3 mobile broadband

Mark_In_Hampshire

I posted this on an ADSL forum so thought it might be of use (edited):

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I've had one of the Three 3G modems for a few weeks now so thought I'd post a brief review:

We used to have a landline with ADSL however the line profile was only 1750 as the exchange was a mile and a half away, so it was pitifully slow compared with cable (though still qualifying as "up to 8MB")

Following a row with BT over billing the line was cut off. I assumed we'd now have to get a new landline from another company as resolution with BT was not possible, however I bought one of the 3G modems to try expecting it to be pants - really slow, many drop-outs, and basically unusable.

We're in a rural area which Three stated should get up to about 384kbps. However it connects as HSPDA and I've seen 1600 kbps with it. Oddly enough the speed and the signal strength do not seem to necessarily relate to each other (I get 3 to 5 bar strength).

Compared to the ADSL - it's very variable. Whereas the ADSL was consistently mediocre (generally performing at anything up to 2MB but more often than not closer to 1MB) this can spike up to speeds perfectly comparable to the ADSL and does so regularly - for instance, YouTube streams perfectly well. The BBC iPlayer works fine 9 times out of 10.

The upload speed however rarely if ever gets much above 90 so it's slow for making large uploads.

I also couldn't find how to send mail via SMTP however I use Exchange so it hasn't impacted me. It also can't have a fixed IP.

You cannot view certain content on the BBC website because the IP address is not recognised as a UK IP address.

I work from home; we can't get cable so we are stuck with alternatives, as an alternative to cable it is poor, but as an alternative to ADSL for I guess most people who don't live in or right next to the phone exchange it's not a bad alternative at all.

I have the PAYG option so you cannot run up big bills, it just stops working when you run out of credit.

7GB = £30 which again is comparable to ADSL ISPs. (11.75 per month phone line + 39.09 to Zen Internet for the supposed "up to 8MB" ADSL which isn't even achievable at such a long distance plus the care package so you might not wait for two months if it packs up)

I went with Three as opposed to Vodafone because I know that the 3G light on my partner's Vodafone mobile never lights up where we live, you have to drive to the dual carriageway about 3 miles away to get that signal.

As stated it has nothing on cable and if you're planning large uploads or downloads a 1.5MB ADSL connection will probably be a bit more stable and perform quicker down and quite a bit quicker up. But for us, with an exchange served only by BT a mile and a half away, it works well as an alternative.

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Funnily enough a letter to the debt collection agency refuting their attempt to recover money we don't owe, CC'd to Newgate Street, actually provoked a response from BT. This still rumbles on, they think we owe them £10 now when they actually owe us money. In conclusion I'd rather tolerate the slightly slower speed than deal with BT again and it's saving us money every month as we don't make many calls.

libertine08

I have 3 broadband (sadly). It takes on average 10 mins to open a page or e-mail, and those lovely people at Carphone Warehouse can only advise me to defragment my hard drive. I defragment and clear temp files on a weekly basis, and my laptop is only 3 months old, so not at all congested. I apparently live in an area where there is good broadband coverage, so I'm at a loss. The average speed is either 0.0/0.5kbps or a high of 150kbps if I'm lucky. I wondered if anyone else has had the same problem, and if so, whether they considered cancelling their contract. I would also like to know if anyone is aware of the cancellation fees that may occur. Many thanks.

csj_2

To Mark In Hampshire

I don't share your experience of 3's Mobile Broadband just not working if you go over your 1GB limit on PAYG. That happened to me when I first had it some months ago and, despite 3's shop having said that it wouldn't work if you go over your 1GB limit on PAYG, in reality what actually happened was that it DID work and the extra amount taken out of my next month's £10. So beware.

I did challenge 3 on this and after a long talk to India (fortunately they call you back if you send them an email) they did re-imburse me. However, I've been very careful since and I've now taken out a 5GB £7.50/month contract which was a special offer on Quidco for about 2 weeks some 6 weeks ago.

