Best pay-as-you-go mobile broadband...?

gino_76ph

Hi there!

Me and my wife moved in to this property near Wimbledon and after applying for a phone line + broadband with BT i was told it will take a minimum of 4 weeks wait.

Now, i want to look for a mobile broadband dongle a device where i can connect multiple devices to it, a pay-as-you-go option (to use it only when we need it), has a decent 1GB (or more) of data limit and one that has almost very good coverage anywhere in London.


Any help please?

fimonkey

well avoid Orange, they loose your order and have appalling customer service! (even though they are cheap on comparison sites).

Call your existing mobile phone providers and see what they can offer you. When I did this I got the vodafone medium usage for £15.00 (30 day contract so just cancel it when you receive it - can do this online) this is reduces from the 29.99 online for the same deal.

Good luck!

Edit = 15 is £5 per month for 500MB data and £10 dongle charge - so if I want to use it next month I will pay £5 for 500MB of data. Hard to compare deals cos some are per time (ie days/weeks) and some are per data, and some are per both!

gino_76ph

I just bought the 3 Huawei E586 Mifi device on a monthly-rolling contract today.

It is definitely faster than tetherring my Android phone to my Macbook. But according to reviews, the website and the person selling me the thing i should get anything from 6-7MB speeds as (after doing a coverage check) i live in an "excellent" area for internet and web browsing, etc. indoors and outdoors. the speed i am getting (so far) is way below 1MB. (source:speedtest.net)

Is this normal? will the speed improve in time?

ukdutypaid

All down to the provider you're using. Where their masts are etc..
See here. It's from May but it will do you.
UK mobile broadband carriers compared
and this
Ten... Mi-Fi HSPA 3G wireless mini-routers

macman

3-4 weeks is a perfectly standard lead time for a new line provision from BT OR.
Mobile broadband is rarely an adequate substitute for ADSL broadband.

Buzby

The other downside of mobile BB, after getting round the network selection, mast location, coverage etc - is whther they have enough channels and backhaul to get the data back to where it is needed.

All it takes a an event at the end of the street and you suddenly lose all speed because the capacity is gone - it is a finite resource, and even with a good signnal, capacity will be the biggest problem.

gino_76ph

I found 3's Mifi still a really good deal if you are after the fastest available mobile bb i.e. HSPA+.

Speed i must say is slightly more than average but sometimes i noticed that whenever 2 laptops are connected to it the speed really slows down. in this case it shouldn't 'coz the way it was designed (and advertised) that 5 devices can connect to it.

The signal of 3 has been "just slightly consistent" with what it is advertised, with what i have researched and with what i have heard from reviews.

Any comments please?