Good Deal on 4G Broadband From 3

Firblog

Got this earlier for the OH, she was paying the top level of 250GB per month for €69.99 from 3, now got 750GB for €29.99 from three here , sending out a new router too. Best deal around if landline can't support broadband or don't have a landline.

TimHorton

They can give 750 million gb , the fact is the 4g service is useless during peak hours

Amalgam

I have looked, the duration of the 750GB data allowance is vague..

Can someone point it out, I looked into the terms and conditions and it does seem to suggest Three can change/amend this at any time.

I am a customer of Three, but I'm quite wary of them. I get my allowance warnings about a week late, if at all. Fun..

drunkmonkey

Amalgam wrote: »

I have looked, the duration of the 750GB data allowance is vague..

Can someone point it out, I looked into the terms and conditions and it does seem to suggest Three can change/amend this at any time.

I am a customer of Three, but I'm quite wary of them. I get my allowance warnings about a week late, if at all. Fun..

It's a 750gb allowance for use within the monthly bill cycle, what's vague about it. You are charged if you go over it.
Don't be depending on them set up your own alerts if you think your going to go over it.

Amalgam

drunkmonkey wrote: »

It's a 750gb allowance for use within the monthly bill cycle, what's vague about it. You are charged if you go over it.
Don't be depending on them set up your own alerts if you think your going to go over it.

You should visit the Three forum, that's not the issue with the alerts, they're broken with Three.

The lenght of the offer is 'vague'.

Thanks for your reply..

drunkmonkey

Amalgam wrote: »

You should visit the Three forum, that's not the issue with the alerts, they're broken with Three.

The lenght of the offer is 'vague'.

Thanks for your reply..

Yes that's why I'm suggesting you set up your own alerts nothing to do with 3.

The length of the offer is the length of the term you sign up to, getting the free router on 24mts will lock your in at that price for 24mts. What's vague about that.

mph_96

I was a Three 4G Broadband customer. When I joined 1st, I was getting decent download speeds in my area of say 15-20Mb per sec. After about two months, my service became a total joke with speeds regularly below 0.2Mb/s.

The same router with a different provider SIM would still deliver decent speeds.

Talking to customer service was like talking to a wall!!! As an electronic engineer, I refused to be fobbed off with the usual excuses!!!

I could not comtemplate going back to 3 as a customer, no matter what quota that they offer!!!

Yggr of Asgard

"for a promotional period"

It says the promotion is valid for customers who signed up after 15/01/2018 but there is no specification of how long that promotional period is.

The T&C do not define how much notice three needs to give if they want to end the promotion and you are locked into an 18-month contract with them.

So even if you manage to get a good network signal and do your most during offpeak, you might end up with them ending the promotion and you are back to the 30 GB standard. Good luck than fighting three to get out of contract.

Hmm_Messiah

Yggr of Asgard wrote: »

"for a promotional period"

It says the promotion is valid for customers who signed up after 15/01/2018 but there is no specification of how long that promotional period is.

The T&C do not define how much notice three needs to give if they want to end the promotion and you are locked into an 18-month contract with them.

So even if you manage to get a good network signal and do your most during offpeak, you might end up with them ending the promotion and you are back to the 30 GB standard. Good luck than fighting three to get out of contract.

Did you ask them ?

I asked in chat and have a saved transcript. 750 GB per month for length of contract if 18 months

There ya go

Yggr of Asgard

I just posted the question on the ask 3 forum:

https://www.boards.ie/ttfthread/2057833920

You better save the transcript because 3 is known to be better than Recdep of Minitrue when it comes to ensuring the truth is 3.

as.eirinn

Maybe other providers will match or have similar upcoming promotions...hope so.

ED E

as.eirinn wrote: »

Maybe other providers will match or have similar upcoming promotions...hope so.

And slower and slow it goes.....

Hmm_Messiah

E: But it says promotional ? And the terms and conditions don't seem to state. Can you confirm how long the 750 allowance is for
Ridham: The 750 GB is given for a month, if you exceed the 750 Gb then you get charged as 6.15c per MB.

