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YPJT
8th Jul 2009, 10:05
Travelling to UK later this year and just wondering what my options are to get an internet connection for short duration contract perhaps using a wireless USB modem or similar.
Any info or leads greatly appreciated.

airborne_artist
8th Jul 2009, 10:31
Any of the pay as you go 3g USB dongles will get you connected, but they'll be expensive if you start downloading lots of movies/music. Our mobile carriers are Vodafone, O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Three.

Saab Dastard
8th Jul 2009, 11:27
What is "short"? A day, a week, a month, a year?

SD

YPJT
8th Jul 2009, 13:30
SD,
Probably about two weeks. Short time I know to start up an account but really need to keep the internet access on my computer going..

Keef
8th Jul 2009, 13:59
Are you going to be in one fixed location, or moving about a lot?

In the former case, there may be an available access point (for example, in a hotel).

If you're on the road, then it means a WiFi dongle on a cellular network. Not cheap, but the good ones work well.

Saab Dastard
8th Jul 2009, 14:15
A wifi card - PC Card or USB - is obviously essential.

I would think that for that length of time you would be better off looking for standard wifi hotspots rather than 3G.

You can use a mix of either free (e.g. McDonalds), paid on the spot (e.g. Hotels, Wetherspoons, voucher-per-drink) or using a roaming payg account like Freedom4 (previously known as BOZII) or BT Openzone.

SD

John Eacott
8th Jul 2009, 21:34
I was in UK for 5 weeks in April/May this year, and initially looked at buying a 3 dongle, as they are substantially cheaper than in Australia!

Having gone through every one in the PC store (can't remember the name) and not found one that would work, I gave up. The store checked each one on their PC's (mine's a Mac) and also had each one fail :bored:

So I finished up using wireless networks, which worked just fine around all of England (and a bit of Wales ;)). But if I'd got a working dongle, it may have been more convenient in the long run :ok:

VivaTheBeaver
8th Jul 2009, 21:40
I had a 3 USB mobile broadband device. This had no contract and gave me 12gb for £100 and lasts for 12 months. I believe they also have smaller data packages for less money. Worked really well for me, I ended up using about 600mb per month, using the internet every evening.

I also think they have a 14 day return policy which would be handy.

Mike-Bracknell
8th Jul 2009, 23:57
If you have an iPhone 3G/3Gs, possibly look at an O2 data SIM and 'tethering'?

Alternatively, keep your eyes open for cheap deals nearer the time. There was a deal last week for a free 3-mobile USB dongle with a PAYG deal on one of the websites I saw.

Jofm5
9th Jul 2009, 01:04
I dont want to rock the boat at the moment but tethering is about the worst option cost wise you can go for.

mutt
9th Jul 2009, 03:01
Can anyone tell me if these dongles are "locked" to the service provider? I want to get one for a short term visit, but would also like to continue using it when i travel and use local chips.

Thanks

Mutt

Keef
9th Jul 2009, 10:47
Tethering an iPhone is the worst deal you can go for. That's the wacky iPhone contract on O2 in the UK.

Tethering my HTC seems to work just fine - I've not been charged a penny (yet) for using it with my laptop. It comes within the "reasonable use" unlimited Internet.

However, I understand a USB dongle is a lot faster. £100 for 12GB for 12 months doesn't look all bad. I don't know if they'd offer a 2-month deal (or whatever).

YPJT
9th Jul 2009, 13:22
Thanks very much for the advice. "3" have a 5Gb dongle deal for 15 GBP which seems pretty good. Also the coverage maps are good for the areas I need (Andover and Winchester) but not St Helier :(

Mike-Bracknell
9th Jul 2009, 19:13
I dont want to rock the boat at the moment but tethering is about the worst option cost wise you can go for.

From the UK, yes - but since he's coming from the US maybe AT&T are cheaper than O2's wallet-rape? (to "initiate" the tethering) - and then a basic O2 data PAYG SIM would give in-country charges?

I must admit though, I haven't tethered either (due to the rubbish cost) so have no idea if this is how they initiate it. IIRC an unlocked iPhone could have a 3rd party app to do tethering anyway.

YPJT
10th Jul 2009, 00:02
but since he's coming from the US
Oz actually, WA is abbrev for Western Australia.
Bigpond in Australia also have a dialup roaming system which cost wise is also pretty astronomical not to mention the dramas of finding a line to connect to.

Mike-Bracknell
10th Jul 2009, 00:23
Oz actually, WA is abbrev for Western Australia.

Apols, I thought it was Washington.

Selfloading
10th Jul 2009, 08:04
Can anyone tell me if these dongles are "locked" to the service provider? I want to get one for a short term visit, but would also like to continue using it when i travel and use local chips.

Thanks

Mutt

Yeah they are but can be unlocked quite cheaply or even for free depending on which one you get.