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help on picking mobile broadband

I have just spent 2-3 hours looking about on 3 website and im still no closer to really understanding it.

I am looking for mobile internet but there is no wifi in the area I will be in. I woul dbe using the internet mainly for gaming for roughly 10-12 hours a week. I am not really wanting to lock myself into some 12 month or 18 month contract so im more looking for pay as you go or 1-3 month contracts.

The problem is these plans seem to be designed to be so cryptic you have no idea what each of them are. I cant even find any info on the 3 website as to how much extra topups would cost if i was on pay and go.

Any help would be apreciated since im completely lost.
 
well i know it wont be good but its not like i get a choice. Its either get mobile broadband or be bored stiff when im at work :p

I have proper internet at home for proper gaming. Even with a poor conection i know games like wow diablo3 and others work fine.
 
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I'd disagree with Tom as in my experience Mobile Broadband can actually be quite good for gaming but it does depend a lot upon which operator you pick (local coverage and service quality does vary) and whether or not you have a good USB Modem (dongle). Certainly make sure to use a direct connection (i.e. plugging the USB into your computer) and not one of those MiFi solutions, which distributes the service over WiFi; that just adds more unwanted latency. These articles might give you a little more insight.

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/articles/09_Improve_Mobile_Broadband_Performance_Tips/

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/articles/09_how_to_use_mobile_broadband/

As for the packages, well you can run a comparison on our ISP list page of PAYG deals.

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/isp_list/ISP_List_Mobile_Broadband.php

I'd probably go for one of Three (3)'s services but it depends upon who is best for your area. Also take note that all operators, except T-Mobile, will charge you a lot for going over a usage allowance and failing to top-up (don't be afraid to ask them over the phone or email if you're not sure about prices). T-Mobile has an "unlimited" policy but in reality what that means is that after 1-3GB or so they'll cripple the connection to only basic web/email use.
 
I guess we are in a bad area :\ T-mobile has at least a 80 to 90ms ping.
I get complaints about the speed and reliability of Vodafone (the only provider with a mast in the village here) all the time from customers.
o2 and Orange have no coverage.
I don't know the performance of three.

Convenient but not reliable (is my experience!).

Tom - www.mouselike.org
 
Thanks for the help that clears up a lot of problems.

I just have a few questions about the payg/short contracts. I am looking at 3.
first if i got a payg can i upgrade easy enough to a 1 month contract without much trouble and not getting a new sim?
Is the cost of topup on payg on three 10p/meg and if so why is it so much more than the other payg ones and if not where can i find out how much top ups are since it doesnt seem to be on the three website anywhere i can find.
Whats the differance with micro sim and sim?
finaly why is there a 10gb 1 month contract for sim only but not one that comes with a dongle?
 
Yeah it will be urban the coverage map on the website says it should be pretty good.

I went with the payg 3 one with a £30 dongle see how it goes. Need to see how much bandwith i would use before i comit to any short term contract.

Thanks for the replys its been very helpfull!!! :)
 
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You should have got a Zoom HSPA+ dongle (or HSPA+ phone) and stuffed a PAYG SIM with the £15 All-You-Can-Eat (unlimited) data package.

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I never really trust "unlimited" theres always a catch or bad quality service.

Seen it with my home internet with so called unlimited with rediculous traffic shaping and webhosting with terable SQL server uptimes.


The dongle i get with 3 is HSPA+
 
I never really trust "unlimited" theres always a catch or bad quality service.

Seen it with my home internet with so called unlimited with rediculous traffic shaping and webhosting with terable SQL server uptimes.


The dongle i get with 3 is HSPA+

There are plenty of decent unlimited services if you bother to look.

The only issue with Three is their support and they throttle torrents (understandable), but with PAYG you can leave anytime.

Not unusual for me to download 80GB+ a month via my phone.
 
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