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[MSE Lawrence]

This thread is specifically to discuss the content of the new article:

Free wireless internet
Find free UK hotspots & cheap 3G mobile broadband

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[The Candyman]

I have recently gone to T Mobile mobile broadband . Does anyone know if it can be used through a router to connect 2 computers to the net

[weegie.geek]

I disagree with the point about using webmail.

Properly setup pop or imap will use much less transfer than using a web-based client.

[garan]

If you have broadband at home you can get free wireless access whilst you are out and about by purchasing a 25 Euro Fon router and allowing other members of the Fon community to share a bit of your broadband at home. BT have recently partnered with Fon, which has increased the UK coverage considerably and also given Fon users access to BT's commercial wireless hotspot.

More about Fon here: http://www.fon.com/en/info/whatsFon

Cheers,

Garan.

[garan]

Originally Posted by The Candyman

I have recently gone to T Mobile mobile broadband . Does anyone know if it can be used through a router to connect 2 computers to the net

There are routers like the DrayTek Vigor 2910 that have a USB connection on the side for connecting 3G devices:

http://www.draytek.co.uk/products/vigor2910.html

It can be used as a backup broadband connection or as the primary connection. According to the spec page, the Huawei E220 USB modem (as used by T-Mobile) is supported.

I should add that I've not used one of these devices myself so try and find people who have and make sure that your device is supported before you buy.

Cheers,

Garan.

[hulltrucker]

I have been using the 3 network "dongle" for about 6 weeks now when I am away from home. Coverage seems generally good although I have found spots where there is no coverage - even though it shows coverage on the maps. Speed seems ok - fast enough to use 4 on demand to watch an episode of Big Brother which I had missed although this obviously burns up the allowance. I am on the PAYG version and paid £99 for my dongle as I do not need it every month - the months I don't need it I don't have to top up and I have a feeling usage charges will fall as more competition comes along which contracted users may not get to take advantage of. At the moment a top up lasts 30 days max even if you have not used your allowance - which again I am hoping may change later in the same way as PAYG mobiles did when they were first around. The real advantage of PAYG over contract for me though is that if you use up your allowance within the 30 day period you can just top up again rather than paying the massive "over allowance" charges Martin mentions. Otherwise I am quite impressed and if the allowances get a bit more generous I might even get rid of my Karoo broadband at home and just have the 3 dongle - It would be great to break the Kingston Communications monopoly here in Hull, but as I use things like 4od and BBCi Player quite a lot I am not ready to come off unmetered braoadband at home yet!

[diabolikal]

If you are using free, open public WiFi be incredibly careful. It's all too easy for people to set these up (just one laptop will work) and "sniff" the data - credit cards, passwords, anything.

When I'm in Coventry for Uni, there's a fake public wifi near where I live which has tempted people, and even real networks (our University wireless) was faked and copied by an attacker throughout our library.

It's all too easy to set-up these fake access points when people are willing to use them so never ever use your credit/debit card on the web when using one incase the connection is unsecure.
Another common attempt is setting up fake hotel wireless points, which ask for your card details on login.

Oh, and for the above post, POP3 almost definitely uses less data transfer than webmail... IMAP not so much..

[ADC]

Stations have it. Especially big ones. Especially the East coast line. Sit on a bench near the first class lounge and you'll probably be able to connect.

[point3]

The major drawback of mobile 3G internet is that connection speeds seem so variable - do you get GPRS speed, 3G or higher HSDPA speeds up to 7.2Mbps?

I'd like to get a contract for mobile internet, but which provider to go with? 3, T-Mobile and Vodafone now offer pretty similar data packages which work out at around £15 per month for 3GB of data download.

If anyone has a mobile connection, maybe they could run a speed test (Speedtest.net) and then post their results here? Please include location, internet provider and modem used. It would really help to get an idea of the service that is available around the UK.

Thanks

[alanjrobertson]

I've just done this to have a look at the speed of my T-Mobile connection - have a look at the PDF file below.

speedtest.pdf

Overall - very variable speeds, partly I think the problem is the increasing popularity of mobile broadband! Network sharing between 3 and T-Mobile should hopefully help things.

Cheers

Alan

[point3]

Thanks, Alan, that's really helpful.

It's nice to see that it is possible to achieve download speeds of around 1Mbps in Edinburgh and London (Bloomsbury) . Hopefully this should be an indication of the sort of speeds possible in areas classified as "Very Good" 3G coverage on T-Mobile's maps. I would have thought London Heathrow would have been a bit more zippy though!

As you point out, it's very interesting to see the variation in speeds with the same set-up in the same location too .

