Free wireless internet and cheap 3G broadband article discussion

bad_bob00

Hi there,

I'm looking for some advice.
I'm looking for mobile broadband for a period of only about 3 months. I've seen some quite good deals but they all seem to be on a 24 month contract.

I won't be using much data - not fussed about movies or music etc, just mainly want it to upload posts to my blog. However I may be sharing it with a friend - would it be possible to connect using 2 dongles or would we have to take it in turns?

Wondering if anyone could recommend anything - would it be best to look at PAYG? Or is it possible to get something on a 3 month contract perhaps?


Thanks for any advice.

dev00790

I went into a Cafe Nero earlier this week, and they offer wifi to those who buy one of their products. :T

After viewing:
moneysavingexpert.com/phones/cheap-mobile-broadband
- "Free Wireless Internet", it seems that Cafe Nero isn't mentioned on the article. - The article hasn't been updated for over 3 years.

I've emailed the MSE via "suggestions" address, asking for article to be updated.

50Twuncle

I would like to query the claim by Tmobile that they offer 4 million free wireless hot spots to their customers...

I asked BT (whose hot spots they use) and they told me

"As a T-Mobile customer you have access to all premium BT Openzone hotspots . These can be found at places such as cafes , railways and hotels. You can check your nearest hotspot by going to www.btopenzone.com and clicking on find a hotspot. I'm afraid your mobile provider does not give you access to BT FON hotspots or residential BT Openzone signals as part of your contract."

Which, to me looks like a whole lot less than 4 million - perhaps 4 thousand ??

ioscorpio

Or have a look at https://www.ovivomobile.com

50Twuncle

snoman wrote: »

While I was out near some local shops today, I was playing with my new HTC Wildfire and testing for Wi-Fi hotspots, of which there were quite a lot. I saw a free BT FON site listed, which I clicked on and discovered that it really was free - no log in required and I'm not even a BT customer. I thought this system was restricted to registered users - could it have been a phishing site?

I think it must be genuine because it is listed on the BTFON website.

I can connect to "any" BTFON hotspot - but cannot browse away from BT homepage - I think that you will find the same ??

Gert_Lush_2

Can you use a dongle for a home PC? (sorry if that seems like a daft question to all you experts!)

50Twuncle

Gert_Lush wrote: »

Can you use a dongle for a home PC? (sorry if that seems like a daft question to all you experts!)

You mean - can you connect to the internet on a permanent basis via a 3g dongle ?

Yes - but it would generally cost you a lot per Gb of download !!
a Dongle costs from about £9 per Gb - which will (if you look around) buy you unlimited internet via a Phone line / Router...
Plus - you generally have to sign up for a 12 month - 18 month contract on the dongle ..
Don't confuse a WiFi dongle with a 3g dongle (WiFi is what your wireless router / free WiFi sites use - 3g is the phone (internet) signal.)
The speed may be disappointing too - unless you are in a strong 3g signal area, you may only connect at 1Mbps or less !!

Also beware going over your 1Gb (or whatever) limit - you will PAY heavily for transgressing (eg GiffGaff fine you £20 for the next 1Gb that you exceed your 1Gb by)
So basically - I would avoid 3g dongles for home PC useage

lilian54

I recently bought a 3 Mobile sim on Ebay to use with my Mifi dongle Huawei E5332 - the sim cost £13 for 3Gb for max 3 months, so very good value. What's to stop me just buying another one at the end of the 3 months? Otherwise I have to buy topups I guess - I'm new to this so this may be a silly question.

NiftyDigits

lilian54 wrote: »

I recently bought a 3 Mobile sim on Ebay to use with my Mifi dongle Huawei E5332 - the sim cost £13 for 3Gb for max 3 months, so very good value. What's to stop me just buying another one at the end of the 3 months? Otherwise I have to buy topups I guess - I'm new to this so this may be a silly question.

Nothing to stop you. It's actually the usual recommendation.

John_Stone

Has anyone tried OVIVO mobile - it looks cheap - has anyone got good/bad experiences?