Three UK Discounts Unlimited 4G Home Broadband to £15
Thursday, Sep 24th, 2020 (12:02 am) - Score 17,336
Mobile network operator Three UK has launched a new discount on their 4G based home broadband with unlimited data plan (here), which cuts the monthly price from £22 to £15 per month for the length of their 24-month minimum contract term (a saving of £168 across the contract).
As usual this offer is only available to new customers and its time-limited, which means that in order to get it you’ll need to place your order before 30th September 2020. The package also comes with Huawei’s B535 wireless router, which should be able to support ultrafast mobile broadband speeds via LTE Category 7 (theoretical max of 300Mbps download and 100Mbps upload); but you probably won’t get close to that.
By Mark Jackson
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
Latest UK ISP News:
Top News of the Week:
Cheapest Big ISPs for 100Mbps+:
Community Fibre £19.00
Vodafone £22.00
Virgin Media £23.99
Youfibre £24.99
Plusnet £24.99
Sky £25.00
Previous Article
« InternetTY Connect First Customers to New Full Fibre Network
« InternetTY Connect First Customers to New Full Fibre Network
Next Article
Fibrus in £14m FTTP Rollout for the Causeway Coast and Glens »
Fibrus in £14m FTTP Rollout for the Causeway Coast and Glens »
Latest UK ISP News
Cheap BIG ISPs for 100Mbps+
Large Availability | View All
Promotion
Cheap Unlimited Mobile SIMs
Helpful ISP Guides and Tips
Promotion
Latest Interviews
Sponsored
Copyright © 1999 to Present - ISPreview.co.uk - All Rights Reserved - Terms , Privacy and Cookie Policy , Links , Website Rules , Contact
Put my details into the website, this is what I get:
We’re busy expanding our network to connect more homes
We hope to connect you soon.
I am guessing that is a NO for Three 4G home broadband then?
I have previously tried a Three 4G SIM in my router & external antenna. The speed was random from 0.5 Mbit to 5.5Mbit.
The latency was 75-900ms, and it was affected by weather even having 4 out of 5 bars signal strenght.
I still have 4G with another provider, and it is the same with all the 4G providers around here.
Ofcom say I MUST buy the BT product before I can be eligible for the USO process which is 24 Month x £50 on a limited data and expensive plan.
So many people getting paid to do nothing.
I noticed the same postcode problem. I input one where I know they have solid 4G (this also worked before) and it came back with the same “we’re busy expanding” message, but when I tried another nearby it was fine. I’m trying to find out why that is happening.
You can still get 4G they are expanding the 5G in your area scroll down the page you can get 4G it says the same thing on my post code.
Three network recently put an application through to my local council for a 5G mast pole to be put up snice now they have recently withdrawn the application due to local residents concerns now they are working with the council to find a suitable place looks like they want to expand now in the London E3 area.
Thanks for this article it came up in my Google App feed.
I’m an existing customer and chatted with them via the Three App.
They then called me and confirmed that I have compete coverage and have processed my order.
Can’t even get 3 network in my new house let alone 4g they are a joke
On three at the moment 4g router is a tp-link I get 1 bar sometimes 0 bar very affected by weather I am 0.74 miles from the site and about 8 meters lower with no obstructions I use a external Mimi antenna the only thing that has me with them is when they say unlimited data it is unlimited unlike the rest who all limit you no matter what they claim .
The only good thing about 3 is 4g home broadband is it is unlimited the signal is poor and unstable, I can’t wait for next year when I will be able to use spacex or the oneweb satellite systems.
Couldn’t agree more!
> I can’t wait for next year when I will be able to use spacex or the oneweb satellite systems.
I admire your optimism, but whether you’ll be happy to pay the price, or accept the data cap, remains to be seen.
@leonard richings: A year for OneWeb??? Is that a Jovian year?
Whilst the three marketting drive continues, this decision is just another slap in the face for existing 4g customers. Three just appointed two new members to their top team and this is the best they can come up with?
How about improving your actual network three? Upgrading masts and increasing the amount of backhaul bandwidth available across your core might help too… Just a pointer.
They are doing that, but it’s a multi-year process and not at the click of a finger.
Mark, they have been working on it for over a year and the result is worse signal and speed in most areas. I was with them for years and their service went downwards last year and it hasn’t picked up. It’s almost impossible to FaceTime in central London where it was, and they have added more spectrum to 4G or so they claim. Signal is a massive problem too. I’m talking Aldgate East, I’m talking London Bridge, I’m talking Clapham high street, … signal disappears and when there is, 4G is barely usable. No wonder why the guys running the update programme left last year.
It’s not just three or other providers, I have been having Issues with BT Service in Scotland,sometimes not even able to make/receive calls or getting cut off during a call on mobile. I was BT Halo1 with Fibre Broadband, turns out my cable wasn’t even a Fibre Cable. Network signal keeps dropping daily at different times.
“I was BT Halo1 with Fibre Broadband, turns out my cable wasn’t even a Fibre Cable.”
