Can I force Betfair Mobile to use a 3G connection rather than a GPRS connection?

I  am with vodafone Ireland and also use a Nokia N95. I find betfair mobile quite fast. I have an €8.50 add on to my ****ed price monthly plan which gives me pretty much unlimited internet access.

Is it fast enough for in-running betting?

When I start Betfair Mobile I see a `Select access point:' menu as follows:

Search for WLAN
Connection
Vodafone isp
Vodafone ISP
Vodafone live !
Vodafone live ! Strea...
Vodafone MMS

Do you see this menu?  If so, which option do you choose?

You could switch the phone to 3g. I have n79 but htink menu's are the same on n95

Go: Tools, Settings, Phone, Network then on network mode go to UMTS which is 3g

I use vodafone live as the access point, otherwise the cost is excessive. Its definitely not fast enough fot IR though.

Thanks eng4eva.  UMTS does seem faster but as "My Vodafone is currently unavailable due to an essential upgrade of the system." I cannot check whether it registers as GPRS or 3G on my bill.  In any case, I don't think online bills are updated in real time, but I'll check again in a day or two and post again.

It's now Wednesday and www.vodafone.ie is still not showing any activity more recent than last Saturday!

Of 10 ISP items shown in usage since my last bill, 6 are 3G and 4 are GPRS.

My most recent paper bill describes all connections during the month as `isp.vodafone.ie Mobile data' with no indication as to where and when I had a 3G or GPRS connection.

Perhaps it is in Vodafone's interest to conceal such information so that customers remain unaware of how hard it is to find a reliable 3G connection.

There is a tiny 3G under the two-bar signal strength indicator on my phone display at the moment.  To confuse matters even further, this changed briefly to 3.5G while I was running Betfair mobile.

I will continue to monitor the situation and maybe will eventually understand the factors influencing the speed of my Betfair connection.

if 36 appears under the signal bar  then it is on 3g which is faster but signal can be unreliable in certain areas. 3.5g is twice (I think) as fast as 3g using the same masts. Cant speak for vodfone but I know t-mobile and Orange dont charge extra for 3g

If 3g*

As I mentioned above, Vodafone Ireland's price list does not distinguish between 3G and GPRS, so I may not be the only customer who took several years to realise that one is seven times faster than the other!

Sunday and Monday have now been added to my "Usage since my last bill" and record a 3G ISP connection lasting for 02:39:30 while I was at Leopardstown on Sunday.

I don't recall Betfair Mobile being less frustratingly slow than usual on Sunday.  Could I have been switching back and forth between 3G and GPRS during this single event on my bill?

I have been travelling for the last couple of days in areas which obviously have poor 3G coverage and have been unable to make voice calls.  After initially blaming Vodafone, I wondered if my problem was due to the settings I changed a couple of months ago.  Sure enough, switching back from UMTS to Dual Mode gave me a full-strength GMS signal.