Hi all, hope you are well.
Just wondering...(seen as this is the only forum I use and I need advice) so its a bit random...

Does anyone use mobile internet modems? If so do you get good service? What network blah blah blah

Ive been on three for the past two years and my contract runs out in september and I will definetly be changing cause it is absolute rubbish!!
It cuts out all the time, not only cause of signal! The network is regularly down as well and I cant understand the call centre when I ask for help
I use mobile internet cause I dont have a landline never have and cant afford one anyway!!

x x x

I don't, but my friend uses Vodaphone (dongle thingy), even up in the highlands and says its OK, think he pays £15 a month.

Orange is suposed to be ok to.

I've got a Vodafone 3G modem (one of the higher spec 7.2Mb/s models). It's been pretty trouble-free (especially once I stopped using their little cable). I use it solidly during working hours 4-5 days a week (central Edinburgh).

Coverage isn't so good at home, but is fine elsewhere in Livingston.

Barrie

I think I should go back to vodafone, I had been on vodafone since I was 11 years old but three had the best deal at the time
Stupidly enough I signed up for a contract phone on three as well, I was up north for a fortnight and had no signal on either, no one had even heard of it
Funnily enough there was a three shop in inverness...

Might be worth a look

Top ten comparison

www.bestmobilebroadban...twork.aspx

Coverage checker
mobile.broadbandgenie....4wodtRK1og

I have discovered the problem is because I have vista...hmm

Thanks for that Ill have a look

I was speaking to Alex Ingram today (he was up in Inverness at the time)
he uses BT open zone at hotspots or something or other. So perhaps he might give you a little advice if he spots this thread.

I have a problem with my mobile signal almost everywhere (with orange) apart from up at Alex Ingrams, thats the only place I have been (in the middle of nowhere) that I have ever had a full signal in.. Loch Carron is the place to be lol

Cx

I use my Vodafone modem on Vista (32-bit and 64-bit) and even on the Windows 7 RC (64-bit) ... works just fine.

Don't blame Vista for crappy drivers/hardware/service.

Barrie

Its not vistas fault, I mean the modem is not fully compatable so disconnects itself all the time
Need to find drivers
Two years in and I work this out!
They should bloody warn you!

I've got a 3 dongle and I even got it to work on the islands. Working on Vista on this machine, XP on another and Linux on another. You do need to tell it to update every now and then but other than that no problems.


3 will refund you if you purchase any of their products and then find you have no coverage at your main point of use. Never had to use it personally but someone at work returned theirs with no hassle.

under no circumstances get the t-mobile one.... the only places I got a signal on it were Dundee city centre, Edinburgh City centre and PortLethen outside Aberdeen.... took it back, huge argument in the shop and got a refund...

ruthelliott wrote:

I've got a 3 dongle and I even got it to work on the islands. Working on Vista on this machine, XP on another and Linux on another. You do need to tell it to update every now and then but other than that no problems. 3 will refund you if you purchase any of their products and then find you have no coverage at your main point of use. Never had to use it personally but someone at work returned theirs with no hassle.

Thats really strange!!
I was in elgin and I had to put the sim in my phone and wander the streets (when it wasnt pissing rain) and when I went to dingwall for the weekend I had no signal at all, until I reached inverness city centre!
I read that you have to download the xp drivers and do all this tech stuff to get it working. Mine cuts out every 5 mins at its worst, which is quite often!! Lots of re-starting and screaming involved!
Vodafone is looking like a good option, but I will do more research before I sign anything!!

After a while I had a really annoying time with mine with the connection dropping. I'd removed the content restriction on my account and thought it might have been related. Then I desperately needed it for work (home broadband was down) and I couldn't stay connected for more than 5 minutes at a time.

The fix has been to jack the modem straight in (it's one of the sticks, not a pebble). The problem was all to do with the 6" connecting cable they supplied.

It's been very reliable ever since.

Barrie

BT Business Broadband contract I use includes free BT Openzone with roaming to partners, also a free USB stick (E170 HSPA) which gives up to 7.2 Mbps downlink and up to 2 Mbps uplink. It operates on Windows 2000/XP/ Vista (32 bit) & Mac OS 10.3.5 or above. There are some limitations on amount of use per month, but I've never got anywhere near as I only use it out and about.

The USB stick will operate on HSPA, 3G & GPRS mobile networks, in other words the faster links are in cities, slower ones in rural areas. Being a BT version it operates on the O2 network. Just checked my NetBook using it here at home, which I rarely do, and it's operating at 53.6Kbps on a transmitter that's across the loch from me. That's fine for e-mail and even streaming Radio Scotland ! In Inverness yesterday it was running at 7.2Mbps.

Last month I used it on the train from Reading to London Gatwick and it worked fine throughout without dropping the signal although it must have been continually switching cells.

In respect of networks the 'preferred' network in the NW Highlands is Vodafone. That's a 'technical' term that I won't go into here, but there's one for each area as far as I'm aware. In practical terms it means they have the widest coverage. The transmitter here in Lochcarron (located at Attadale) has Vodafone, O2, Orange & T-Mobile and that's case for most in this area now. It doesn't surprise me that £ has a shop in Inverness, Orange did same when they had no coverage outside the city. I think their management forget Inverness is a city that is used by people from a vast area, and not just the town itself, it's a 130 mile round trip for me and that's my nearest main supermarket!

Ideally find out best operator for coverage in your normal area and enquire not just on domestic but also business contracts too. As these are charged on download amount, rather than time connected, it's essential to know what limits they enforce and the costs if you exceed them.

If at some stage upgrading your laptop it may be worth considering une that takes the Sim card directly instead of a USB connection, they are on some business laptops now.

Photo: Maria on my Net Book at the remote Kings Canyon, in the Northern Territories of Australia last month, talking on Skype whilst checking emails. It's operating on wi-fi outside the Rangers Office.




... Alex