At work I only have partial internet access, and no Briskoda :eek:. When I work nights and weekends it would be good if I could use my laptop to access the internet, MSN etc.

Has anyone got any experience of mobile broadband from Vodaphone, O2 etc. and what to look for or would recommend?

Thanks.

I have been using T-Mobile Web'n'walk on one of their USB modems for over a year now and could not be happier. Speeds of up to 3.6Mbps and a generous fair usage policy (16GB data per month).

On renewal, I just got it for £10 per month and their plan includes free usage of their WiFi hotspots. Once you have the modem you send a txt and they give you your WiFi user name and password.

I have only been in 2 uk area's without HSDPA, Norwich and Camarthen in wales.

Highly recommended imho.

Try this site:

Top 10 Broadband » Mobile Broadband Comparison - 20+ Deals - Compare Mobile Broadband Dongles. Mobile Internet on the move.

Comparison of all mobile broadband deals... some of those speeds aren't too shabby either... 7.2meg!!!!

Phil

If you need a new phone and contract as well t-mobile with flext 35 are offering £180 of calls/texts and 3gb a month using phone as a modem for £42.50

Have look at 3 they are offering it for £5

Thanks all so far.

Has anyone else got any experience of using one? At the moment I'm heading towards Vodafone as they do a 12 month contract option for £15 per month at 3.6gbps and 3Gb download limit, which should be more than enough.

A T-Mobile package is a real no no for me as where I live is a dead spot with them for some reason :confused:.

Bugger, just realised the package I was looking at charges £99 for the dongle :(

I have a Voda dongle, through work. I dont pay the bill bit I beleive its 25 for 3gb but that may of come down to £15 now.

Coverage of 3g is FAR FAR superior to o2, t-mobile and Orange. I would say that "3" and Voda have about the same coverage for 3g.

Please no one come back and say "well I get more T-mobile where I live..." etc as you will find that voda and 3 do actually cover more than the others

(PS, maybe do a search and see what I do for a living)

Anyway, the actual dongle (Huwai) works seamlesly and requires no complicated SW install as its all stored on the dongle itself so you can use it with virtually any PC with USB.

Steve

Orange and Vodafone have recently come to an agreement to share metalwork at their mast sites so this means that their coverage will be similar in the next 6-18 months and should help to eliminate most black spots in rural locations.

Interestingly they looked at sharing transmitters and looked into seting up a joint company to do so but mutually decided it was less hassle just to share the metalwork instead.

Orange and Vodafone have recently come to an agreement to share metalwork at their mast sites so this means that their coverage will be similar in the next 6-18 months and should help to eliminate most black spots in rural locations.

Interestingly they looked at sharing transmitters and looked into seting up a joint company to do so but mutually decided it was less hassle just to share the metalwork instead.

All networks share the sites, mainly those operated by NGW/Arqiva etc but many towers are owned by one operator and then another (or several) jump on afterwards.

What is going to happen in SOME sites, is that they are going to share the anntenna's, probably to get around tight planning permission.

To confuse things even more, UMTS operates on something like 2.1Ghz (cant remember of top of my head), where normal 2g operates (in UK) at 900 and 1800Mhz. OFCOM (or whatever they are called this week) are trying to get some of the 900 frequencies back (from 02 and voda) to give to Orange and T mobile. This is cos 900 has better in building penetration than 1800. But then there is talk that if some 900 is free'd up then that can in fact be used for UMTS services, which undoubtedly improve coverage as the lower frequencies will give better coverage.

The whole thing about UMTS (3G) is that it hasnt taken off as much as anticipated. Those that paid a fortune for the licenses had to get a certain percentage coverage within tight deadlines else the licenses would be revoked or fined. Some of the networks have just built enough to cover the bare minimum to meet the terms of the licence. Others have made more of an effort and got much better coverage, well above the minimum required.

From personal experience of 3g coverage, like I said Voda and 3 are tops. I can say this cos I will quite often do a network search on my phone to see what is available just in case I ever have to buy a 3g card myself.

Im no expert, Im just relaying what I have heard from the "trade" as it were.

