Free wireless internet and cheap 3G broadband article discussion

craig_29

T-Mobile seems to be one of the more favoured dongles at present and I would personally go with a PAYG dongle. I bought a T-Mobile contract one for £15 a month and I don't use it a great deal so I will be looking to get a PAYG one as soon as my contract ends in a few months.

craig_29

At the moment Network Three are doing an offer for £15 a month, for 15GB usage a month. The only downsides are the speeds are up to 3.6mb and its a 24 month contract.

I would also check out Vodafone who do a 12 month contract at £15 per month, with this you get up to 7.3mb speeds and 3gb a month for downloads.

macman

Depends totally which network you can get a decent 3G signal on at the new address. That should determine your choice, coverage is by no means 100%.
PS: chatting on Facebook is still using data, every time you load a web page, you are using data, which counts towards your allowance. It's a data allowance, not a download allowance.

netboom

You could always try the new pay as you go option. from experiance its best to do some research on areas covered and remember to find out how long you have to take it back just incase the connection is awful, i think they give you 7 days but its best to check with the retailer

arc

Hi All.

Am moving into Sheffield city centre. The apartment has a BT phone socket, but I do not think it'll be connected.

Looking on the BT website, it is likely to incur a £122 connection fee.

I am looking for a useable internet service, that's not going to tie me into a contract and not cost the earth.

Virgin Media is not avaible in the postcode area.

I think this is going to leave me with a mobile broadband solution.

Any suggestions on what to get? At my present address I have a BT line with Be* running at around 22mb/s, and DO download a lot - BUT i realise on a mobile broadband service I'll have to change my habbits.

I have a modern mobile phone, and a data contract on that - I can use that to connect a PC to the internet but with it being a mobile phone the FUP on it is 500mb (vodafone).

Anyone know what my options are?

I do have a '3' branded ZTE modem which i believe I can unlock as per a thread on here?

MarkLS12

Ask BT, there may not be a connection charge.

I thought I would have to pay the BT connection charge when I moved into my current address, but it turned out they could connect me for free.

arc

ok will do, but whats the min contract length with BT? We want the option of moving in 6 months.

PlutoinCapricorn

Arc, I paid £118.24 for a prepaid, ready to go dongle for 3 network that will last for 24 months or until the 24gb allowance runs out, whichever is earlier. This is around £5 per month, the 1gb allowance is ample for me.

You can also get prepaid 3gb and 12gb dongles from various sources.

TheJC

arc wrote: »

ok will do, but whats the min contract length with BT? We want the option of moving in 6 months.

I think the min with BT is 12 months. If BT would do free reconnection, then the Post Office should as well. No min contract (think it's 15 days notice) and is pretty much just a BT line rebranded - same broadband providers available, etc.

Line rental is a little more, and there are differences like BT Privacy at Home not being an option for free Caller ID, but if it's only for broadband probably won't make much difference.

Whether you'd be tied in to a new contract with your broadband provider, assuming Be are able to supply broadband from the exchange for the line at the new place, is something you'd have to look at. Same as if you'd be tied in when you move (and if that provider is available) if the place you move to in 6 months is on a different exchange.

Mobile broadband...

I'd see if you can get phone with the post office and broadband from someone else before considering mobile broadband as although you'll be paying more in most cases, the download limits are less restrictive.

If the home phone line has never been connected though, I'd go with T-mobile (if you've got reception) as they so far do not enforce their fair use limits. I use PAYG and buy Web'n'walk passes (works out at 50p/day) as they could start to restrict service for fair usage whenever they want - not something I'd be willing to accept with a contract.

braveheart60uk

I used to have a £15 month T-Mobile dongle but switched to the Vodafone PAYG £15 top up.
I use mobile broadband on my lunch hour and occasionally when on holiday. I do not download big files or video streams, only websites such as MSE and BBC News.

I have now been using it for about 2 months off and on and my initial £15 balance has reduced to.... £13.42 ! A great deal for infrequent users as the credit does not expire like some offers.
I should recoup my initial £35 investment and start making a saving any day now :-)

I realise this is probably not for the heavy download user, but it is perfect for those of you like myself

http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/shop/mobile-broadband-devices/usb-modem-stick-topup-and-go?compatible=false