Bargain mobile broadband from 3 - £7.50 a month with free modem!

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

Yeah, but got something of an idiot. I was trying to explain that if i'm on a train from Norfolk to London I cut thru swathes of only 2G coverage, surely it should work?

P

[Guest Dr Who]

So i'm completely confused now, I have 2G at home (and obviously 3G when travelling etc. when i'll mostly be using this), but I kinda assumed it'd work in 2G coverage, just slow. Is this not the case?

:D

P

I take it by that, that you haven't got it working? I tried to set up a PAYG SIM with my old 3G vodafone modem the other month for my friend and it point blank refused to work on his canal boat, despite the fact it was fine with my TMob SIM, wouldn't even pick up a signal. Eventually got round to trying it at my flat (good 3G signal) and it worked fine. Wonder whether these data SIMS have a problem with 2G networks - seems unlikely but is the only other option that the modem you have doesn't support 2G, which also seems unlikely.

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

Nope :D

I've put the SIM in a phone and it doesn't pick up a network either. All I can assume is it'll ONLY connect to the 3 network (and not roam on 2G O2 / Orange), which is frankly ridiculous IMHO.

P

[Guest blackhorse]

Nope :D

I've put the SIM in a phone and it doesn't pick up a network either. All I can assume is it'll ONLY connect to the 3 network (and not roam on 2G O2 / Orange), which is frankly ridiculous IMHO.

P

I would send it back mate, under the 14 day money back.

Whilst £7.50 per month for 5gb is a cracking price, but not worth it if you cant get any benefit to what you already have!

[Guest blackhorse]

Blackhorse - I didn't realise you weren't a Plus member. Why the heck not? How can you afford not to be? Do you actually buy the essential software that Plus members get for free? Get your Plus membership THEN get a nice shiny USB dongle....

:D

I used to be a plus member back in the day, must be about 4 year ago now! Just sold a few bits on ebay so going to use my paypal money, (kinda feels like im spending someone elses money!!)

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

I would send it back mate, under the 14 day money back.

Whilst £7.50 per month for 5gb is a cracking price, but not worth it if you cant get any benefit to what you already have!

That's the plan. Everyone else's sticks roam to 2G, seems 3 are the only exception. DOH!

P

[Guest Confucious]

That is pretty useless. Can I cancel mine before they send it or do I have to wait and then return it?

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

They've probably sent it already?

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[Guest Paul (MVP)]

Just started the returns process... shame :D

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[Guest Confucious]

They've probably sent it already?

P

No, I asked for a Saturday delivery.

[Guest Mark]

I've just had to cancel mine for the same reason as Paul.

I thought it would work using Orange but apparently not. This did take the operator nearly half an hour to work out though! I dunno what coverage map he was looking at though... lol

[Guest Dr Who]

I've just had to cancel mine for the same reason as Paul.

I thought it would work using Orange but apparently not. This did take the operator nearly half an hour to work out though! I dunno what coverage map he was looking at though... lol

I would guess that for a lot of people that is a bonus - no roaming means no extortionate costs.

[Guest Confucious]

It isn't roaming - with Three's phones when they can't get a 3G signal they fall back to 2G just like any other operators - but as Three don't have a 2G network they 'piggyback' on Orange's which Three pay Orange for but the end user doesn't.

[Guest Mark]

It isn't roaming - with Three's phones when they can't get a 3G signal they fall back to 2G just like any other operators - but as Three don't have a 2G network they 'piggyback' on Orange's which Three pay Orange for but the end user doesn't.

And i'm guessing that Orange would charge 3 a fair bit if you used all of your 5gb allowance!

I'm guessing 3 got a better deal from Orange than they used to get when they used o2 as their backup network.

[Guest Eriktheviking]

can any of you answer a few questions to a newbie on this sort of stuff. I never really use "mobile internet" as i have free data on my phone and have wireless broadband in my house but: im going to uni in a month or so, would the 3 deal be suitable for reading web pages and downloading the odd song and getting emails etc as if i want broadband in my house next year im gonna have to pay £120 for BT to fit a phone line.

Also, i know i can use my SPV M700 as a modem for my laptop, will i incur any data charges from Orange for doing this and if so how much?

Edited July 24, 2008 by Eriktheviking

[Guest andrewkeith5]

can any of you answer a few questions to a newbie on this sort of stuff. I never really use "mobile internet" as i have free data on my phone and have wireless broadband in my house but: im going to uni in a month or so, would the 3 deal be suitable for reading web pages and downloading the odd song and getting emails etc as if i want broadband in my house next year im gonna have to pay £120 for BT to fit a phone line.

Also, i know i can use my SPV M700 as a modem for my laptop, will i incur any data charges from Orange for doing this and if so how much?

I'll be going to uni at the end of september, and will most likely be using a mobile data connection - the 3 stick shoul be good for standard internet browsing like you describe.

I have web 'n' walk standard on my TyTN II which gives me a gig of HSDPA access, but considering I get through about 6-700mb of data just on my phone every month, I think I'll be going either for one of the big 7 or 10gb/month packages or the three pay as you package that gives you 12/24gb to use at any timeyou feel like within 12/24 months respectively.

The only thing putting me off 3 at the moment is that they only have 3.6mb/s support, and I'd quite like the higher potential speed to eek as much speed as possible out of the connection.

The only other thing I'm annoyed about is that I don't want an 18 or 24 month contract for the damn thing, considering I will only be at uni for 9 months...I know you can get 12 month contracts, but that isn't really the point...

