3 USB data plans 10GB vs 3000?

cormie

Thanks for the info. 12 months is a bit much. Might wait a bit and see what the competitors have to offer!

culabula

cormie wrote:

Thanks for the info. 12 months is a bit much. Might wait a bit and see what the competitors have to offer!

It's always going to be be a minimum one-year contract -they have to subsidise the modem.

Urban Weigl

It is going to be hard to beat 3 on price, though it should be possible to beat them on service. The only cheaper offer I have seen was in Italy, where it is €19.00 a month and you get the modem for free, however that is with a 24 month contract.

cormie

culabula wrote:

It's always going to be be a minimum one-year contract -they have to subsidise the modem.

But if we have to pay €129 for the modem, what's there to subsidise? Unless I'm missing something and we don't actually have to pay for the modem and just have to pay the €20 per month?

culabula

cormie wrote:

But if we have to pay €129 for the modem, what's there to subsidise? Unless I'm missing something and we don't actually have to pay for the modem and just have to pay the €20 per month?

The modem costs 3 more than that -that IS the subsidised price. In Italy and Austria where the populations are much greater than that of Ireland 3 can afford to be seen to be generous and charge 3€ for the modem -in exchange for a 24 month contract.

Fact is, we're getting 10GB for 20€ to use in Ireland and in 8 other countries. It's a very good deal.

Urban Weigl

cormie wrote:

But if we have to pay €129 for the modem, what's there to subsidise? Unless I'm missing something and we don't actually have to pay for the modem and just have to pay the €20 per month?

This is what the modem would cost if it was not subsidised: http://www.expansys.com/p.aspx?i=141528

And to me, the main attraction of the service is not its speed, but the fact that it is portable. It is great to be able to do things on your laptop while not at home. You could even work from a park bench or a coffee place. I remember the day when I used to pay hundreds of euros a month for a handful of megabytes of GPRS traffic (!!!).

cormie

£229:eek:

Ok, I'll shut up now, maybe 12 months isn't so bad.

This would be a very handy service for me so I might go for it. I see below it says you can use it in any country that has the 3 network. You say you can use it in 8 countries. Do only 8 countries have the 3 network so far? What happens when you're not in a 3 network zone, will it just not work or is there a way to connect by paying a payg charge or anything?

culabula

Urban Weigl wrote:

And to me, the main attraction of the service is not its speed, but the fact that it is portable. It is great to be able to do things on your laptop while not at home. You could even work from a park bench or a coffee place. I remember the day when I used to pay hundreds of euros a month for a handful of megabytes of GPRS traffic (!!!).

Agree totally; I remember looking in vain for cybercaffs in foreign cities all over the place -those days are gone. Another small benefit is that I no longer spend 15€ and over per train trip on magazines, periodicals and newspapers twice a week. The internet keeps me amused and I can read most of those online instead.

culabula

cormie wrote:

£229:eek:

Ok, I'll shut up now, maybe 12 months isn't so bad.

This would be a very handy service for me so I might go for it. I see below it says you can use it in any country that has the 3 network. You say you can use it in 8 countries. Do only 8 countries have the 3 network so far? What happens when you're not in a 3 network zone, will it just not work or is there a way to connect by paying a payg charge or anything?

9 countries now have 3, 8 others beside Ireland. The deal with the new tariff is that it only works in those countries, nowhere else. If you want voice, text and (some) roaming, then you have to get the 3GB @ 40€ a month.

cormie

Is there a list of the 9 countries anywhere do you know? I presume Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland are 4 of the 9 anyway, then I heard Italy mentioned above too and I think I remember hearing the Netherlands had it too?

culabula

cormie wrote:

Is there a list of the 9 countries anywhere do you know? I presume Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland are 4 of the 9 anyway, then I heard Italy mentioned above too and I think I remember hearing the Netherlands had it too?

Erm, on the 3 site?

Wales, England and Scotland are not 'part of the 9' as those countries form part of the United Kingdom and together are a unit known as Great Britain.

the Netherlands are not a 3 territory. Have a look at three.com

caster

Urban Weigl wrote:

This is what the modem would cost if it was not subsidised: http://www.expansys.com/p.aspx?i=141528

Is this the actual modem that 3 supply?

culabula

caster wrote:

Is this the actual modem that 3 supply?

Yes.

cormie

Does anyone know how well this would work on the move, as in, if I had a laptop on the passenger seat of a van while going 100kmph, would it keep disconnecting? Could I rely on it to have an important call over VOIP while driving along I wonder.

Also, what are the consequences of terminating the contract prior to the twelfth month I wonder.

I ask too many questions:D

culabula

cormie wrote:

Does anyone know how well this would work on the move, as in, if I had a laptop on the passenger seat of a van while going 100kmph, would it keep disconnecting? Could I rely on it to have an important call over VOIP while driving along I wonder.

Also, what are the consequences of terminating the contract prior to the twelfth month I wonder.

I ask too many questions:D

I use it all the time on an express train; there are disconnections -around 5 per 160km trip.

The consequences would probably be having to pay the remainder of your contract off.

I wouldn't rely on Voip for any important call even under optimum conditions.

cormie

Cool, thanks for the info. Would they be 20 second disconnects or would it take about 5 mins each time to get back online?

odie007

Hi All have been using my 3g 10gb broad band and its pretty cool doesnt seem to be too many snags.. Blueface wont work on it but thats not really suprising, Skype does but uploads are slow getting 56k.. Brings me back to the old days..

culabula

cormie wrote:

Cool, thanks for the info. Would they be 20 second disconnects or would it take about 5 mins each time to get back online?

Getting back online is going to depends on where you are; it could be a matter of seconds to reconnect or you could be hurtling through Dunleer and wait 5 minutes for a fresh signal.

Urban Weigl

odie007 wrote:

Hi All have been using my 3g 10gb broad band and its pretty cool doesnt seem to be too many snags.. Blueface wont work on it but thats not really suprising, Skype does but uploads are slow getting 56k.. Brings me back to the old days..

I think 3 may be shaping the upload speed, at least at the moment, since I am also only getting 56k. In contrast, with Vodafone, I get 384k. Talking about the upload speed here of course, not the download speed, which is significantly faster in both cases, though 3 has the clear edge there.