Free wireless internet and cheap 3G broadband article discussion

nickelliott

Hi all

Three are really pushing their mobile broadband dongle thing at the moment, but I just wanted to caution you all about my experiences with it.

They describe it as broadband, and maybe in city centres, it works at speeds approaching broadband, but my experience (in Wiltshire) is that it is just as painful as internet over mobile phones always used to be.

Fair enough, you might think, they can't help that. But the real problem comes when you try to cancel. First of all (and this is not really mentioned when you sign up), you have just THREE days to cancel (even though I thought there was some distance selling law which gave you 14 days to cool off?)

They also say somewhere that you can connect on up to three seperate days to try it, but again, beware: when mine arrived, I had to call their tech support number (joy!) to get it working, and it turned out that as part of that process, it connected, and that counted as my first day. I of course didn't realise this, and so used it on 3 more days, tried to cancel, and was told 'no'.

But the real rub is that Three have proved to be a company with all the worst hallmarks of customer service. The callcentre is on an 0870 number; it is impossible to speak to the same person twice; they have different departments that can't speak to each other and will pass you off between each other; the people with the real power aren't contactable; if you write to them (on paper!) they ignore you. Oh, and despite setting up a direct debit and saying on the bill "this will be paid by direct debit, thank you", they failed to collect the money and instead passed my details immediately to a debt collection company. Nice.

So in summary, if you're thinking about going for one of these packages, I suggest you research carefully, and if you go for Three (certainly the cheapest at several price points), try the modem thing as soon as you get it, and if it doesn't work for you, cancel IMMEDIATELY!

I hope this will save a few people the stress and expense I've had. I don't know what else to do myself, and will probably end up paying for 18 months worth of useless contract. :-(

Nick

Quinny_2

Went into a local 02 shop today,as I'm thinking of getting mobile broadband for my laptop.

Seeing as 3 and T-Mobile are knocking it out for £15pm with a 3gb limit,I sauntered up to the counter,flashed my best pearly whites at the young lady,and asked her what deal she could do for me,saying as I'm an 02 mobile and home broadband customer.

'£30pm,' came the reply.:eek:

I asked her if she was having a laugh,to which she replied,that on the 14th of this month,02 are bringing in a new deal for mobile broadband,but she couldn't/wouldn't tell me what it was,but suffice to say,it would be very competitive with the current market place.

So if your thinking about mobile broadband on 02,I would wait until the 14th,and see what 02 are going to bring out,that will be 'very competitive with the current market place.'

Ken.

meyore

OH works away a lot and will be for at least another year. He often ends up paying hotel rates for internet access, which seem pretty extortionate to me. I've been looking into mobile broadband in the hope that it would work out cheaper, but to be honest its confusing me a bit. 3 seem to do the best deal with a 12 contract, free modem for 7gb at £25 a month. Is this a good deal or are there better ones out there?

Sorry if it seems like a stupid question, but how much is 7gb when it comes to just going online, no downloading etc? Is it too much/not enough for a months use?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Quinny_2

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=844195

taff007

Have a look at the usage calculator on the three website which should give you a rough idea:

http://three.co.uk/personal/products_services_/mobile_broadband_/usage_calculator.omp

Also check which operators have a 3G network in the places your OH will be working as currently the coverage can be patchy.

Nytehawk

Quinny wrote: »

Went into a local 02 shop today,as I'm thinking of getting mobile broadband for my laptop.

Seeing as 3 and T-Mobile are knocking it out for £15pm with a 3gb limit,I sauntered up to the counter,flashed my best pearly whites at the young lady,and asked her what deal she could do for me,saying as I'm an 02 mobile and home broadband customer.

'£30pm,' came the reply.:eek:

I asked her if she was having a laugh,to which she replied,that on the 14th of this month,02 are bringing in a new deal for mobile broadband,but she couldn't/wouldn't tell me what it was,but suffice to say,it would be very competitive with the current market place.



So if your thinking about mobile broadband on 02,I would wait until the 14th,and see what 02 are going to bring out,that will be 'very competitive with the current market place.'

Ken.

i went into my local Vodaphone shop today for the same thing. £15.99 for 7.2Gb with a free modem but the contract is for 2 years
Mazz

rjrfoster

I hope someone is able to help. I'm looking at getting 3 Mobile Broadband which is currently half price for existing mobile customers. I've been speaking to their online sales department, direct sales (over the phone) and instore and am being told different information about the deal.

Some are telling me that if I end my mobile contract I can no longer continue to get half price broadband. I was wondering whether anyone has taken out this half price contract and cancelled their mobile phone deal to find that they are being charged full price for the broadband?

Cheers,

Rob

lucien2k

Be careful if you need to use 3 mobile broadband for more than surfing. I recently got it so I could work when I am away from home, it doesn't support SSH and some other protocols.

I took mine back and got a refund.

carolwat

Im looking to get USB mobile broadband but dont know who to go with. The price is the same but I dont know if I should go with vodafone, orange or t mobile. I know 3 do it too but ive heard their coverage isnt that great.

Any advice appreciated.

steven767

Do you want a contract or PAYG?

T-mobiles is the best value out of the lot, as it offers 10GB for £15 a month on an 18 month contract.

3 offers the best PAYG deal where you buy the modem for £100 and then top up £25 a month for 7GB of usage.

3 no longer has the major coverage issues that it used to; it has upgraded its network lately and also when the coverage is poor it has software in place which automatically connects you to the best O2/T-Mobile signal free of charge.