Mobile Broadband
 

Does anyone have one of these USB modem dongles? If so what are download speeds like and which network has the best coverage?

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

It is similar to the coverage you get with a mobile phone, download speed is down to the size, I have a 3g one, but you can get 7.2g off vodafone

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

i have a 3 one, it works on the same principal as a mobile phone, the download speed is no different to a phone line modem, well i don't think so anyway, it cost me £15 per month for 3gb and that gives me 100 hours surfing, 2000 e-mails and download 200 music tracks and 100 2 minute videos, as i do not send so many e-mails i think thge time is added onto the internet. i went into phones 4 u near me and they were really helpful

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

its purely data that counts, not emails, web pages etc, I can do a web page in a few K or a hundred megabytes, they aren't equal when it comes to data caps.

coverage depends on where you are, voda may be brill in one location and crap in another, similar for 3, orange, t mobile etc. you need to check teh real signal whereever you are likely to use it.

I use my phone as a modem and get ~3Mbps most of teh time, in city centres you may be lucky and get 7.2 if teh HSDPA signal is good.

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

As far as I am concerned its the same as wireless networking is compared to wired.
Its not as fast and its not as reliable.

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

Posted via Mobile Device

Not as fast as what though. You are comparing with 20 meg cable, the OP might have been on a 1 meg line and it will be faster than that. I use my phione a heck of a lot and its fine.

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

I use my phone as a modem on Vodafone and you get 3 options, £1 a day - 500mb, £5 a month to the end of your contract - 500mb per day, or £7.50 per month and can cancel at any time, just pay for the month you need it - "unlimited" - note the ""'s before anyone says nothing is unlimited :)
OR you can get the dongle and pay £15 a month? I think it was last time I looked

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

yep KSH, thats how I use mine, £5/month to end of contract. Some networks don't let you use the phone as a modem though.

I also have a useful bit of software called JoikuSpot which makes my phone into a wireless access point so I don't even have to muck about with Bluetooth! :D

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

I use the £7.50 one because I will only need it for 6 month of the year max, keep meaning to check if its start of month to end of month or if it's a 30 day period from when you start it - off now to check before I forget again!

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

I use internet all teh time so its worth it for me, having data really changes how I used my phone, I think nothing now of emailing a picture home or uploading it straight to FlickR. Google maps when in a strange town to help me get about,etc.

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

my phone has a 800x357 resolution internal screen so nope :D

Also some sites have mobile versions that render better on small screen devices, my old N80 was brill with a 450x370 screen res, OK, text was tiny but I have good eyes!

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

o2 being one. I phoned and asked them if I could use my phone as a modem and they said yes but I would be charged for any data, it would not be counted as part of my allowance. Something to do with my phone being a Blackberry.

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

i have an icon 225 from orange witch is pretty fast its not quite as fast as standard broadband but its not bad im getting 7.2mbps witch is way faster than dialup

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

As entwisi says it is entirely down to the signal in your area. Even vodafones supposed 7.2 will be mostly in London or major city centres I suspect.

I've used a dongle from Three £15 for 3Gb (Can get pay as you go but need to pay £50 for the usb device). Where I was near Hull it was very good signal and I always found the 3g device to be faster than standard broadband connections, especially when I was using the Hull provider Kingston Communications!

However I only found it fast when I was in HSDPA areas or 'turbo' as Three call them. In standard 3g areas it definitely wasn't as fast as home broadband connections.

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

I was taking about networks not broadband. Wireless is not as fast or as reliable as wired networks. Then again if we are talking broadband 802.11 g might only just cope with my 20 Mbits/s download speed (when I get it).

802.11n is not as fast as a standard wired 100Mbits/s network in real terms either. They like to pretend it does 300Mbits/s but not in real throughput tests it doesn't.

As far as security is concerned you said yourself the other day that the countries biggest ISP, BT has set its customers up with an encryption method that can be relatively simply cracked. I had a read about that and could not believe how stupid they have been.