Steve

I have a Voda dongle, through work. I dont pay the bill bit I beleive its 25 for 3gb but that may of come down to £15 now.

Coverage of 3g is FAR FAR superior to o2, t-mobile and Orange. I would say that "3" and Voda have about the same coverage for 3g.

Please no one come back and say "well I get more T-mobile where I live..." etc as you will find that voda and 3 do actually cover more than the others

(PS, maybe do a search and see what I do for a living)

Anyway, the actual dongle (Huwai) works seamlesly and requires no complicated SW install as its all stored on the dongle itself so you can use it with virtually any PC with USB.

Steve

I have the Huwai dongle on 3 and it's been brilliant, picks up HSDPA virtually eveywhere I have been and is suprisingly fast.

As above the software is on the actual dongle so no CD to lose and easy to move from PC to PC.

Got mine from CPW, free dongle, £10 per month with a 1Gb limit. Been using it about six weeks now and have only downloaded 25mb.

I've used it for two years and like it. One snag, though: Sweden is a big but sparsely populated country so if you leave the cities you'll find huge gaps in 3G coverage. In my weekend cottage I only get the low-speed GPRS access unless I use an external antenna. And it's only the old PCMCIA cards that allow for en extra antenna, the dongles don't.

I don't think this is a great problem in the UK, but if you look forward to Internet access in remote Welsh valleys or in the outer Hebrides you may be disappointed.

Thanks again everyone.

I'm now looking at 3. Any last minute warnings?

AIUI 3 and T-mobile are entering an agreement to share their NETWORK - not masts, antennas or hardware, but the actual network. So a T-mob user will be able to seamlessly have coverage via the 3 network in an area where T-mob has no 3g coverage.

Orange and Vodafone are doing something similar.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but that's my understanding of it.

Thanks again everyone.

I'm now looking at 3. Any last minute warnings?

I've been with 3 for about 6 months now and no complaints. I don't have a data plan or dongle, but I've been very impressed with data speeds on my phone.

Thanks again to one and all for your experiences and advice. Have just ordered one from 3, fingers crossed it's worth it.

We use Vodafone for mobile internet access at work. Everyone has been pretty pleased with it so far.

AIUI 3 and T-mobile are entering an agreement to share their NETWORK - not masts, antennas or hardware, but the actual network. So a T-mob user will be able to seamlessly have coverage via the 3 network in an area where T-mob has no 3g coverage.

Orange and Vodafone are doing something similar.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but that's my understanding of it.

Yes, think your right, certainly about the first bit (my pal does maintenance for 3) not sure about the second one, although as things get more competitive they need to start looking at cost efficiencies.

Steve

I use a Vodafone USB stick and as long as you have a 3G reception the speed is phenomanal. it was a lot faster than my 6mbps broadband i had at home and its only supposed to be 7.2mbps.

if you check here for where you work and home etc and as long as the area is red you get 3G.

Vodafone Coverage Viewer

If you dont have 3G then it can sometimes be frustrating. I currently dont have it were i work but its still quick enough to check mail and browse briskoda etc it would take ages to watch youtube etc tho

it cost £39 for the USB stick and £15 per month for 3GB of download. Which is more than ample unless your gonna start downloading films etc.

hth

Carl

Thanks all so far.

Has anyone else got any experience of using one? At the moment I'm heading towards Vodafone as they do a 12 month contract option for £15 per month at 3.6gbps and 3Gb download limit, which should be more than enough.

A T-Mobile package is a real no no for me as where I live is a dead spot with them for some reason :confused:.

My Nephew is in the forces and is always being posted all over the UK so he took up a Vodaphone package through Phones 4U. He uses a Mac and thinks it is brill. Recently he was trying to get festival tickets online and some of his mates were doing the same on fixed broadband and just coudn't get through but he managed in only a few attempts, in the end he got tickets for all his mates as they just couldn't get through.

I think Vodafone has the fastest connection as well

i use 3 found the coverage great.. one of my custs ordered 10 x voda dongles... returned them within a week and changed to 3...

and its cheap!

I'm now using the 3G modem to post this, first impressions are good .

Many thanks everyone.