Does anyone use mobile broadband?

[leesharonweeangus]

Hi we are thinking of getting mobile broadband does anyone have it & if so what kind of signal do u get price service etc...

 

[RogerL]

I use 3 mobile for my internet connection - speed is very dependent, like all networks, on the traffic level for each mast - 3 is very good near main roads but less good in urban areas and very slow near schools (all the kids jam the network with texts and calls)

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

hiya, used orange at hillhead cc site and moreton in marsh site.

we have the mobile broadband when we go away its good for that.

jo-anne

 

[philKate]

Hi All

I Sell Mobile phones for a living and would highly recommend a 3G Pay as u go Mobile Dongle, 49.99 from anywhere. I have one and they are great, 3G have the largest 3G coverage in the Uk as they were the first to indroduce 3G.

The great thing about the pay as you go option is only use it when you need to, top up with 10.00 and get 1gb etc.

Note: it only last 30 days so if you don't use it you loose it, but thats the same as a contract only without having to pay a fixed monthly figure for 24 months etc.

Phil & Kate

 

[Ray R]

Hi, totally agree with the above post. We are with 3 and it has been brilliant , in some places you only get dial up speed but it has never failed to connect yet.

We have used it in Lincolnshire , Norfolk, Suffolk, Derbyshire, Lancashire and Coniston in Cumbria , when it has a high speed connection it is faster than my broadband at home, in fact I'm using it in the house now its on payg and I have a month left yet.

 

[Barking]

I also have a 3 dongle for internet coverage and generally get a good signal. There have been occasions though when I have not.

If you tend to be in the same areas for most of the time you can check signal coverage on the three website.

Unlike Phil & Kate I have a monthly subscription which is very reasonable and included a free modem.

Barking

 

[leesharonweeangus]

I also have a 3 dongle for internet coverage and generally get a good signal. There have been occasions though when I have not.

If you tend to be in the same areas for most of the time you can check signal coverage on the three website.

Unlike Phil & Kate I have a monthly subscription which is very reasonable and included a free modem.

Barking

thanks guys sounds like 3g for us then & now thinking about pay as you go but worried about 1 gig (roughly how many web pages can you browse with 1 gig)or for how long?

cheers.

 

[Legsmaniac_374344731]

3 is great but Orange have the better coverage with 3 coming a very close second. I have Orange but thinking about getting 3 as well so I have the best of both worlds.

Just one thing concerns me and maybe phil&Kate can help here. I know you can credit your account for 3 with

 

[Mikey1]

I use 3 for mobile broadband,i had the offer of half price

 

[Chris_374224489]

This works OK but be very very careful about your usage. If you are on contract and go over your limit they charge

 

[Legsmaniac_374344731]

Believe me, 3Gb per month is a LOT of browsing.

You could.....

Send and receive 300 emails every single day

AND

Surf the web for 12 hours every day

AND

Use Instant Messaging for 12 hours every day

AND

Upload/download 50 photos every day

AND

Download 10 MP3 music files every day

AND

Watch two 2 minute movies every day

AND

Upload/download 50 documents every day

And still only have used about 2.8Gb in a month.

Since most caravanners are only likely to use this for a week while away, you could watch some 300 You Tube videos alone before you hit 3Gb.

 

[Mikey1]

I agree with Legsmaniac

3 gig is a lot ,the kids used it all week when we were away i used it at home for 5 days when my home broadband failed and i still only used 850 meg in the month.

On your home broadband if the kids are downloading lots surely best to go for unlimited download,some very good offers now.

 

[Legsmaniac_374344731]

There's no such thing as Unlimited though. Read the small print and you'll find the "Fair Usage Policy" which gives the capping limit.

I do agree there's some very good offers around and I think Chris could probably benefit from changing to a better ISP if he's getting charged for exceeding his limit but please do NOT take any notice of ISP's advertising "Unlimited" bandwidth. It's about time the ASA clamped down on this.

 

[alunhve]

Like Legsmaniac I have the Orange dongle on a contract. Whilst away in the caravan I tend to use it mainly to check for e-mails, internet banking and a bit of light surfing like this forum, news, weather etc. so have never got any where near the limit. My first use of it was in an area without 3G coverage and GPRS was just about useable for most of what I needed but it was like being back in the early days of dial up internet access.

However it has also proved extremely useful as a backup for essential items when my broadband at home has had a temporary failure but would never prove satisfactory as a full time replacement as I regularly work with remote on-line databases over the internet.

Alun

 

[Chris_374224489]

I do understand the internet & my package suits me just fine. I live in a very rural area & have limited choice BUT what I said about the mbile packages remains true. As I understand it the basic contract package is 1Gb a month. This is nothing if your kids enjoy online gaming & video downloads.

I am not rubishing these mobile internet deals but I am saying beware of your usage patterns. I agree e mails & page browsing uses virtually nothing but this is NOT TRUE once you start with video & online gaming. I can use 1Gb in about 2 hours if I really try & I know of several people who regard 4gb a day as normal. Just make sure that they are not on holiday with you!

As I said forewarned is forearmed.

 

[johnfred20]

hi i use vodaphone mobile dongle and find it very good no problem where as internet via phone line was very tempermental i have no trouble with signal any where i have used it john

 

[mogfighow]

I don't know how these things work but like one looked up coverage for areas I go to informed G2 best coverageI have a pay as you go mobile how do I go about getting G2? sorry to be so stupid.

 

[jaffasdad]

Will dongles work in France? If so, is it more expensive? I take my laptop on holiday and it would be useful for weather reports, keeping in touch, etc. Wi-Fi is a bit hit and miss.

 

[foshy]

I have a Vodafone broadband connection and the connection type varies by location. 2G is the norm, with 3G only near the big cities. However, just like mobile phones a few years ago, it will get better. I have found that my mobile broadband is better value than paying for wireless on a site. Longleat were changing over

 

[Guest]

I currently have a Vodaphone 'dongle' for my laptop. Buit it is of course connected to the monthly contract for the mobile phone. The big problem is it works best in your country of source, which in my case is Hungary. If i travel over to Austria then i pay roaming charges.

Sooner or later there will be a EU wide scheme, but not yet.

 

[Reg]

I use orange GPRS mainly because it allows me to use my PAYGo phone both at home and abroad. OK so using it abroad is a bit pricey but it's only to keep in touch with family and it is possible to keep the costs down.

I have a Sony Erricsson K310 (not the latest model now) which cost me