[Guest Confucious]

As Three's speeds are slow anyway I wouldn't worry about the lack of 7.2mb/s. Make sure you have Three 3G coverage and it should be OK for casual use but I wouldn't expect blistering speeds. If you want the fastest then you need T-Mobile or possibly Voda if they have coverage.

[Guest andrewkeith5]

Thanks for that conf'.

I'll be in the centre of birmingham (Aston Uni), I don't know about Eric, which basically means the network doesn't make a difference to me.

However, T-Mobiles mobileinternet tariffs are, at the moment, utterly terrible (£44 quid a month for 10gb if you don't want a minimum term of more than 12 months!), but vodafone will only let me have 5gb (i think)....so its a bit of a catch 22 unfortunately

[Guest Mark]

However, T-Mobiles mobileinternet tariffs are, at the moment, utterly terrible (£44 quid a month for 10gb if you don't want a minimum term of more than 12 months!), but vodafone will only let me have 5gb (i think)....so its a bit of a catch 22 unfortunately

T's website is £35 on a 12 month mobile braodband for 10gb? Here

[Guest andrewkeith5]

ooh so it is

slightly more tempting....still overpriced though i think - though i spose i'd possibly be able to get some money off for being an existing customer

[Guest shadamehr]

T's website is £35 on a 12 month mobile braodband for 10gb? Here

My brother has recently taken out that very plan, as his new house is a none TW/Virgin Media area, and as the last occupant had cut the BT lines into the house on the outer wall when fitting new UPVC windows, BT wanted to charge him a silly amount, just to have the existing line re-connected and ran into the house.

So he (read had me do it for him) shopped around looking at the current Mobile Broadband deals, and checked signal strength for web browsing via the rest of our clan, and our T-Mob, Orange, and O2 phones and Internet connection at his home.

He found (ok I found) T-Mobile to be the best mix of coverage and speed for him, as well as a more reasonable 10GB usage limit.

So he went for said package above, and has been plenty happy with it, it can be reported here.

Best advice I can give though, albeit just a snapshot, but I would advise anyone considering mobile broadband, for use also as their home access, to get friends on various networks with 3G to come and actually TRY their internet on their phone, at their home address.

You could even briefly go against the usual Terms and Conditions, and tether the phone to the laptop and see how it runs via the laptop, if you really want to test it. Only problem there is, a lot of people find tethering a phone with 3G/3.5G can provide very different and poorer results to actual real mobile broadband sticks, for some reason. Additionally, even tethering a phone varies, such as whether you use Nokia PC suite, or the new Nokia "Connect via Mobile" tool, which seems slower than standard PC Suite tethering.

But certainly, at least test the SIGNAL strength/reliability, at your home address, by inviting a friend to come with their handset, before choosing ANY form of Mobile Broadband!

[Guest Confucious]

Good advice from Shad (as usual) - it might be worth seeing if you can get by with 3Gb (download large files at T-Mobs WiFi Hotspots?). 3Gb is quite a lot - mind you, if you can get through 6-700Mb on your phone, maybe not....

[Guest Confucious]

Mine arrived yesterday and have just installed it, drivers didn't install properly first time but after a reboot and re-running the set up they did.

Speeds are not blisteringly fast but are fast enought for most things - I've disabled my WiFi and am now only connected via Three

I might just keep it and chuck the SIM in my Athena and keep the stick for emergencies...

[Guest Confucious]

Just run the speed test again and got so it does vary - but is acceptable for me. Just such a shame it doesn't have a 2G network to back it up.

On the speed front, it wasn't many years ago everyone was getting 512Mb broadband but it wasn't available in my village so I was still using ISDN at 64kb/s (you could double up but had to pay the ISP twice and as I was already paying something like £70/month...) so 1Meg OTA for £7.50/month is pretty good :D

[Guest shadamehr]

Update to my above post about T-Mobile 12 month 10GB £35 a month.

I've today been informed by my brother that he is NOT actually on that package. As when he went on to place the order, he was asked which package from a range of options, that he wanted. And when he mentioned the 12 month deal, he was asked did he not want to save money (per month of course, not over the duration) by going for an 18 or 24 month deal instead.

When he mentioned the T-Mobile site doesn't mention any 18 month deals, the girl said they do offer them. So he had a chat with her, and ended up electing for:

18 Month deal, 3GB Data Allowance, for £15 a month. Also including Wi-Fi Hotspots, on the faster speed USB stick. Forgot to ask him if there was a fee for the faster rated stick, as opposed to the slower modem adaptor, so I will update here once I check with him.

Overall, this sounds a much better deal for him, as Facebook and Email are his primary uses of the net (he's a Boy in Blue, so not likely to be hitting Torrentz any time).

And for large downloads he needs, he can use good old Ronald MacD's or one of the inclusive wi-fi Hotspots it comes with.

So as the link to the page included by the posters above don't mention 18 month deals, though thinking back, I remember reading up on them myself SOMEWHERE, then bear this in mind, if you are after a lower cost option folks.

They also offer the 10GB on the 18 month deal, if you need the higher allowance.

Footnote/Useful Advice: The two modems offered by T-Mobile... ONLY the dark coloured USB STICK will give you the higher speed of 7.2Mbps and HSDPA and HSUPA. The white cheaper adaptor only offers 1.8Mbps max speed and no HSUPA. Bear this in mind folks, as it's a heck of a lot more than a cosmetic decision you make!

Edited July 27, 2008 by shadamehr