Pay As You Go Mobile Broadband

[Devilfish]

Hey folks,

What I'm looking for is a PAYG dongle which I can top up every now and again when I know I'm going to be in a non-wifi hotel.

Does anyone know of any deals like this?

I think most of the top-ups only last 30 days but that would be OK.

Cheers

[ahl]

Probably as handy as tits on a bull for you, but Telstra Aus have pre-paid (pay as you go) that are good for 6 months.

I'd think that a carrier in your area would have similar.

[dasteph]

it depends on which part of the country you are using it in as coverage can vary in strength,
used mine in cornwall earlier this year using t mobile as that seemed to give the best signal strength according to there web site how wrong can you be turned out o2 was the one to go with so check coverage first tariffs second.

[ahl]

.. check coverage first tariffs second.

Good point! There's carriers that offer the world and are as cheap as chips.... If you are in a metro area.

The main carrier here is as dear as poison but they have the coverage when you go out west. They have started to offer what they call 'long life plans' where you can prepay for 3-4 gig and it doesn't expire for 6 months. Otherwise you buy half a meg for $20, a gig for $30 but it expires every 30 days. (there are other "plans" bit I'm too lazy to look them up)

Many a visitor comes undone when they try to use their (insert cheap metro carrier name here) phone or modem once away from the J curve.

[Canker_Canison]

There's an easier way. If memory serves you have a Samsung Galaxy. There's some info here on activating the modem on the phone.
If I'm wrong about you having the Galaxy, it could be Satman with it, your phone could still support modem use.

Most topend & now a lot of mid range phones have modem support. All Windows Mobile phones support it. I access my I8910 from the pc software, a single click & it's activated.
Windows phones are activatedfrom the handset.

Why buy another modem when you may just have one in your hand?
This will also work better in low signal areas as the phone will use any data connection, not just 3G.
The price of use will depend on your contract/account setup.

Hope this all helps

[ahl]

Yes indeed. Mobile phones have had modem facility inbuilt for some time. Much easier these days as you can bluetooth them instead of chasing down a patch lead.

The biggest bugbear is the data rates that the carriers charge unless you have data included with your phone plan. It can be a lot cheaper to purchase a pre paid usb modem for casual use. Another plus is there is no sticker shock when the next phone bill arrives.

[Recoder]

In the UK buy a 3 network PAYG modem HUaWEI (Chepest)
Or any other e160 Dongle and unlock it i use Vodafone as it only costs what you use and is quick.
Or just buy a Vodafone e160 and your ready to go .
HTH

[masterz2k]

Windows Mobile with Internet sharing will do the trick from your mobile - if you have a unlimited data deal its OK.

mine works OK - its not superspeed, but its not that bad, better than old dial up!

Best Dongle deals used to be on the 3 Network, they used to have one that lasted 12 months, on single payment of about ?20... but could be topped up.... for periodic use it was great.

[tooseyman]

I use a 3 network dongle when I need mobile access and it seems ok. But always check the network coverage before you buy,if you know what area you'll be using it mainly.