackBerry problem. In any case, you should be seeing capital letters in no time.
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This was an unexpected bonus that came with my 8220. At first I was mystified by the “UMA” and the name of my wireless network on the screen, but after a bit of research I realized what was happening. T-Mobile isn’t exactly clear about what you get with their Hotspot@Home service, but I’m pretty sure that even if you don’t pay for the service ($10/month) you can still make calls over Wifi when you’re in range. The difference is that your rate plan still governs usage of minutes, so daytime minutes still count for calls originated over Wifi whereas they’re always free with @Home. For me, it just means that I now get perfect coverage using UMA at home over my existing Wifi router, a big improvement for no additional service cost.
I inquired about UMA on the Bold with Skype PR last week and they confirmed that UMA is not currently supported on the Bold; it’s not in the specs. But the Bold does provide data access over WiFi access points.
Correction: I inquired with RIM PR last week ….
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