PrePaidGSM.net Forum (Archived) - View Single Post

andy · 23-12-2005, 12:38

Thanks, Effendi

I had forgotten previous remarks about ?5 of credit being taken off, but even so, it looks an interesting idea.

I have an internet friend who quite often stays in hotels on business. I was horrified when she mentioned recently that she gets charged ?15 per day for a dial-up connection.

I started wondering about a 3g datacard in the laptop, and looked on a couple of phone dealer websites. This was when I remembered having read about this Wind deal, and asked you about it (by coincidence, the day after they announced the extended promotion).

UK networks seem to have very expensive monthly deals for low usage - eg Vodafone nearly free rental but 80p per MB. But it gets better towards ?20 for 65MB with Orange or 100MB with T-mobile, ?25 for 250MB with Vodafone, ?45 for 1GB with Orange or Vodafone (all plus VAT) ......... and roaming deals are more expensive ....... all contract deals, so not very interesting for members here.

So this Wind deal looks an interesting option, especially as it isn't necessary to do it every month, although it would mean buying an unlocked card separately for ?100 or more, and hoping that Wind would extend the offer again. Do Wind's roaming agreements with most networks automatically include 3g, and is the tariff the same for GPRS use?

But I'm tempted to wonder if it is OK for a sort of hobby level, but maybe not for a businesswoman who says she isn't too technical, and if there isn't extensive 3g coverage everywhere yet [at my home, Orange is better than 3, and those are the only 2]. Apart from this case, I can see it being useful for other friends next summer.

Some of the datacards are so-called Fusion ones, with wi-fi as well. The mobile networks are setting up deals with wi-fi networks - I don't know if these data tariffs includes wi-fi use as well, or if this is charged on top - I've noticed mention of ?6 an hour, but hope that was a different deal. And I don't know if a laptop with separate wi-fi already installed would roam across different standards as easily as the fusion card.

I don't have a laptop myself yet, so I apologise if some of these remarks are at a rather naive level. So can I ask people here for experiences of using 3g data services with a laptop like this? Is it as easy as other network connections eg dial-up, broadband or wi-fi - just a couple of clicks to connect - how do the server arrangements work?

ps - I'd reckon on installing a compression accelerator like Onspeed, not so much for the extra speed, but to chop down the bandwidth used. Text gets compressed by a factor of 15 or 20. So 200MB a month really should be plenty, unless going mad on music and video.

	(#18)
andy (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Prophet Posts: 2,128 Join Date: 10 Dec 2004 Country:	23-12-2005, 12:38 Thanks, Effendi I had forgotten previous remarks about ?5 of credit being taken off, but even so, it looks an interesting idea. I have an internet friend who quite often stays in hotels on business. I was horrified when she mentioned recently that she gets charged ?15 per day for a dial-up connection. I started wondering about a 3g datacard in the laptop, and looked on a couple of phone dealer websites. This was when I remembered having read about this Wind deal, and asked you about it (by coincidence, the day after they announced the extended promotion). UK networks seem to have very expensive monthly deals for low usage - eg Vodafone nearly free rental but 80p per MB. But it gets better towards ?20 for 65MB with Orange or 100MB with T-mobile, ?25 for 250MB with Vodafone, ?45 for 1GB with Orange or Vodafone (all plus VAT) ......... and roaming deals are more expensive ....... all contract deals, so not very interesting for members here. So this Wind deal looks an interesting option, especially as it isn't necessary to do it every month, although it would mean buying an unlocked card separately for ?100 or more, and hoping that Wind would extend the offer again. Do Wind's roaming agreements with most networks automatically include 3g, and is the tariff the same for GPRS use? But I'm tempted to wonder if it is OK for a sort of hobby level, but maybe not for a businesswoman who says she isn't too technical, and if there isn't extensive 3g coverage everywhere yet [at my home, Orange is better than 3, and those are the only 2]. Apart from this case, I can see it being useful for other friends next summer. Some of the datacards are so-called Fusion ones, with wi-fi as well. The mobile networks are setting up deals with wi-fi networks - I don't know if these data tariffs includes wi-fi use as well, or if this is charged on top - I've noticed mention of ?6 an hour, but hope that was a different deal. And I don't know if a laptop with separate wi-fi already installed would roam across different standards as easily as the fusion card. I don't have a laptop myself yet, so I apologise if some of these remarks are at a rather naive level. So can I ask people here for experiences of using 3g data services with a laptop like this? Is it as easy as other network connections eg dial-up, broadband or wi-fi - just a couple of clicks to connect - how do the server arrangements work? ps - I'd reckon on installing a compression accelerator like Onspeed, not so much for the extra speed, but to chop down the bandwidth used. Text gets compressed by a factor of 15 or 20. So 200MB a month really should be plenty, unless going mad on music and video.