Your BT Halo 1 “fibre” broadband would be fibre to your local street cabinet and copper to your home, just like many so called “fibre” broadband packages.
Really wish the ASA / Ofcom would do something about the naming convention of broadband packages now that “real” fibre is available in a lot of areas. Very confusing for the lay(wo)man.
It’s called false advertising.
I’m mad that just few people notice that.
And because it’s that BT is getting away with false advertising.
It’s not just bt doing all of them do it and G. Fast on talktalk thrown me off initially because I wasn’t sure if my sister was actually getting fibre broadband which I thought was extremely unlikely
I agree with city fiber or witch ever one of the real Fibre FTTP/FTTB (building) companies tried to get the word fibre removed from FTTC/G.Fast due to it very confusing when your service is actually real fibre but vdsl is also called fibre (when it isn’t)
once openreach gets enough FTTP available they are going to have to stop doing this false advertising with near fibre services (I guess once maybe 25% openreach FTTP availability happens I guess they will do it)
It’s a real shame Three’s hardware doesn’t support bridge mode, otherwise I would’ve bought this. Oh well!
I have this system and it works perfectly well, even without a specific “bridge” mode. I have a Google Wifi system hooked up to the B535 router via Ethernet and have disabled the wifi on the Huawei router essentially replicating this 🙂
Perfectly feasible to do and relatively simple.
James, bridge mode is one of basic functionality.
P.S. we are happy that you have zero knowledge in tech and use Google products. Congratulations!
Bridge mode missing is no big deal. I think that 4g networks actually allowed some carrier settings to be passed back to devices so things like bridge mode could be turned off.
Been testing hardware for years, when I have multiple devices to test on my network that need “Wan” type access I just put them behind a NAT layer (separate isolated VLANs) and forward everything that needs to be forwarded to that one specific IP, so multi-layered NAT can work. If the B535 allows DMZ (google seems to suggest it does) then there’s not a big issue here other than IP detection.
The best “Sharing” I had with teather/wifi hotspotting on Three was when I loaded LineageOS on a old phone, and I have connected it to my whole home too (~12 devices) without any big issues.
I tried this modem with a Smarty SIM and it worked very well. Around 30/10 in my location.
As another poster has said, use DMZ to get around double NAT works great.
I also use the VPN service from AAISP in order to give me a fixed IP, bypass CGNAT and any other carrier weirdness.
However, I also tried EE and in my location they work event better. Minimum 30/20 and up to 90/30 at quieter times.
I have now binned my expensive, slow and unreliable FTTC line.
Too often too unreliable and too inconsistent. That’s too many toos Three. A brilliant price for something that sometimes doesn’t work isn’t exactly, er, brilliant. I’d rather pay £5pm more for something I can trust
The signal strength 80 percent but speeds are under 1mb/s download and 8mb/s upload USELESS ! very disappointed
This old game of break it some more before fixing it.
Just trialled a Smarty sim for 11 days, network works well in some places, terribly in others, but worst problem was locally to me the network performed fine but didn’t seem to handle switching from 3G to 4G well.
So when I received a call sometimes the who network would drop and I couldn’t reconnect for up to an hour with Emergency Calls showing yet network broadcasting according to cell mapper.
This isn’t an issue with Voxi, also quite surprised to see Voxi being unrestricted, been achieving over 250mbps on test.
I live in a rural area in N.I. and have been using 3 mobile for my home broadband for over a year. I used to have Plusnet FTTC and got 18Mb down and 2 up. With 3 I get at least 3 times that and sometimes 4, so between 50 and 70Mbps down and 30 odd up.
I have a Pointing antenna inside the roof of my detached garage, so I reckon I could get a better signal if I mounted outside. I have no idea where the cell tower is. I certainly can’t see it and I’ve driven around the country roads looking for some indication, but no joy. So trial and error with pointing the antenna.
I’ve been able to stream live TV from Amazon and Now TV. Downloads are terrific. Only downside is I can’t get the new £15 tariff as I’m an existing customer
They have to cover these new salaries for the big shots and also pay for the rollout somehow I guess, so why not get more people to buy in to the service.
I’m a new Three customer, and initially seen 1 bar 4g signal, but then some works happened and now receive full 4g signal but still low speeds in the evenings.
Area works have been happening lately and my postcode has since showed “We are upgrading your area” message so hopefully when I get in tonight I’ll have beeming speeds (I can wish).
Do not under any circumstances go for the Three 4G broadband especially with the Huawei router. It’s barely usable at the best of times and find myself switching to my phone’s hotspot which is also Three but seems more consistent than this garbage
@Tom Prouclock: I can confirm that Three in rural Fermanagh is slow and has high latency (aka poop). It would be best to test it out for a week or so before committing, even though it is cheap, it is not worth it.
If only there was some kind of Office of Communications in the UK (maybe we could shorten that name to something catchy like Ofcom), that could regulate that ALL of the mobile data communications providers selling the statically located ‘Home broadband’ data packages must ensure a minimum of 10Mbit download and 1 Mbit upload, with 70ms or below latency for customers.