Incidentally, the modem that I got with my contract was a E169G as opposed to the E220. The E220 software is much better: you can see your speeds which you can't with the E169G. Again. I've been able to put my contract sim into the E220 modem and use that instead of the E169G (and disabling the autoplay for this dongle in XP).

mess0804

I have the 3 mobile broadband for about 6 months on the 7gb for £25. I have a phone contract from them, but when I took the broadband it wasn't on half price offer for customers as it is now.
It works really bad for me, slow speed, keeps disconecting (and I live in London). I am sick of complaining (they keep me on the phone for about 30-40 minutes each time) and I pay for this.... every time I call the Customer support in India, all they do is check my home postcode (WHY???) and tell me their coverage is great in that area ... than they keep me on the phone and put me to clean my cookies, browser history and so on and check my speed on a website. The last time they agreed that it was too slow and sent the modem to repair. It came back working the same.


Can I get out of the contract in any way? or do I have to wait for another 6 months and pay another £150 for something that doesn't work?

paperclip4201

So, with all the offers around for a free laptop with 3 mobile broadband it seems like an offer worth taking up if you need the service anyway, surely?

However, i have experienced a lot of problems with this service. At my place of work i have to promote and sell it due to the amount of money we make from it (work at Currys) but here's a warning for the consumer, i have had nothing but hassle from it; out of the 4 contracts the shop has sold we have had all 4 refunded because of problems, the latest customer complained after the 14 day cooling off period so had an even bigger problem. The signal's fine during the daytime but in the evening when usage peaks it's impossible to connect. Over the phone 3 are just condecending with the whole restart and reinstallation process. I advise everyone, do not buy this shoddy product.

My sales leader himself said that he feels like a conman and won't be promoting it anytime soon.

I haven't had much time, did a quick scan of the board and didn't see that this has been posted anywhere else, sorry if it has.

paperclip

Edinburghlass_2

I've popped your post into this thread where 3 mobile broadband is discussed, I bought a PAYG version from Play.com but have to confess to never having used as yet so I can't comment on how well, or not it works.

paperclip4201

Edinburghlass wrote: »

I've popped your post into this thread where 3 mobile broadband is discussed, I bought a PAYG version from Play.com but have to confess to never having used as yet so I can't comment on how well, or not it works.

Oh brilliant, i didn't notice this...

I haven't heard anything about the PAYG service as i deal with the contracts, though in theory it should be the same...

Diamond78

Mozkowitz wrote: »

Phone the centre and pick the choices to specifically cancel your service, you will be put through to an English call centre. They will ask you why you are choosing to cancel your account, and if they dont, bring up that you are willing to stay if your line is fixed. Chances are your call will be transfered to their in house technical support team.

I have the same problem to the poster you replied to. I have also contacted 3 on many occassions and be told the same thing but its no good and the problem still continues. I have emailed and complained that I want to make an offical complaint but all I was told was that someone would contact me back. Its like being ignored to be honest.My contract started in May. All I was told is that I could not cancel and would be liable to pay for the remainig months till the end of the contract. I would not recommend it but then again it works fine for others. It did at first for me but now its rubbish. I am going to find a uk contact address for 3 and write a complaint and send it recorded. They have a time scale to respond to you. If they carry on being unhelpful and do not respond, then you can take the complaint further.

herman2811

Found this on hotukdeals.

But can anyone clarify if it's for existing customers only or for new ones as well?

Someone posted the following links, which are apparently for anyone:

1Gb per month, £5 - http://threestore.three.co.uk/dealsummary2.aspx?offercode=18M1ECD009&id=1183

5Gb per month, £7.50 - http://threestore.three.co.uk/dealsummary2.aspx?offercode=18M5ECD006&id=1183

15Gb per month, £15 - http://threestore.three.co.uk/dealsummary2.aspx?offercode=18M15ED006&id=1183

I don't want to sign up for this and then have reprocussions, as I'm not an existing 3 customer!

tiamai_d

Just signed up (well, for my parents) who are new customers. All went through ok, nothing to say price would go up or anything.

Plus, you get 3 days to find out if your area is within coverage (which is a worry for my parents, not a good coverage area).

From what I saw, I'm happy (on their behalf, for now).

Go via quidco, the 5Gb is giving £12.50 cashback! Forgett what the higher one is giving... but worth it.

edit, £27.50 cahsback and £15 per month for 15Gb.