Mobile Broadband? Which One?

[bolide]

Orange claim the best 3G coverage. Vodaphone has the best mobile coverage, I think, but Orange is pretty good as well

I can say with confidence that 3G and 2G coverage on the 02 network is rubbish

Nick Froome

 

[Sp!ke]

3G coverage from any operator is sketchy at best due to the higher frequencies of the 3G network (2100 Mhz) requiring far more transmitters than GSM (900Mhz for O2 and Voda) to get the same level of service. Indoor penetration will always be an issue until the government open the door to 900 Mhz 3G coverage (which is now in the pipeline despite TMobile and Oranges protestations).

Voda all the way IMHO.

Also consider buying a wireless router (battery operated) for your 3G dongle so you can use it wirelessly with all your devices even at the same time.

Like this

 

[bennesspipers]

Forgot to mention, get yourself a long extention cable for the dongle (3 metres or so), usefull if you're in a room with bad reception,you can then hang the dongle on a window catch or similar.

 

[flango]

Jay

I have had both Orange and Vodfone on paper Orange is best but in reality speed is much slower. Orange definitely best for Scotland though. I use Vodfone 3G all over the world and its perfect, I note David has problems in the M25 ring which is strange as Voda have high speed 3.5G network over most of the South I know as my Nephew is responsible for installing it. Also Voda customer service and tech response is far better than their competitors. My Current set up is a Dell laptop with onboard wireless, you simply put a SIM card in and as I say it works flawless all over the world. You can get some really good deals if you push vodafone hard. I currently pay £7.50 / month for unlimited usuage in the UK but there is a fair usage clause but for e mail downloads and normnal business use its fine. Vod and O2 were the first players in the market and as such the infrastructure and networks are miles better than their competitors also Voda speeds will be going even faster in Q3 this year

 

[x332race]

Vodafone PAYG dongle......I only need occasional access to mobile internet and then not for very long, so the Vodafone deal works well for me.....as far as I know, all other dongles require you to pay £2.00 per day (and I never use that much in a day) or have a 30 day limit.....

 

[jaymanek]

ok so Vodafone it is as no one has said a bad word...

Thanks for the tip re extension.. ive got one somewhere so can use it now..

 

[manalishi]

I have two: 3 and Vodafone. Both are PAYG because the coverage issue meant a risk of being locked into what could be a useless contract. So I'm deciding on them at the moment. Using 3 right now...

I also saw bad reviews of 3, but I have to say that it works well enough in the two locations I most need it (Felixstowe and Woodbridge). I get 3 bars out of 5 at Felixstowe (good enough for light surfing and email), and at Woodbridge I get the better connection (HSPA?).

I decided to get PAYG because I need it as a back-up for the landline broadband access to my online business. So I only expect to use it on relatively rare occasions as an emergency.

3's PAYG top-ups are time-limited, but I bought the "3GB for 3 months" starter package with dongle, and it's working out OK. Vodafone has the one that's not time-limited and that's potentially more useful for my back-up plan, but I haven't yet tried it in Woodbridge. If it's OK there, I'll go with that.

Both are pretty poor compared to basic landline broadband. And if I needed Internet on the move, I'd DEFINITELY try all of the PAYG things before signing up on a monthly contract.

 

[x332race]

ok so Vodafone it is as no one has said a bad word...

Thanks for the tip re extension.. ive got one somewhere so can use it now..

My vodafone dongle came with an extension....up til now I wondered what it was for...now I know!!

Bought it from carphone warehouse

 

[Dryce]

Any tips appreciated..

In the UK I use my Nokia E71 and tether via Bluetooth to my PC laptop or Macbook. I have the unlimited web bolt on with O2. Nokia PC Suite on the PC laptop set itself all up with no hassle apart from a stream of updates. Macbook setup seems a lot more fiddly and I still don't understand how I got it to work.

O2 don't seem to bothered by tethering with the web bolt on as long as you just browse and pick up mail.

The service falls back to GPRS in remote areas. (Which is an advantage - I've found that using a Three dongle in remote areas such as Northern Scotland flunked if if there was no 3G coverage).

 

[ShinyF1]

There's a difference between 'unlimited internet' on a mobile phone and using the phone as a tethered modem, which is what you're describing.

At work we've all got the firm's Blackberrys with unlimited internet. The firm have a very strict 'no tethered modem' policy, as they get hammered for data charges from byte 1.