This deal sounds good but as a current customer of Three’s 4G Home Broadband I would advise anyone thinking of signing up to not be taken in by this offer. I have been a user of Three’s 4G Home Broadband for about three years now and I am currently part way through a 24 month contract I just wish I could exit from right now.
When I first became a Three customer the 4G Broadband was brilliant and the customer service equally good. Over the last year or so both have become so bad it truely is shocking. My 4G Home Broadband right now as I write this is 0.57 Mbps download. My phone 4G (also with Three) is 0.76 Mbps. It’s un-usable. I am not in a rural location – I am in a suburb of Birmingham. If I do a speed test about 5am in the morning I can easilly get between 20 and 30 Mbps on the Home Broadband and over 60 Mbps on my phone. Both drop away pretty quickly through the day to becoming unusable by the evening.
I have called Three’s Customer Services so many times now I have lost count. Each person you speak to has to go through all of the identity and security questions again with you and the first person you speak doesn’t tell the second person what my query is about so you repeat everything again and again. Eventually you will get to the point where they say they will escalate your query to the Network Team who will “definately” call you back – but they won’t.
As you can tell I am not impressed at all with Three. Maybe the new appointees will turn things around but it looks like another lockdown is looming and I need a quality broadband service NOW to be able to work from home effectively. If Three cannot provide this then they should allow early exit from contracts. I am paying my monthly fee but Three are not delivering.
A) while “0.76 Mbps” is far from unusable, I do appreciate it’s not much cop if you want to do some things, it’s still usable (or when I got online in 2001 when 500 kbps was “standard”, it would not have been under such high demand by so many home users, looking for something faster than 56kbps dial-up or Home Highway giving 64 kbps or even 128 kbps [!!!].)
In the next 2-4 years speed only slowly increased… 1 Mbps from UKFSN, or maybe 2 Mbps from Metronet… until I moved away into a more rural part of Wales and it went back down to 1.5 Mbps after ADSL 2+ “enhancement” was made.
Yes, I know it’s far from the speeds you see early in the day, but sadly Three has pushed itself as “THE data service” for some years, and seemingly others are able to get more of it than you, but for what reason, I cannot begin to guess…
B) can you not ask for them to give you a ticket number when you report the problem, so there is just one place with all the notes made, and that can then be chased via the Chairman’s Office, where you can most certainly be sure it will be assigned to someone who will take it on as a problem to be solved, esp as you no doubt have a log of multiple conversations where you were promised support but it never came. When asked why you want to have a ticket number, explain you’re fed up with being fobbed off, and plan to get the Chairman’s Office to chase this if there’s no follow up from the Network Team who have definitely failed to follow up and leave you really disappointed that they cannot solve a problem that has been reported for X weeks/ months.
Good luck.
I’m half way through my contract, but with the AI cube. The village where I lived when I first got this had amazing consistent speeds. 50 – 65mbps mostly. And 18mbps upload.
Streaming performed perfect.
Temporarily living with the parent at the mo. Speeds are still good but can vary a lot. Anyone thinking of getting this, test a PrePay SIM first. Just like one would when thinking of moving to any other network.
It’s not helpful to people when others say ‘don’t join this network it’s crap’. Vodafone suffer in my current village with indoor coverage & speedd just as EE does & O2. But location plays a big part. But it wouldn’t be useful or helpful if I said these networks are crap don’t buy………
Do Three’s 4g home broadband devices allow port forwarding?
For example if I have a Raspberry Pi with a vpn server, can I forward a port so I can connect from outside to access my home network?
Three support could never give me an answer when I asked.
they will be behind a CGNAT so no port forwarding for you. You can do it on the device but it will not go anywhere
Perhaps with the 5G and when they move to IPV6 but that’s different
I have the home broadband service been in 6 months, my neighbour put in the postcode and got that message about expanding the network, I put my house in and it is the same. I contacted three and they said it must have sold out but put in a wrong postcode and I can help myself to the service. Very odd
Must admit my experience is somewhat different. Went onto Three 4G home BB in Nov last year, and its keeled over twice, only for a short amount of time. I get 20-30Mb downloads with no problems. MUCH better than BT where I got max 6Mb and regular drop outs
Still jealous tho, of my friends in Hull on FTTP in the whole area getting 300Mbs +
I need to know how to set my three 4g router. The shop I bought it from says that it is very easy to do. It isn’t easy for me to do it, so far all I get is that the lights come on. I tried to connect it to my television but I couldn’t get any sense out of settings.I think that I will have to take it back to the three store and get them to show me step by step how to make it work.If they can’t give me any help I guess that I will have to throw it out and pay off the contract ( which has only just started,!!
Hi Martin – any chance you can update your headline to EXPIRED: …..
NewsNow (.co.uk) shows the headline because it has been a very quiet 10+ days so there may be some fresh views who will read the article and then be quite disappointed as the offer is (probably) not active now.
three is the worse coustumer service , they trying constantly persuade you and conven to update to charge more..d