Mobile Pay-As-You-Go Broadband

[Pretty Funked Up]

Not useless and if its only sending datat down the cable (like most printers) it will be fine. But these dongles draw their power from the motherboard, there is only a limited amount of power available out of each port which is why these dongles (older) need 2 ports to cover the power with out popping your motherboard. I've seem many PCs with blown usb ports (sometimes it takes a crucial power rail out with it junking the whole motherboard) because of over loading with usb hubs etc.

[mrbeats]

If on the other hand the terms & conditions are not only unfair but fall foul of the law, then they can be legally challenged.

 

I would say its safe to say not giving a customer what they paid for is unfair and to say so is not moaning.

[alan_fincher]

So a 5 metre USB cable would be useless?

Not convinced....

 

We have not used on something that long, but have certainly gone well over 2 metres by joining multiple cables, which can't be the best of ideas.

 

Inevitably there will be more losses with lots of plugs and sockets, so I'd have thought a single cable of (say) 3 metres is going to be a good compromise, and I think you may well gain more by getting a "dongle" another metre high into the air, than you will lose by an extra metre of cable. (I'm happy to have someone tell me why that's not the case though....)

 

Just haven't got around to finding a suitable length cable that doesn't have any joints in it yet.

 

Stating the obvious perhaps, but if hanging up inside a window, and it doesn't work well, then try a window on the other side of the boat. Unless you know where the mast is, it's worth trying multiple possibilities. If you want to keep the "dongle" inside, I'm guessing your chances will be better with big windows than small portholes.

[Pretty Funked Up]

If you want to go further with your dongle i recommend cable/hub with external power so it wont fry your motherboard.

 

New motherboards in a desktop isnt so bad/expensive but in a laptop it writes the unit off in most cases as the labour i charge (i'm cheap) is £80 without the parts.

[carlt]

I would say its safe to say not giving a customer what they paid for is unfair and to say so is not moaning.

When you accept the T&Cs you are getting what you paid for.

 

Go to another mobile provider, stick your 3 dongle on ebay and get on with your life.

 

If you want to go further with your dongle i recommend cable/hub with external power so it wont fry your motherboard.

 

New motherboards in a desktop isnt so bad/expensive but in a laptop it writes the unit off in most cases as the labour i charge (i'm cheap) is £80 without the parts.

Does this apply to other USB stuff? My GPS is about 12m up a mast.

[blackrose]

I would say its safe to say not giving a customer what they paid for is unfair and to say so is not moaning.

 

I'm sure that the broadband provider would say that what you are paying for is a certain amount of data downloads within a given time period. I think most broadband providers do it this way and if the terms & conditions of your service stated this from the outset then I don't agree with your assumption that it's unfair and I do think you're moaning about something which you overlooked.

 

One analogy might be to look at this situation as if you were in a restaurant: You have certain options. You can finish your meal. You can eat only half your meal and leave the restaurant. Or you can even finish half the meal and take the remainder home in a doggy bag. What you cannot do is leave half the meal, leave the restaurant and then return the next evening demanding the remainder of your meal.

 

If as you suggest what your provider is doing is so obviously unfair, then I recommend you to report it to the body overseeing mobile broadband (is it Ofcom?) As I said in a previous post, if the terms and conditions can be shown to contravene the law then any contract you signed will be null & void.

Edited November 14, 2008 by blackrose

[wonderdust]

If you want to go further with your dongle i recommend cable/hub with external power so it wont fry your motherboard.

 

New motherboards in a desktop isnt so bad/expensive but in a laptop it writes the unit off in most cases as the labour i charge (i'm cheap) is £80 without the parts.

 

whats wrong with this no power required! Cheaper ones available.

Edited November 14, 2008 by wonderdust

[Cinimod]

There are so many different options and what you need to work out is what are you going to use it for most...

 

If you are only after email and web surfing in a very portable little package you can check out;

Datawind pocketsurfer 2 - Expansys - Main website

 

£140 and that includes 20 hours a month for the first 12 months of internet access then £40 for your 2nd year - or go unlimited for £6 a month...

[Ricardo]

I tried 2 different active 5M USB cables with an Orange dongle and the software couldn't detect the dongle, but I have three 2M cables from the pound shop and it works using all 3 in series!

