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W1NDRUSH is offline W1NDRUSH
2007-03-09 , 14:50
Posts: 19 | Thanked: 1 time | Joined on Jan 2007
#1
Hi,
Is anyone doing the above. I have a 'need' to change my current mobile supplier and looking at Three they offer Unlimited* 3G access. This would save me hunting down non existent free WiFi zones in central london. I was planning on using the 3g phone as my BT modem. Works fine with t-mobile but at 2.5G only, and the data costs.....i mean it really costs !

Andrew
p.s. don't tell the Wife she has a low (W)AF for all things gadget
 
Milhouse is offline Milhouse
2007-03-09 , 16:03
Posts: 3,401 | Thanked: 1,255 times | Joined on Nov 2005 @ London, UK
#2
3 don't offer an unlimited tarrif, do they? Internet tarrifs on 3 appear to cost a minimum of £15/month capped at 56Mb/month.

T-Mobile do offer unlimited 3G (also with HSDPA) access, it's called Web'n'Walk Plus for £12.50/month and T-Mobile probably have better national coverage than 3.

If you know a better (pay monthly) deal on 3 I'd like to know!

My current plan is to switch to T-Mobile when the Nokia N95 arrives (hopefully April) - I'll be transferring my O2 account to T-Mobile on Flext25 £25/month voice tarrif along with Web'n'Walk Plus £12.50/month.

I could save £5/month and go with the standard Web'n'Walk, but it's against the Term&Conditions to use this tarrif with a laptop (ie. not allowed to use the phone as a modem with the N800).
 
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kempja is offline kempja
2007-03-09 , 16:49
Posts: 26 | Thanked: 2 times | Joined on Feb 2007 @ UK
#3
I have an N73 on Three and I pay £2.50/Mo for 10 MB just for the 3G data; my 770 works well through it and it's fine for car use and Maemo Mapper, but it goes quickly for mainstream browsing.
 
artkavanagh is offline artkavanagh
2007-03-09 , 17:13
Posts: 92 | Thanked: 2 times | Joined on Feb 2007 @ Toulouse, France
#4
This is not a direct response to your question but I think it's tangentially relevant. I suspect that reports of the death of the hotspot have been somewhat exaggerated and that genuinely "unlimited" data plans are still relatively expensive.

It seems that The Cloud has a special offer for Nokia tablet owners of hotspot access for a tenner a month. If I were still in London, I think I'd find this more attractive than 3G. http://www.thecloud.net/content.asp?...=4&content=236
 
Milhouse is offline Milhouse
2007-03-09 , 17:36
Posts: 3,401 | Thanked: 1,255 times | Joined on Nov 2005 @ London, UK
#5
Originally Posted by artkavanagh View Post
It seems that The Cloud has a special offer for Nokia tablet owners of hotspot access for a tenner a month. If I were still in London, I think I'd find this more attractive than 3G. http://www.thecloud.net/content.asp?...=4&content=236
A £10/month Hotspot special offer still doesn't compare well with a £12.50/month unlimited 3G/HSDPA connection, IMHO. To be honest, hotspots should be offered on a pay-as-you-go basis, or priced no more than £3-£4/month - it's not as if you would or are even able to use a hotspot 24x7 as you can a 3G connection, so the hotspot pricing should reflect this.
 
W1NDRUSH is offline W1NDRUSH
2007-03-10 , 10:32
Posts: 19 | Thanked: 1 time | Joined on Jan 2007
#6
Millhouse,
I think the X series on the 3 network is unlimited data, also with 700 mins talk. Although looking at it there is no mention of using the phone as a BT modem, i'm going to a 3 store tomorrow to confuse the staff.

Andrew
 
Milhouse is offline Milhouse
2007-03-10 , 15:33
Posts: 3,401 | Thanked: 1,255 times | Joined on Nov 2005 @ London, UK
#7
Originally Posted by W1NDRUSH View Post
Millhouse,
I think the X series on the 3 network is unlimited data, also with 700 mins talk. Although looking at it there is no mention of using the phone as a BT modem, i'm going to a 3 store tomorrow to confuse the staff.

Andrew
I've just checked the X-Series T&C's and it specifically states you are not to use your X-Series phone as a modem, so it looks like the X-Series tarrif is the same as T-Mobile Web'n'Walk (£7.50/month, no modem usage). Also note that "Unlimited data" is no such thing on X-Series (this isn't unique to X-Series - caps apply on all networks). I admit a 1GB cap is almost certainly enough per month for most people, particularly when no modem use is permitted, but may not be sufficient for laptop/modem usage.

Originally Posted by 3 X-Series Terms & Conditions


More on X-Series Gold
Mobile access to Orb or Slingbox does not include using your mobile as a modem.

Fair Use Policy - X-Series
Please remember that the X-Series services are for your personal use only and do not include using your mobile as a modem with your PC or laptop.

