Using mobile to access internet on desktop

icannotbelieveit

I have a question for the better-informed than I re using a mobile phone to get internet and ISP on a desktop comp. with XP and no landline available. What is the best route to follow considering there are limited funds and an old comp. Any help out there, please?
If this has been covered previously I apologise ...just direct me to the thread. Thanks so much.

:think:

redux

The mobile networks now have fairly attractive 3g mobile broadband packages, with a USB-plug-in modem and and a gigabyte or more of data, starting at £10 to £15 a month. And as they're all pushing them, you'll probably find them fairly easily on their websites

And see this thread, about wi-fi or 3g access

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=739347

Sid_Harper

Note that lots of websites these days are big and chunky - so data limits of 3Gb, for example, are really quite paltry and not for heavy users.

sohurt

And also at the moment it's in the early stages so mobile 'broadband' is likely to be at speeds of the old dial up! lol x

d123

sohurt wrote: »

And also at the moment it's in the early stages so mobile 'broadband' is likely to be at speeds of the old dial up! lol x

I gather you haven't actually used it then?

Mobile Broadband will run at up to 1.8Mbit/sec, later this year going to 3.6Mbits/s and then 7.2Mbit/s, even in a non HSDPA area the speed will consistently be 300-400 kbps which is plenty fast for normal browsing. (dial up was 56kbps).

I often use mobile broadband on T-Mobile and never get towards the 3GB limit, I think the most I have used in a month I was away was about 1.5GB.

Choose 3UK or T-Mobile and the service is good, reliable and pretty good value for money.


icannotbelieveit, do you have a 3G mobile phone or are you starting from scratch? if you have something HSDPA ready you can use the phone and a cable to your desktop, nothing elese needed (once you install the phone software). If not, 3UK are currently doing the usb modem on their website for £69.99 on PAYG.

icannotbelieveit

Thanks to you all especially D123
This is a query for my daughter who does not have a landline and has a vodaphone mobile, not sure whether its on contract or PAYG. Its quite new so should be up-to-date. So which cable is required? A bit of technical explanation needed as I am lost in that regard. Just a user not a fixer!
She would like to get back on the internet but will have to get an ISP as well. As I said she has very limited cash to spend also.
:T

d123

If on Vodafone, I'm not aware of any cheap deals for internet use on PAYG, on contract they do have a £15 deal.

There are 2 ways to get mobile broadband, either with a usb dongle supplied by the network which is all self contained and just plugs into a usb port to work or if she has a 3G capable phone, preferably HSDPA capable (also called Turbo or similar) and the data cable that would have been in the box (definitely with Nokia and SonyEricsson models) and the "data suite" program which would be in the box on CD or downloadable from the website of the maker.

Once the software is installed (in Windows a very easy process) it's just a matter of clicking the icon and then connecting. I use T-Mobile via my phone (a Nokia N95), which works very well, but I do know of people who also use the usb modem on 3UK which is equally good.

As I said if her phone isn't compatible, or she just decides to go for the simplicity of the usb modem then the 3UK deal is the best at the moment, £69.99 for the modem and then either £10 for 1GB or £15 for 3GB per month on PAYG.

EDIT: Just noticed, if you know someone who is on 3UK who will order the usb modem for you it is only £19.99, they are offering £50 discount to any existing user ordering on PAYG.
Available at three store link

Best bet would be to start on the 1GB deal and see how it goes, chances are, for email and normal browsing it will be ample as the Networks all employ clever technology on their access points to slim down images on web sites to make the pages load quicker, it has the advantage of making the pages smaller as well, and isn't really noticeable in normal use.

If you post the exact model and make of phone I can probably be a little more specific on installation using the phone.

icannotbelieveit

Thanks Dave you're a real gem. Will get back to you when I've checked out all the details, later.

:T

Sid_Harper

d123 wrote: »

I often use mobile broadband on T-Mobile and never get towards the 3GB limit, I think the most I have used in a month I was away was about 1.5GB.

Choose 3UK or T-Mobile and the service is good, reliable and pretty good value for money.

I'll second that about T-mobile - the 3G data speeds are very good, and 3.5G is like a fixed-line connection.

However, browsing MSE on my phone - which I often do while sat on a train - results in quite heavy usage. I see the byte-counter getting up several hundred kb for a single page. If for example, as many people do, you're going to be using sites with lots of images and to-ing and fro-ing between pages (resulting in reloads) - such as facebook, hotmail, or BBC, and downloading music - you can reach your limits.

All depends on what you do with the web I guess...

icannotbelieveit

to d123
here's the info on d's phone:
sony ercksonn k800i and yes came with CD, USB connector, headphones and charger.

At moment cannot afford to buy a dongle from vodaphone and is on PAYG.

How about WiFi? How would that be set up? I read about a home-made antennae. What else is required?

Not being cheap ...just broke.:rotfl:

Thx