250BOB Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Hi Guys, Your advice please......but gently as we are not too computer savvy. My pal has a laptop, but has no land line at home....and he would like to get himself onto broadband. He has limited funds, and doesnt want to get a land line connected. He does use a mobile phone, and perish the thought, he uses forty pound a month in pay as you go. I need to help this guy out, for instance, I have a £25 a month contract that gives me more calls than I could shake a stick at, and free broadband, of course I have a landline that costs about £13 a month rental with BT, but we do not use the landline to make any calls. Nothing too complex please....needs to be the simplest option. And remember, limited funds. Thanks..................Bob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium spamcan61 Posted April 16, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 16, 2011 Unless he is lucky enough to live on top of a WiFI hotspot then he's looking at the various mobile broadband options using a 3G USB dongle on the laptop, available from Orange, Vodafone etc. Don't expect anything like landline broadband speeds though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Orange do, or did, a £15 a month rolling contract for a Dongle....I had one and it worked better than the BT landline does....Id reccomend that to anyone,,, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poor Old Bruce Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Most Public Libraries have Internet access, usually free, often bookable in advance for half or one hour slots. That's how I started on this lark. I found that lunch-time was quietest but that may have changed, school holidays may cause conjestion as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250BOB Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share Posted April 16, 2011 Most Public Libraries have Internet access, usually free, often bookable in advance for half or one hour slots. That's how I started on this lark. I found that lunch-time was quietest but that may have changed, school holidays may cause conjestion as well. Ahhhh....this might be a good option initially. He passes the library here in Uttoxeter everyday on his way to and from work as our local signalman. At least that might get him going. Thanks.............Bob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250BOB Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share Posted April 16, 2011 Orange do, or did, a £15 a month rolling contract for a Dongle....I had one and it worked better than the BT landline does....Id reccomend that to anyone,,, Yes...this too would be an option, he could do this and be on a contract for say about £40 a month, what he is paying now as pay as you go.......and he gets naff all calls for that money. Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noiseboy72 Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 I use a 3 Mobile 3G MiFi widget. It costs £15 per month for 5GB of bandwidth. This is roughly what I use on my wired broadband at home. It is very reliable and usually very quick. Just a note of caution. Many new packages offering mobile broadband have very restrictive caps on monthly bandwidth. o2 for instance allow only 500MB on some of their iphone packages. I would suggest he gets a monthly contract with a phone that can also act as a broadband modem. in a previous job I had a Nokia 5600 with a cleaver little app that turned it into a WiFi hotspot. This made it very easy to connect the phone to the laptop (It treated it as ordinary WiFi) As an example, a Nokia C7 with 1GB data, 100 mins calls & 500 texts is £25 per month. Other packages with more calls and less texts are also available for about the same price. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormbringer Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 I use a 3G payg dongle in my truck. £15 gets me 3 gig a month and to be honest I struggle to use it all up. Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger440 Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 And where does one find details of this dongle? Is there somewhere i can see the options in the english language as opposed to technospeak? I too need to get internet access on a laptop away from home and am rather lost as to what to do. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 roger google Orange Mobile broadband....or insert mobile company of choice Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium spamcan61 Posted April 16, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 16, 2011 And where does one find details of this dongle? Is there somewhere i can see the options in the english language as opposed to technospeak? I too need to get internet access on a laptop away from home and am rather lost as to what to do. This site may (or may not!) help http://www.broadbandgenie.co.uk/mobilebroadband/pay-as-you-go Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormbringer Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 I picked mine up in Tesco's. It cost me £40 and came with 3 gig of allowance. £10m gets you 1 gig, £15 gets 3 gig and £25 gets you 7gig per month. Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noiseboy72 Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Got my dongle from the 3 shop. They are very easy to use. Take your laptop and they will help to set you up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzie Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Three do a 12GB dongle starter kit which was £70 and also do the D100 WiFi router to go with it for about £30. The 12GB lasts for a year, and I only managed to use 8GB in a year. It works out at only £8 a month over the year including the cost of all the equipment. You may not need the D100 router, but it is handy to be able to put it somewhere where it gets the best signal and not have to worry about where you have the laptop and not have the dongle connected to the laptop. You can top it up as it is a pay as you go, but it works out cheaper to buy a new 12GB starter kit if you are not a heavy user. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
