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Kristian

By Kristian
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tomandsophie Rising Star

tomandsophie

Posted
Posted

Bugger, I wish I had read this post yesterday morning.

I went into town to get a T-Mobile USB modem. Brilliant deal with 'unlimited' (yes I know it's 3GB) useage and up to 7.6mbs (if you use the firmware update on the website). Brilliant. I got it home and I'm using it right now with a connection speed of around 1.5mbs. It's very very good. Also, unlike 3 and Vodafone, you don't get charged if you go over the download limit - you just get a warning not to do it again or the account will be restricted to a slower speed.

However, I have just read that I can get exactly the same thing at Carphone Warehouse for £10 a month rather than £15 which is what I have signed up for. I think I might have to claim that I can't get any coverage and take it back under the 14-day no-coverage guarantee and then go and get it from Carphone Warehouse!

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Big John Community Regular

Big John

Posted
Posted

Has anyone used Internet Connection Sharing with mobile Internet? I can't see why it won't work, but I know such things can take an age to set up if it doesn't go right first time, so I thought I'd check here.

 

We have 2 laptops, and I used ICS in the dim distant past with land-based broadband and a network router.

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Robbo Veteran II

Robbo

Posted
Posted (edited)
Has anyone used Internet Connection Sharing with mobile Internet? I can't see why it won't work, but I know such things can take an age to set up if it doesn't go right first time, so I thought I'd check here.

 

We have 2 laptops, and I used ICS in the dim distant past with land-based broadband and a network router.

 

It will work, but if you have a Asus Router like the WL-500g it can be upgraded with the Oleg firmware (latest is v168). You don't need any Linux knowledge as it's all controlled via a web page. More info here...

 

Another benefit is that as it's running linux you can run small programs, I have mine to download podcasts and serve a Roku Radio via emulating iTunes sharing protocol. (I have the WL-HDD). If you wish to do this it benefits if you've used Linux a little.

Edited by Robbo
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Chris-B Experienced

Chris-B

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It would work exactly the same on a desktop computer as on a laptop.

 

 

It does work exactly the same , we share a T Mobile usb on Baldock via wireless connection with the T Mobile plugged into the desktop unit

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Maffi Rising Star

Maffi

Posted
Posted
Yep, the T-mobile modem is advertised as 3.6Mbps as standard, but the people in the shop told me how to download firmware off the T-mobile site to enable it to run at 7.2Mbps.

 

 

Did you plan totell us hw it was done?

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Bojangles Contributor

Bojangles

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Please tell me if I'm understanding this thread correctly.

 

I can get a USB modem from either T-mob or 3 at around £10 - £15 a month that will allow me to connect to the internet without having to find any other ISP or phone line etc. Therefore if I got one I can use it at home on my desktop and use the same USB modem in my laptop when on the boat etc.

 

Currently it's costing me £8.99/month for an unlimited dial-up access at home. Therefore it would seem to me wise to change. Are there any other charges/fees I'm not aware of?

 

I don't download any music or videos so I guess a 3gb service will be plenty for me?

 

All info appreciated.

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Bones Veteran

Bones

Posted
Posted
Please tell me if I'm understanding this thread correctly.

 

I can get a USB modem from either T-mob or 3 at around £10 - £15 a month that will allow me to connect to the internet without having to find any other ISP or phone line etc. Therefore if I got one I can use it at home on my desktop and use the same USB modem in my laptop when on the boat etc.

 

Currently it's costing me £8.99/month for an unlimited dial-up access at home. Therefore it would seem to me wise to change. Are there any other charges/fees I'm not aware of?

 

I don't download any music or videos so I guess a 3gb service will be plenty for me?

 

All info appreciated.

 

that is certainly my understanding of it.

 

I don't download music or videos, but I am hoping 1gb is good enough for me!

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Callunna Contributor

Callunna

Posted
Posted
Calluna (remember the lovely Calluna?)(before she became too intimidated to post on CWDF, BTW) bought her T Mobile system to our boat and it worked OK, but my system worked just as well, it was the cost from Orange that bothered me.

 

How is the Calluna, and has she gone over to Justcanals?

 

Me? Intimidated? Nah - just don't care to get involved with some of the silly shenanigans of a small minority on here. The rest of the members are great and I regularly read the threads with interest.

 

Yes, I do post on JC which I find more accessible and it loads a lot quicker on my laptop (using T-Mobile's Web n Walk USB modem, to keep this post on topic...). If I went on every canal website I'd never get any work done (hmm, there's a nice thought).