WiFi is good for when you can't use wired. As long as you don't expect it to be ultra reliable that is ;)

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

my contract was up with my broadband, i've just cancelled with BT both phone and broadband (have had to give 30 days notice) and there's a £6 cancellation fee to pay

i want to go with pay as you go broadband, dont want a contract, just want to be able to top up whenever i want to

anyone any ideas of which one to go for? i know i will have an initial lay out to buy the stick and then whatever to top it up

which is the best?

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

Why do you want to do it?
Is it not more expensive?
Do you have Virgin cable?

Does your dad not have broadband? You could share.

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

yeah mi dad has broadband, this is how i see it.....

i'm going back to work
my broadband cost me £14.99 a month now
my line rental for my landline is £11 odd a month, then i have my calls on top (about £40 a quarter)
so thats £25.99 a month without my calls
i pay ABOUT £130 a quarter for broadband, line rental and calls (plus VAT plus the charge for billing you)

if i buy one of those pay as you go stick things for about £50 (argos) i can top up whenever i want, no contract and no pressure on TO top up

i want to be saving money when i go back to work, not having more money to fork out than is necessary

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

If your dad has broadband then you could both go wireless and share his broadband and cost.
its surprising how far a wireless signal will reach:D

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

lol, he's not technical enough to realise all this Mick, and what happens when we fall out? which we do every other month, he's just as evil as me and would block it lol

but i know what you mean

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

plus its breaking teh T&Cs of teh supplier :D

the big thing is to make sure you get a good signal on whatever network you go with at the places that you need it(home, work, etc). Be warned that a good voice signal does not equal a good data signal.

depending on your mobile contract, with Voda you can get 500mb for 5 quid a month contract or 7.50 a month as and when and use your phone as a modem(phone dependant but most modern phones will do it). T mobile do web n walk for 7.50 for 1 gig but it seems they let you go to 3 gig occasionally(according to me colleague here). not sure about Orange or O2

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

Which I believe you do when you use your phone as an access point :rolleyes::p

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

Check the download limits carefully Shaz

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

Not on Vodafone at least. :p

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

If you are after real 'mobile broadband' as in the USB stick to plug in your laptop, and want pay as you go, I think Three is the best option, providing you have good 3g or 3g+ signal in the areas you want to use it.

Its £15 for a 3Gig cap or £10 for a 1Gig cap, which you can just topup whenever you want, however it only lasts a month each time.

Have a look at 3 - Mobile Broadband - HSDPA coverage areas for a coverage check. Click the radio button next to 'HSDPA' as that is the one you're really interested in having coverage for if you want true mobile broadband speeds, basic 3g doesn't quite cut it in my opinion.

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

As Cyfr has also said, not on Voda. I checked when I was taking out my contract as this one one thing I particularly wanted to do. My colleague here reckons he too checked with T mobile and does use it regularly.

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

i dont want it for a laptop, i just want to use it on my pc, i can plug it into my usb port on this cant i?


when it comes to it, its all about saving money

my mate has one plugged into her pc, thats on 3

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

They all work on USB whether its your phone or a Dongle. Your phone can also usually do it over bluetooth or in the case of some super duper phones like mine as a wifi access point. :D

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

My son goes to Accrington Academy (Moorhead), a couple of weeks ago they started a project which is being run all across the country with the government and was fortunate to be selected to get a free laptop to help with his studies,the whole pack came with one of these dongle things which is a 'Buisiness Everywhere' Icon 225 on Orange,with free intenet access till the end of the school year.It seems ok but slower than the normal connection we have at home.But its not stopped him using it,he seems to be quite happy with his new educational toy.:)

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

If ya just want to pay less than you are now why not go with some one like these?
Why have cheap broadband when you can have Free Broadband, compare our broadband deals

£13.75 a month
for the first 3 months
£16-99 thereafter
+ one-off set up fee of £29.99

This is the price for both Broadband and phone line

Line rental is the biggest proportion of that which is £10-50
Ya get free evening and weekend calls too

Although I wouldn't know what the service is like cos I have never used em but I would of thought that unless you will be downloading a load then normal internet surfing should be fine

Obviously this is under a contract tho

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

You beat me to it, i was just gonna suggest Talk Talk......

Re: Mobile Broadband
 

But that still works out at ~18 quid a month for 12 months.

not exactly "free" broadband.