Does anyone use mobile broadband (over 3G) as their main internet conenction?

[dandan]

I live in a rural area and the ADSL is poor (

 

I used a "Three" dongle as a trial and managed 2-2.5 MB/sec downloading and anywhere from 0.3-1.1MB/sec uploading so I am thinking of getting a decent 3G modem and router so I have Wifi at home with the data coming in over 3G. It looks like 3GB worth of data can be had for about £11 with a prepay sim off Amazon.

 

Does anyone do anything similar?

 

Three do a little "Mifi" unit which looks nice but I am thinking of going for something that will let me utilize an external 3G antenna to maximise my signal strength and also with an external antenna to help with the Wifi in the house as it's a reasonable size.

 

Mifi from Three (about £80 from Ebay): http://store.three.co.uk/Mobile_Broadband/MiFi

 

Combined 3G modem and router: http://www.3grouterstore.co.uk/3G/Telecom_FM_Dataroute_Voice.html

 

External antenna: http://www.3grouterstore.co.uk/3G/HGO-3G_Omni_DIrectional_External_3G_Antenna.html#aHGO_2d3G_20Antenna

 

 

Any opinions or pointers for me? Anyone experienced in any of this kit or able to recommend something different?

[Scott]

My Grandfather had this setup from 3. 3GB per month. A few times he went over his limit though. We have absolutely no idea how, as he spent about an hour on it at night, and it took him about an hour to open anything (he's a trier).

 

I would be very warey of getting a limited package.

 

Other than that, and the rubbish signal, it was ideal for him at the time. The only thing that made him move was that the signal wasn't good enough. If your signal is good then I would definitely recommend it

[fastcar]

I use a 3G dongle with 15G a month I get better download speed then my old ADSL router and have only gone over my max once. Never tryed 3G through a router though I never knew you could do that to be honest

[Shane]

We have locations where we are way too far from the exchange to get real broadband and have tried allsorts to get decent bandwidth into them, including mobile broadband solutions. Although a year or so ago I would have told you not to even consider BB over Sat, things are moving on well in that side of the industry and there are now providers well geared up to provide a viable service for the domestic user. Have a look here: http://www.toowaydirect.com

[Marcus GTE]

if your happy with the speed you get with three id try and get onto their all you can eat plan. prices really cant be beat at the moment. no restrictions at all and says in the terms you can use it to tether the connection. you would normaly use your iphone etc but the sim card only deal is about £18per month. if it works with the 3g rouer your looking at (never used one- i use my phone) then you wouldnt need a phone. good luck

[dandan]

Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated.

 

Fastcar - who do you get your 15GB from and how much does it cost you? Is it a contract deal or a Pay as You Go thing?

 

Shane - I have looked at the satellite option but it's still relatively pricey with £180 up front and £25 per month for only 4GB. I haven't ruled it out yet by any means though as I'm not a massive "user" so the 4GB may be enough. I'm currently trying to work out what sort of data allowance I do need.

 

FFmacleod - Sounds promising I'll have a search around around as most of the "unlimited" deals I did find were all limited to something stupid like 1GB a month.

[The-Plethora]

If it's your only option then it's worth a go. I would imagine the latency playing online games over 3G or satellite must be terrible but if you don't game online then go for it.

[Drew_flux]

If going to use 3g, get the external antenna option. When I first moved I could only get 25% signal. After a few mods to the modem and a antenna on the roof. I was getting 75-80% most days.

[fastcar]

Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated.

 

Fastcar - who do you get your 15GB from and how much does it cost you? Is it a contract deal or a Pay as You Go thing?

 

Shane - I have looked at the satellite option but it's still relatively pricey with £180 up front and £25 per month for only 4GB. I haven't ruled it out yet by any means though as I'm not a massive "user" so the 4GB may be enough. I'm currently trying to work out what sort of data allowance I do need.

 

FFmacleod - Sounds promising I'll have a search around around as most of the "unlimited" deals I did find were all limited to something stupid like 1GB a month.

 

 

I get it from Three. Im sure im paying about £20 a month on contract but you can get 10GB 5GB even 1GB depends how much you use the web. My dad has the pay as go as he dosent use the net that much but if to say you put £10 on your account and you dont use all your credits with in 30 days you lose them. so probably best to go with contract. I live out towards the forest of dean area and have no probs with connection and always get a full signal so works well for me.

[Marcus GTE]

if your happy with the speed you get with three id try and get onto their all you can eat plan. prices really cant be beat at the moment. no restrictions at all and says in the terms you can use it to tether the connection. you would normaly use your iphone etc but the sim card only deal is about £18per month. if it works with the 3g rouer your looking at (never used one- i use my phone) then you wouldnt need a phone. good luck

 

Im on the all you can eat data plan wih 3. They dont call it unlimied for the same reason you stated, most unlimited plans arent unlimited at all. Last month i used 9gb on my iphone no problem. Its the reason i choose them as i told them i would be a heavy user and they said it was fine. P.S im not n commission lol