 

JC members are all very patient & helpful with this newbie's questions, and whereas 99% of people on here would be the same, I'm afraid the existence of that nasty little minority puts me off in case I get a load of abusive or sarky comments.

 

Back to the topic: yes, WnW works well on a desktop computer - I tested it at home before becoming a liveaboard. Also, I use an Apple Mac and had to download an upgrade when I switched to the Leopard OS recently. WnW occasionally drops out and the speed seems to vary - especially in bad weather - but just 3 years ago all this was unheard of so I'm well chuffed with it. I couldn't have become a self-employed liveaboard without it.

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Peter R Collaborator

Peter R

Posted
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In terms of usage capacity, my home broadband gives me 1GB per month inclusive - I probably exceed this about once every three months, in which situation my ISP automatically adds an extra 1GB for that month and charges me an extra £1 for the priviledge.

 

However, as I am paying £10 / month for the fixed broadband, the fact that mobile ones are available for the same price does start to raise some questions.....

 

Peter

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Callunna Contributor

Callunna

Posted
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I give my internet connection quite a bit of welly but as yet I haven't used up my 3gig per month allowance.

 

I certainly wouldn't return to fixed broadband, even if I were near a wi-fi hotspot. The versatility of being able to use my own connection anywhere I go, for the price I pay, with no messing about in cafes and the worries of public access/privacy - well it's a no-brainer.

 

I admit the connection isn't as fast or as stable, but so what if it takes a few nanoseconds extra to load a page, or 30 seconds to re-set the modem - we're all supposed to be chilled out and slowed down on the cut, aren't we?

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blackrose Veteran II

blackrose

Posted
Posted (edited)
Yep, the T-mobile modem is advertised as 3.6Mbps as standard, but the people in the shop told me how to download firmware off the T-mobile site to enable it to run at 7.2Mbps.

 

How fast is 7.2 Mbps in comparison to a standard domestic broadband connection in a house for example? I know they're all different and the speeds that users actually get are often far from what was advertised, but my broadband service at my mooring is supposed to be 100Mbps so 7.2 sounds quite slow? The problem with my service is that although it's cheap and wireless, it's not fully mobile.

 

If I went to a T-mobile outlet could they give me a demo?

Edited by blackrose
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wonderdust Proficient

wonderdust

Posted
Posted
How fast is 7.2 Mbps in comparison to a standard domestic broadband connection in a house for example? I know they're all different and the speeds that users actually get are often far from what was advertised, but my broadband service at my mooring is supposed to be 100Mbps so 7.2 sounds quite slow? The problem with my service is that although it's cheap and wireless, it's not fully mobile.

 

If I went to a T-mobile outlet could they give me a demo?

 

The average speed in the uk is around 3mbs, you might get around 8mbs if you live close to the exchange and your line is in good condition but there is no way you are on 100mbs, do a speed test!

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Lesd Rising Star

Lesd

Posted
Posted

I use Vodaphone 3G USB modem and have had no problems at all, very consistant coverage so far.

Im connected at 3g currently and just checked the speed via a test site; 1.3Mb downstream and 0.3Mb upstream. Thats probably as good as most basic 2Mb broadband services at home (some ISPs massively oversubscribe their links).

Les

PS I have seen the modem connect at 7.2Mb just once, I should have done a speed check then to see the actual throughput !

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Peter R Collaborator

Peter R

Posted
Posted (edited)
Cheers

 

I'm getting 596 kbps download and 188 kbps upload speeds right now.

 

That's only 5.96 Mbps and 1.88 Mbps right?

 

Is the T-mobile deal faster than this?

 

Not quite - you're out by a factor of 10, it's actually 0.596Mbps!

 

The 'k' bit of kbps refers to 'kilo' (x 1000), the 'M' of Mbps refers to Mega (x 1000000), so to convert 'k' to 'M' divide by 1000.

 

If you want a comparison, I have just run the test and my landline broadband is currently reporting 1837kbps download and 238kbps upload. However, it could be much worse - a good landline dial-up connection might reach 56kbps!

Edited by Peter R
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blackrose Veteran II

blackrose

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Posted
Not quite - you're out by a factor of 10, it's actually 0.596Mbps!

 

The 'k' bit of kbps refers to 'kilo' (x 1000), the 'M' of Mbps refers to Mega (x 1000000), so to convert 'k' to 'M' divide by 1000.

 

If you want a comparison, I have just run the test and my landline broadband is currently reporting 1837kbps download and 238kbps upload. However, it could be much worse - a good landline dial-up connection might reach 56kbps!

 

Yes of course, so my connection is very slow!

 

I will look into the T-mobile deal, thanks.

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