[Pretty Funked Up]

no power required , active - that has to be some kinda black magic. Wish my battery bank could do that.

Over the years USB power off the motherboards has vastly improved, which is why they can now reach the new 5 metre limit.

I dont recommend using 3 in series. (how do you plug the 2nd port in or is it a newer single port type?)

I dont recommend anything longer than 3 metres without EXTERNAL power being used (unless its just data and no power)

Its a gamble otherwise - some may be lucky but you might not and junk your board then you would come back complaining to me if i said it was OK.

Edited November 14, 2008 by Pretty Funked Up

[mrbeats]

I'm sure that the broadband provider would say that what you are paying for is a certain amount of data downloads within a given time period. I think most broadband providers do it this way and if the terms & conditions of your service stated this from the outset then I don't agree with your assumption that it's unfair and I do think you're moaning about something which you overlooked.

 

One analogy might be to look at this situation as if you were in a restaurant: You have certain options. You can finish your meal. You can eat only half your meal and leave the restaurant. Or you can even finish half the meal and take the remainder home in a doggy bag. What you cannot do is leave half the meal, leave the restaurant and then return the next evening demanding the remainder of your meal.

 

If as you suggest what your provider is doing is so obviously unfair, then I recommend you to report it to the body overseeing mobile broadband (is it Ofcom?) As I said in a previous post, if the terms and conditions can be shown to contravene the law then any contract you signed will be null & void.

 

I dont have a contract its pay as you go.

So i pay for 1gig I get 1 gig.

If however i dont use the one gig tough.

So in effect I paid for it but have only been given a month to use it so if I have some bandwidth left I loose it and they keep my money.

That is unfair and for your information many others think it is which is why Ofcom are looking into it.

 

Its a popular subject on other pc forums so it would seem im not the only moaning person out there!

 

Its astonishing you even think that because a company has these terms it ok to treat people like this if they have been forwarned!

 

You pay you get what you pay for simple no ifs no buts.

 

your analogy with the restaurant is off too.

I have the option to take my meal home and eat it yes.

I cant return and carry on as that is unreasonable as this would mean storing my food and reheating it so the restaurant will loose out if they did things like this.

 

Bandwidth use is a come and go service . You are not using something that is going to inconvenience anyone else especially if you have paid for you bandwidth.The bandwidth is there and if you use your allowance before the month is out they happily have more to sell you.So its ok when it suit them.

[Chris J W]

I dont have a contract its pay as you go.

So i pay for 1gig I get 1 gig.

If however i dont use the one gig tough.

So in effect I paid for it but have only been given a month to use it so if I have some bandwidth left I loose it and they keep my money.

That is unfair and for your information many others think it is which is why Ofcom are looking into it.

 

Perhaps it is 'unfair' but it is a T&C you agreed to when they sell you upto 1Gb, NOT 1Gb, and best way to counter this is to vote with your feet and move to another provider.

 

However, I do agree with you that the lack of 'rollover' could be annoying and (having just looked) their website isn't really very clear on the matter.

[Cinimod]

A better analogy than restaurants is possibly hotels or air travel

 

Both oversell their services on the basis that a percentage of people will not turn up - this is the same, so those who don't use the service are slightly subsidising those who do.

 

IF the phone company was to price it at a level where you got EVERYTHING you had paid for they would either need to put prices up, or bring the limits down and charge for going over...

 

I agree it is a pain it does not roll over, even if it only allowed roll over for a month, as sometimes I will use a lot more in one month and less in the next...

 

Quick check seems to indicate NOBODY rolls over data - let me know if you find someone who does!

Edited November 14, 2008 by Cinimod

[cotswoldsman]

My research was on the quality of service which 3 claimed to be the best.

As someone else has pointed out that is not always the case.

 

Lets nail it down then.

 

Is not rolling over credit someone has paid for fair yes or no?

 

I am with Carl on this it is all about reading T & C my Vodafone contract is for £25 a month for 3g (it is an old contract nearly finished) if I dont use my 3g I still pay £25 the next month.

 

My 3 PAYG states that I can not roll credit over after 30 days.

