So as I mentioned earlier, I’ve got two sim cards on my Vodafone account.  One has a Talker voice plan, and the other has a 1gb data plan.  I’ve got a Huawei PCMCIA data card that I used to use when connecting to the ‘net from my laptop.  I recently replaced my laptop with a Dell Vostro, which hasn’t got a PCMCIA slot.  Given that swapping my data sim card in and out of my phone is a pain in the ass, I figured I’d phone Vodafone and get them to shift the data plan onto the same sim card as my calling plan.  Sounds simple, right?  Not when it’s Vodafone.

So I phoned them during the day on Monday and was told that while it was possible, they (for some unexplained reason) were not able to do it over the phone and that I’d have to visit a Vodafone store to get it shifted.  This seemed strange, but I opted to not press the issue and drop by the Manners Mall Vodafone shop on the way home from work.  I did so, but the sales guy there told me that while they could give me a new data plan on my existing sim card, the Vodafone branded stores aren’t able to cancel existing plans.

Armed with this new knowledge, I phoned Vodafone back today.  This time around, both people I spoke to told me that it’s not technically possible to have a voice plan and a data plan on the one sim card, despite my assertions that I know people who have exactly this setup.  When I asked what happens when someone wants to get on the Internet from their phone without paying the eyewateringly expensive casual data rate, I was met with absolute silence.

The guy I spoke to on the technical helpdesk did let slip that it would be possible if I was using a Blackberry.  The phonecall ended something along the lines of -

"So if I called Vodafone and lied and said I had a Blackberry, you’d give me a data plan on the same sim card?"

"Yes.  Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Thanks, Vodafone.  Thanks heaps.

I think the best course of action is to go into a Vodafone shop, find someone with at least half a clue, and get the Vodafone helpdesk on speakerphone.