[gt94sss2]

If you are a BT Broadband customer:

- All of its tariffs come with a certain amount of free minutes/month for BT Openzone Hotspots (amount depending on which Broadband Option you are on)

- You can also join BTFON which lets you use other people's BT Broadband and FON routers (both in the UK and internationally) for free unlimited WiFi access.

There is no need for BT Broadband customers to buy any additional equipment - and you can opt into the service whether or not you have a BT Home Hub.

Regards
Sunil

[hstrike]

I travel by train from Havant to Waterloo everyday and want to use mobile internet on the train for some of the journey (probably the bit near to london). Does anyone know which provider would be best for this?

[danejb92]

When using free wireless hotspots it is best to be cautious, to be sure your data is protected download (onto your computer) the free Anchor Free Hotspot Shield.

This is a Virtual Private Network that encrypts all data send/received to protect it from being "sniffed" by other people

However, there is a monthly limit of 10GB of bandwidth per month

Windows and Mac only though

It says US only but this will not affect anything

[point3]

Originally Posted by euan

I have listed on eBay Invites to purchase FON routers for 5.99EURO's!!

What sort of range does a FON Hotspot have?
FON's website is surprisingly vague about this. Understandably it will vary according to local conditions, but are we talking typical ranges of 10 metres, 500 metres, several km??

[squawkbox]

I think in regards to 3G access, although there was mention of 3's high overage charges - I couldn't really see much mention to the Pay As You Go offerings (which I think are better value for money).

Just just buy a £99 USB modem and whenever you want to use the web, you can top-up (£10 / £10 / £25 for 1GB / 3GB and 7GB respectively) which last for a month. It is exactly the same as the contract, however you only need to topup when you want to use it and there is no overage charges if there is no money in your account!

[Twydallaer]

Orange offer unlimited evening & weekend browsing for £5 per month for contract customers. Daytime use is £1.50 per mB capped at £1.50 per day.

Get a bluetooth dongle or cable to connect your mobile (which acts as a 3G modem) to your PC and away you go.

[HarryPotter]

Hi,

Just for info, I have a 3 mobile USB modem it gives a 0.5mb connection at worst and a 1.5mb oter times, its quite fast and reliable.

I also have an Orange 3G modem from work, it is so slow, about 0.3mb at the very best.

The software is not as good as three's, it does not update the signal strength as you move around.

Orange is updating is network to be faster this year, but Three and Vodaphone have done this ao get a fast connection.

Orange are merging with Vodaphone so they can use the same RAN which will improve both of services coverage.

Three already share with Vodaphone I beleve so the future may be brighter for Orange 3G customers.

Harry.

[hulltrucker]

Originally Posted by point3

The major drawback of mobile 3G internet is that connection speeds seem so variable - do you get GPRS speed, 3G or higher HSDPA speeds up to 7.2Mbps?

I'd like to get a contract for mobile internet, but which provider to go with? 3, T-Mobile and Vodafone now offer pretty similar data packages which work out at around £15 per month for 3GB of data download.

If anyone has a mobile connection, maybe they could run a speed test (Speedtest.net) and then post their results here? Please include location, internet provider and modem used. It would really help to get an idea of the service that is available around the UK.

Thanks

Pont3 i have just done this - Using 3 network on the Huawei (think that's how you spell it) modem from home in Hull - I achieved 794kbs down and 247kbs up. I also did a test on my Karoo line (Kingston Communications) to compare, and achieved 3554kbs down and 303kbs up.

Interestingly Speetest.net shows my ISP as Torch Communications Ltd rather than Karoo/Kingston - the 3 one showed Hutchinson as you would expect.

I would say this is a good representation of the speed achieved on both lines (although the Karoo line is "contended" so it will be slower this week with kids on holiday from school etc) The 3 "dongle" is definately slower than a land line but it seems quick enough for everyday use and as I said before I even managed to stream an episode of Big Brother from the 4od site which was quite acceptable to watch albeit a little hungry on the download allowance.

Hope this helps

[hulltrucker]

Originally Posted by squawkbox

I think in regards to 3G access, although there was mention of 3's high overage charges - I couldn't really see much mention to the Pay As You Go offerings (which I think are better value for money).

Just just buy a £99 USB modem and whenever you want to use the web, you can top-up (£10 / £10 / £25 for 1GB / 3GB and 7GB respectively) which last for a month. It is exactly the same as the contract, however you only need to topup when you want to use it and there is no overage charges if there is no money in your account!

My point entirely sqawkbox - and if you run out of allowance within the 30 days you can just buy another top up and start all over again - contracted users have to either wait until the next months allowance comes in or put up with these massive overage charges