modernimagemodeller Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 i wouldnt recommend having a monthly contract if you get a dongle. its no more expensive to use pay as you go. but a 3g dongle would be the best option, just ensure he gets good coverage where he lives before purchasing. my gf entered into a contract with t mobile then we moved house and now the signal is poor but we cant get out of it. the dongle itself isnt locked to a network i dont think, all you do is put a sim card in it, so you can use any sim. my laptop has a sim card slot inside which is slightly easier Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Why does it cost him £40 per month for his phone? One alternative might be to upgrade his phone package, if he gets a newish smartphone, eg a HTC device using android not iphone, with "unlimited data" then the laptop can access the internet using the 3G modem in the phone, I believe it's known as tethering. Someone at work has done that with Orange and has got more free minutes and texts than he needs and "unlimited" data for £15 per month. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkie Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 I use a 3G dongle, Its never let me down yet and I can use it anywhere. Sets me back £10 per month for 15gig and I only use about 6gig Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250BOB Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 Why does it cost him £40 per month for his phone? One alternative might be to upgrade his phone package, if he gets a newish smartphone, eg a HTC device using android not iphone, with "unlimited data" then the laptop can access the internet using the 3G modem in the phone, I believe it's known as tethering. Someone at work has done that with Orange and has got more free minutes and texts than he needs and "unlimited" data for £15 per month. Cos he is pay as you go....he has a bit of difficulty budgeting each month, so he just buys top ups. Very expensive for him......but if he was on a contract, he would probably have nowt left in the bank when his monthly payment falls due. Some people just can't budget for the life of them.......he gets paid, then blows it. Heart of gold, but crap with money. Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Bayford Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Ive got a vodafone dongle its it cost £5 or £10 i think with a top up on it and fairly heavy usage although no uploading but a £15 top up lasts roughly 3 weeks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poor Old Bruce Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 As I have said earlier, the local library option is free, gratis and for nothing (apart from your Council Tax of course which you have to pay anyway). It's a good way to get used to Interweb access and then progress to any monthly contract if the library option is considered inadequate (like if you go cold turkey without it on a Sunday). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Beware of contracts - read the small print. You could find yourself locked in to a deal that turns out to be very expensive to get out of. Others can turn out to be very expensive when so called "free" minutes have been exceeded. Special deals are there for a reason to hook the unwary fish and to get them to jump on board - if you are not careful you could find yourself filleted. The phone companies don't like you on PAYG. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger440 Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 This site may (or may not!) help http://www.broadband...d/pay-as-you-go I appreciate the link. Having read all the blurb i dont really think im any the wiser? There is too much stuff i just dont grasp. What is 3G, how much speed is good, and ive no clue how much gig i need? Which based on the website rather leaves me none the wiser. Maybe i should not have moblie internet! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium spamcan61 Posted April 18, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 18, 2011 3G is just the technology the mobile phone network uses to transfer data between the internet and your dongle/laptop. In terms of download speed then it depends what you're using it for, if you want to watch video stuff then you really need 1 Mbs or more, for web forums like this you could get away with less; but real world mobile internet speed will vary drastically depending on where you are, what network you're on and how many people you're sharing the network with at a given moment in time - it really comes down to suck it and see really. How much data you need again depends on usage, just using email and web forums maybe 1-2GB per month would do, if you're watching lots of video content and downloading stuff then could be 10-20 GB per month or more . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger440 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 3G is just the technology the mobile phone network uses to transfer data between the internet and your dongle/laptop. In terms of download speed then it depends what you're using it for, if you want to watch video stuff then you really need 1 Mbs or more, for web forums like this you could get away with less; but real world mobile internet speed will vary drastically depending on where you are, what network you're on and how many people you're sharing the network with at a given moment in time - it really comes down to suck it and see really. How much data you need again depends on usage, just using email and web forums maybe 1-2GB per month would do, if you're watching lots of video content and downloading stuff then could be 10-20 GB per month or more . Thanks for the info. I guess i will have to apply myself and try to understand it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
modernimagemodeller Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 another thing to condsider if chosing a 3g dongle is a lot of networks supposidly offer unlimited internet but it isnt, for example im with t mobile which says unlimited but it just means you dont get charged after using an allowance, mine is really 1gb per month and after this it runs at a reduced speed and wont let me watch videos or access itunes store or download anything. unless that is i go on late at night or early in morning. some networks have a set allowance and then if you go over that you get charged but there may be some truely unlimited ones out there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.