Just been stung with mine on a train trip to Scotland - yet to see the bill, but was using the BB as a tethered modem for much of the journey where I could get a signal. Thinking will be a big ouch!!

Vodafone pretty good signalwise though

 

[Stratman]

I was on the East Coast mainline recently and there was free wifi on board. It's always worth having a sniff just in case.

 

[timskemp]

Just been stung with mine on a train trip to Scotland - yet to see the bill, but was using the BB as a tethered modem for much of the journey where I could get a signal. Thinking will be a big ouch!!

Vodafone pretty good signalwise though

My BB is on orange, I tether mine from time to time and have never been charged under the "fair usage unlimited BB data" tariff, which includes 1 gigabyte on a video support call one day from the top of a dry ski slope...

As far as I know the providers don't distinguish between tether and handset usage these days.

 

[MrT]

Hello Jay,

I've been considering dipping my toe into the water as well, but I'm put off by the long contracts as you mentioned. However, some of the PAYG mobile contracts that are cropping up look like they might be worth a punt.

You'll have to pay for the modem, but generally they are less than £50 so not a huge outlay. 2 deals that look useful are 1 from T-mobile, which is a flat fee of £2 a day, but only on the days when you use it - this might work if you are only travelling one/two days a week, for example? Or the other one I've seen is from Vodafone, quite expensive at £15 for 1GB, but this stays usable for 365 days, unlike most of the others which expire after 30 days.

Although it's undoubtedly going to be a more expensive way of surfing on PAYG, it might be worth it to try coverage etc. as you're travelling. If you're happy with a given service, you could then plump for a fixed term contract to bring the costs down.

That's the way I'm looking at it at the moment, anyway.. HTH.

Cheers,

Gaz

It's actually 180 days but still great value IMO. Be careful though because there is now a new Vodafone PAYG mobile broadband offering that's 3GB for £15, but valid only for 30 days.

I got a 3 12-month/12GB PAYG dongle pack for a touch under £100, about 6 months. I have had to abandon it due to poor signal in the area where I am now posted for work. In the 6 months that I've actually used it, have used less than 1GB out of the 12 available! So the Vodafone 1GB for £15 that's replacing it, should rarely need topping up!

 

[Troy]

I have had a dongle from Orange at 15 quid a month for nearly 18 months. Not had a problem with it on my main tablet, but has been very slow on my other one, a Samsung Netbook. Takes ages to get going. Orange have just sent me a new one, as I have agreed to a further 18 month contract. This one is supposed to be much faster and costs 12 pounds a month. I would prefer to tether to my iPhone, but already struggle with battery life on that and do not want to make things worse.

 

[Gawdi]

3 seems to get some bad reviews...

looks like orange or vodafone so far then.

I have vodafone for normal mobile, but was going away for a little while and decided on 3 payg internet access.. I was a little worried about whether it would work, but shouldn't have - worked immediately put dongle in, added £15 credit and away it went - faster than my home broadband connection...

Problem is I dont get a 3 signal at home, nor vodafone come to that..

I think thier coverage is as good as O2, as they shared the O2 network for a while..

 

[ringway]

I gave an old Vaio to my uncle and he bought an O2 dongle which was hopeless.

I checked his postcode for signal strength with Orange and bought him one of their dongles which works at full pelt.

I think all the providers have a postcode signal strength checker which is good if you are likely to be based in one area but if you are on the move you'd have to find the provider with the best blanket coverage maybe.

 

[Dryce]

I think thier coverage is as good as O2, as they shared the O2 network for a while..

No.

They only work where they have their own 3G coverage.

 

[kay7]

Hi People,

Im going to be on the road a bit in 2010 it seems so its going to be imperative to me that I can access my emails and internet via a laptop..
I havent got one yet but will probably get a small sony vaio or something.. I liked the look of them at the airport..

Anyway, ive never looked at Mobile Broadband and just wondering if anyone has any experience?

I want one with good coverage and relatively good speed.

It seems Vodafone, O2 etc all want you to sign up to a long period for around £15-£25 a month.

Question is are the networks reliable? Im not going to be doing a huge amount, only replying to emails and light browsing..
Is 3GB enough?
Whats the speed like with these USB dongles? I always thought it had to be a network card.

Any tips appreciated..

Vodafone Business !!! You get great signal and top notch customer service! Never had problems with mine ... even in Europe works great

 

[Dryce]

You get great signal

Except where you don't get signal .....

 

[stevieb15]

Just received my vodafone dongle today,
£18per month on a business contract.
Will update you when I have got it going overnight
Steve