Advice on dongle contracts

top_drawer_2

hello everyone,

I am looking for advice regarding contracts for dongles. I have looked at the 3 deal for £15 for 1 5gb but the connection seems to be dicey. I have been told T-mobile is very good as they dont charge for overusage but it all seems very expensive. I think (hope) 3 hours an evening viewing time would be enough but anything else would be great too as I often spend hours online researching stuff for uni. I am currently researching from the library but every company seems to range from quite expensive to the very expensive. Any ideas?

Thanks

MH

peregrin

First of all - I guess the question has to be - are you going to be using it at home? If so, is there a reason you don't want a fixed line solution like ADSL or cable?

If you really do want MBB, you need to check coverage in your area first, best thing to do is to use the individual networks' websites and put in your postcode to get an idea.

Then perhaps try and estimate how much you plan to use it - how much time online you want, how many downloads you plan on doing and so on to try and give you an idea of how much data you'll need.

3 is probably the cheapest, but as you have said - not necessarily the best. However that said in my experience in a good signal area the connection can be excellent. T-Mobile is more expensive - they don't charge for over-usage but there is a fair use policy so if you go much over what their policy says, you can expect to get warned and then possibly charged.

I think there's still room for mobile broadband to come down in price, it's a relatively new innovation, although mobile data has been around for donkeys years, it's only really been marked to consumers this way for 18 months or so.

Your final option is Pay As You Go - all the networks apart from Orange do a PAYG offering which you may want to investigate especially if you are concerned about coverage, but then you have to buy the modems up front which can get pricey.

I personally use 3's PAYG service as a solution when travelling or as a backup when my home broadband plays up - I bought a year of access up front and keep the modem stick on my keyring, haven't used it much so probably wasn't worth it, but when I have, I tended to get 1Mbps or so in a good signal area, not wonderful but certainly acceptable.

Good luck - you're right, the market is a minefield but I'm sure you'll find the package for you!

Snakeeyes21

I use the 3 15gb pay monthly. Great connection, but it depends where you live.
if you do buy it dont buy direct from three, buy from dialaphone, you get a free wireless router and 9 months half price (by redemption) and £30 quidco.
IMO the other providers are a rip off, 3gb for £15 dont make me laugh.

top_drawer_2

hi peregrin,

Thanks for the advice.

I will be using it at home but I live in a shared house and I am unsure whether I want to stay for much longer. We previously had a Virgin deal which a few of us contributed towards, this has fallen through (overdownloading on my housemates part) and i've come to realise how much better it is to have your own name on an account as when things go wrong it inpossible to make some sort it.

I had a look at 3 website and it stated that it could be variable. I figure 3 hours a day would be the absolute maximum I would be needing. I dont really download much just some music occassionally and some files etc for uni.

I will have to look more closely into the connection with three. What is a router? is that notsomething I would need to have a connection to the landline? Phones4you seem to be offering a decent deal but I guess I really have to shop around.

MH

Snakeeyes21

The router is like a normal landline router but you just plug the dongle in to it instead of a landline and use you laptops wireless connection. You can also have multiple laptops / computers connected from the one dongle when using it.
its a pain in the rear when you knock the dongle and snap one of your usb ports.

iwChameleon

Hi - I've been with 3 for the past 21 months and yes, sometimes the connection has been a bit dodgy but overall I've been satisfied with it cos I've tried using it in some really out-of-the-way places. Have been paying £10/month for 1Gb download and never used it all. As a teacher I'm on the net quite a bit - researching and uploading stuff to my own website.

I had decided to drop it now cos my daughter broke the dongle and I was near the end of the contract. Yesterday I phoned to cancel and after a real runaround got through to the right department. The guy started talking bout upgrading and, because I was getting annoyed, I just shouted that I wanted to cancel there n then. He came back with the offer of a new modem with flash storage capability (free) and half-price subscription (£5/month). I've never changed my mind soooo quickly! Definately worth a beer!! :beer:

Snakeeyes21

The router is like a normal landline router but you just plug the dongle in to it instead of a landline and use you laptops wireless connection. You can also have multiple laptops / computers connected from the one dongle when using it.
its a pain in the rear when you knock the dongle and snap one of your usb ports.