3 Contract would be £12 month again no roll over.

And will say again I have had no problems with £ far better coverage than Vodafone.

[alan_fincher]

IF the phone company was to price it at a level where you got EVERYTHING you had paid for they would either need to put prices up, or bring the limits down and charge for going over...

Exactly, I ended 3 weeks cruising in the summer with more than enough credit left that it would have met my needs during the 10 days we recently spent away.

 

The reality was I had to but a month's credit to provide service over those 10 days, (the remainder of which is currently ticking away unused....)

 

If they were not taking money off me in this way, and allowed roll-over, I'd fully expect them to be charging more in the first place.

 

I can think of countless examples of things that expire if you don't use them. It's a fact of life, and you either accept it, or you try to find an alternative that's more flexible, (which I suspect you will not, in this particular case...)

[Maverick]

I too read this thread out of personal interest as I was also thinking of purchasing mobile broadband and was interested to see if there was a clear recommendation from the forum members as to which may be the best package to purchase.

 

As that was the original question being asked its amazing to find that four pages later in this thread I'm still none the wiser apart from being turned off the whole idea altogether.

 

Yet another thread that turned into a slanging match and just like alchol free larger - absolutely pointless.

[carlt]

Yet another thread that turned into a slanging match and just like alchol free larger - absolutely pointless.

Pretty tasteless, too!

[Cinimod]

I too read this thread out of personal interest as I was also thinking of purchasing mobile broadband and was interested to see if there was a clear recommendation from the forum members as to which may be the best package to purchase.

 

As that was the original question being asked its amazing to find that four pages later in this thread I'm still none the wiser apart from being turned off the whole idea altogether.

 

Yet another thread that turned into a slanging match and just like alchol free larger - absolutely pointless.

 

OK - We use Vodafone on the K&A, with no problems, but then I do have a card with external antenna, but the signal is SO good in some places I have to take the antenna off so as to stabilise on one receiver!... so no complaints from me...

[carlt]

I use 3 (on a contract) using my old (sony ericsson Z600i) phone as a modem. No problems when it's put on the wheelhouse roof and I was still getting a signal 20 miles off the East Coast.

 

I also have orange and t-mobile payg but use hardly ever use them now as Broadband seems to be available on 3 most places.

[Pretty Funked Up]

I'm sure i mentioned earlier in thread I've tried 3 and tmobile.

found t mobile to be far better in both performance and reception.

well at least i think i mentioned it earlier

did i?

dont know!

its all too confusing

[Troll]

I use web and walk, (Tmobile). I have a 3 Gcard which was fine at first, but when they upgraded somthing it went off so I put my phone in the cratch and conected via bluetooth to my pc.

 

Re` terms and conditions, I wouldnt take them too seriously. In my case My service started off fine, then after 6 months they cut me off along with some of my free services like Msn and other messengers. My 3 g card suddenly wouldnt work.

 

I called in to complain and cutting a long story short, they say when I upgraded to have a certain amount of phone calls free as well as the internet, it seems I was sold the wrong package and when they updated whatever it was they updated, mine wouldnt work at all with the 3 G card, it only worked useing my mobile as a modem, and funny enough they said this was impossible.

 

I got so sick and tired of calling them (no body seemed to know the facts of my contract) I just continued useing it in the manner they said was imposible

[mrbeats]

Pretty tasteless, too!

 

Yet again another baiting comment from Carl that is irrelevant.

[carlt]

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it only worked useing my mobile as a modem, and funny enough they said this was impossible.

 

I got so sick and tired of calling them (no body seemed to know the facts of my contract) I just continued useing it in the manner they said was imposible

Yes, 3 told me it was impossible to use a phone, as a modem but, as I'd been using an orange phone, as one, for years, I chose to ignore them.

[Cinimod]

Yes, 3 told me it was impossible to use a phone, as a modem but, as I'd been using an orange phone, as one, for years, I chose to ignore them.

 

 

You do need to be careful who you choose - especially if you want to use some messengers or VoIP especially - I know t-mobile block VoIP, vodafone dont on their contract services - not sure about the others.

[Pretty Funked Up]

what ports are blocked depends on what package you get.

(eg the port needed for voip)

Edited November 16, 2008 by Pretty Funked Up