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Anybody with Three/Vodafone mobile broadband in Galway.....

  • 12-04-2011 8:32am
    #1
    Col200sx
    Registered Users Posts: 1,728 ✭✭✭


    What's the service like? Is the connection speed good?

    Thinking of changing from UPC broadband to either Three or Vodafone, as they're only €20 per month, and supposedly nearly as fast.

    Has anybody got it that can share their experience with it?

    Thanks :)


Comments

  • #2
    fergiesfolly
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,397 ✭✭✭fergiesfolly


    Mobile broadband wouldn't be as fast as UPC and if you inform UPC that you're leaving their service, they'll more than likely offer you a reduced price for the service. It worked for me and many others. I'm currently getting an 8mb package for €20.


  • #3
    dilallio
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,728 ✭✭✭dilallio


    The speed & reception also depends on which side of town you live in. I use Vodafone sometimes and find that while it's brilliant in Mervue / Ballybane / Doughiska, it's crap in parts of Knocknacarra.


  • #4
    Col200sx
    Registered Users Posts: 1,728 ✭✭✭Col200sx


    fergiesfolly wrote: »
    Mobile broadband wouldn't be as fast as UPC and if you inform UPC that you're leaving their service, they'll more than likely offer you a reduced price for the service. It worked for me and many others. I'm currently getting an 8mb package for €20.

    Are they really doing that? Didn't realise they were offering cheaper packages to keep customers.
    dilallio wrote: »
    The speed & reception also depends on which side of town you live in. I use Vodafone sometimes and find that while it's brilliant in Mervue / Ballybane / Doughiska, it's crap in parts of Knocknacarra.

    Thanks for that. There's the problem then, I'm in Knocknacarra :(


  • #5
    fergiesfolly
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,397 ✭✭✭fergiesfolly


    They sure are. And I'm by no means the first or last person to try it. We had all three of their services and when I cancelled the phone and mentioned we were thinking of leaving altogether, they offered reductions on the other services to stay. You have nothing to lose by trying it.


  • #6
    GekkePrutser
    Closed Accounts Posts: 673 ✭✭✭GekkePrutser


    I tried both O2's and Vodafone's service, both offer 1 month for 20 euro (or thereabouts) with a 5GB cap on prepay. I used the service for a long time because I didn't want to sign up on a contract. I'm also near the Knocknacarra area (Fort Lorenzo)

    O2 was the most reliable in terms of data throughput, usually getting around 1-1.5 mbit download speeds. But it was very erratic, latency was up / down all the time and it wasn't really possible at all to do any kind of realtime data such as a Skype call or online gaming. Sometimes that would work OK for a few minutes but then the ping times would shoot up and parts of the audio would be dropped, game-characters would jump all over the screen, or the connection would drop altogether. Downloading files (e.g. Windows updates) was OK but required a lot of patience.

    Vodafone was faster at times but also excruciatingly slow at other times. The speed seemed to be more dependent on time of day than O2. When it was good, it was better than O2, and I would even get around 2-3 mbit. But there also were times where it was so slow I could hardly get my mail to come in, I'd have to try and send/receive a few times. Skype calls were extremely choppy even when the connection speed was good.

    Of course these are my experiences and because it involves wireless services it clearly depends on your exact location and distance to the provider's mast etc. Because it was my main internet connection for a while, I did go through some effort to set it up to work best, I stuck the broadband stick on the window with some duct tape, and used a USB extension cable. That way I would get the best signal because the stick had a clear view of the outside world. I still didn't get a perfect signal though, 3 out of 5 bars for O2 and 4 out of 5 on Vodafone.

    In my view these are not good enough as a main internet connection, on the go they're nice but a bit expensive for casual use. I'm with UPC now, and I do really get the 20mbit they promise all the time, although their modem is kind of crap (search the forums for EPC2425 to see what I mean :) )

    Edit: I do want to add I am definitely a 'power user' and if you're looking for it to surf the web occasionally it might be worth giving it a try, especially if you want to avoid long-term contracts. They often have deals with cheap modems (even on prepay) so there's no big loss if it doesn't work out, you could even sell the modem back on adverts.

    Edit 2: Oh sorry I just saw you're already with UPC so you know what they're like. I recommend to stay with them like fergiesfolly did, hope it works out getting the discount :)


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