Unlimited Data
Fair Use Limit: 1 GB each month

1 GB should be more than enough to allow you to surf websites, use Mobile Mail and download podcasts. We will let you know by text message once you have reached the fair use limit and ask you to cease using the included data services for the remainder of the month. If you continue to use the services we may suspend your data usage until the next month. This will not impact your access to other X-Series services.
For unlimited (3GB/month) modem use, T-Mobile Web'n'Walk Plus (£12.50) is the best tariff to my knowledge. The T-Mobile tariff also permits you to use any phone of your choice, while the 3 X-Series tariff seems to limit you to a small selection of phones.

In my opinion, T-Mobile Flext25 (18 month contract, £25/month, £60 allowance [10p/text message => 600 messages]) with Web'n'Walk Plus (£12.50/month, 3GB cap) is a better deal than the modem-only, 1GB capped X-Series at £40/month.

 
treefrog911 is offline treefrog911
2007-04-16 , 18:27
Posts: 5 | Thanked: 2 times | Joined on Apr 2007
#8
Originally Posted by Milhouse View Post
I've just checked the X-Series T&C's and it specifically states you are not to use your X-Series phone as a modem, so it looks like the X-Series tarrif is the same as T-Mobile Web'n'Walk (£7.50/month, no modem usage).
Just for the info of those reading this, I've been using the basic T-Mobile Web'n'Walk (£7.50*) since October 2006, in a bluetooth phone - with both my laptop and my N800 (and 770 before that).

T-mobile haven't complained at all... so I think that if you're sensible with the 3 X-Series you probably won't have issues either.

A final point - someone here said that T-mobile could have better UK coverage than 3. If we're talking specifically 3G data coverage (and not 2G voice) then I've found T-mobile's coverage poor. I suspect that 3 have better coverage when we're talking about 3G data.

* - Note, you also have to pay an additional £7.50 / month for their most basic voice package (known as 'SIM Only') which gives 50 voice minutes, which I don't use at all. So comes to £15.00 / month. If you don't make many calls and can put up with poorer 3G coverage than say Orange or Voda, then I think it is an excellent package - please don't read this is a criticism.

Dave
 
treefrog911 is offline treefrog911
2007-04-16 , 18:33
Posts: 5 | Thanked: 2 times | Joined on Apr 2007
#9
Originally Posted by treefrog911 View Post
Just for the info of those reading this, I've been using the basic T-Mobile Web'n'Walk (£7.50*) since October 2006, in a bluetooth phone - with both my laptop and my N800 (and 770 before that).

T-mobile haven't complained at all... so I think that if you're sensible with the 3 X-Series you probably won't have issues either.

* - Note, you also have to pay an additional £7.50 / month for their most basic voice package (known as 'SIM Only') which gives 50 voice minutes, which I don't use at all. So comes to £15.00 / month.
Oh... this package only has a 1 month minimum term, so if T-mobile did tell you to stop using a laptop, then you could just cancel with no lock-in.

I'm interested in the experiences of anybody using a X-series tariff for data on an N800 / laptop, as I'm thinking of switching for improved coverage.

Dave
 

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Milhouse is offline Milhouse
2007-04-16 , 20:28
Posts: 3,401 | Thanked: 1,255 times | Joined on Nov 2005 @ London, UK
#10
Originally Posted by treefrog911 View Post
Just for the info of those reading this, I've been using the basic T-Mobile Web'n'Walk (£7.50*) since October 2006, in a bluetooth phone - with both my laptop and my N800 (and 770 before that).
You might be interested in this post from a UK mobile phone forum where the poster is referring to his T-Mobile Web'n'Walk account usage:

yes the problem is they are going to be tightening the noose so to speak regarding the data usage thats happening in the next few months.

thats when you wont be able to use IM on the low level accounts. I actually spoke to the [T-Mobile] technical guys today and they listed the days where I hooked my phone to my macbook pro - actually scared me cause I didnt even really batter it [English Translation: use it a great deal], but they knew the periods.

the guy said that they can tell when its being used on a laptop / computer and he said that tmobile were going to be streamlining webnwalk to make sure everyone gets good speed and basically people dont "play unfair"
So they definately know what you're doing - whether they do anything about it in future is another matter.

It strikes me that the network providers may have colluded with the phone manufacturers and a phone connecting for normal data (on-device WAP and Web browsing) connects differently than the same phone when connecting as a modem. Perhaps the phone passes a different configuration code to the network when it connects as a modem, meaning that the networks don't have to mess about monitoring ports, usage levels and protocol signatures etc. to determine if you're abusing your T&Cs.

If I ran a network with two different data plans I'd certainly get the phone to give it's owner away and save me doing the hard work!
Last edited by Milhouse; 2007-04-16 at 20:31.
 
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