And the promotional period is for 18 months.
E: And is 18 months the length of the full contract?
Ridham: yes, it is.
E: That is excellent
Ridham: So you have to be with the same plan for 18 months.
E: That's ok

Yggr of Asgard

as.eirinn wrote: »

Maybe other providers will match or have similar upcoming promotions...hope so.

Maybe the VMNO will match but as they also rely on three that will have the same issue of peak time congestion.

I can't see vodafone doing something like this, they know why they have higher prices with caps on data.

Yggr of Asgard

Also remember there is no EU roaming on this plan.

listermint

Am I missing something or how is this different to all you can eat data for twenty ?

Yggr of Asgard

listermint wrote: »

Am I missing something or how is this different to all you can eat data for twenty ?

That one is for your phone to make calls and have internet on your phone.

This one is for data only that you can use in a mobile broadband router so that you can have multiple devices connected (via wifi or lan).

CeilingFly

Great bargain once you have good service - I'm 20mb + most of the time and use the phone as a hotspot as the previous 30gb was too little.

You'll probably find the 750gb limit will continue after the 18month time.

listermint

Yggr of Asgard wrote: »

That one is for your phone to make calls and have internet on your phone.

This one is for data only that you can use in a mobile broadband router so that you can have multiple devices connected (via wifi or lan).

Erm what prevents you putting the sim inside a router.


Just saying

Yggr of Asgard

listermint wrote: »

Erm what prevents you putting the sim inside a router.


Just saying

You could but it's against the T&C:

The All You Can Eat Data Service is available for use with your Three SIM Card in your Three handset only. Tethering or use of the Three handset as, or the SIM in conjunction with, a modem is not allowed and may be disabled.

Also remember that all you can eat is a promotion that ends in April (but I'm sure they simply renew it again) and that in theory once you hit 60 GB they can restrict your data. Because all you can eat does not mean all you can eat when you get over 60 GB.

Firblog

TimHorton wrote: »

They can give 750 million gb , the fact is the 4g service is useless during peak hours

Well she / kids regularly blew that 250gb allowance in less than a month with 2 on netflix and one on you tube during weekends & holidays.. so service mustn't be that bad where she lives

dozy doctor

Mr.S wrote:

Best bet is to get a prepay sim and test out the 4G in your area before signing up.

And go as far as to stay signed up to the all you can eat data package for 20 euro a month and get yourself your very own Sim Router by Linksys for £100 on Amazon..

Miike

Mr.S wrote: »

They’ve started to advertise a 60GB limit for that, Although don’t enforce it. I wouldn’t be surprised if they start to though, for the exact reason!

But yeah at the moment the best deal is the prepay + buy your own 4G router

They'll lose a large portion of their market share if they do put a cap on data though. They'll threaten one but I don't think it will be enforced as rigidly as other providers.

Tzardine

Mr.S wrote: »

They’ve started to advertise a 60GB limit for that, Although don’t enforce it. I wouldn’t be surprised if they start to though, for the exact reason!

But yeah at the moment the best deal is the prepay + buy your own 4G router

I live in a broadband black spot. Mobile broadband is my only option. I use a PAYG phone sim in a router and €20 top up a month as my only broadband.

I put about 700gb a month through it. In the last year I have been slowed down twice to about 1meg (Normally get a steady 25 even during peak).

I will probably sign up to this deal though as at just €10 more expensive I have no risk of being slowed down if then start to enforce the 60gb limit. It also means that I wont have to remember to top up.

Edit - I see that you can get the same deal on sim only for the same price. Just 30 day contract. Handy if you already have a router to use.

Edit 2 - I have been on live chat with Three. It does not apply to sim only. Only applies to the 18 month contract.

JeffKenna

Fantastic deal...thanks OP!!!!!

editorsean

For those that don't already have a router, it's pretty good value compared to buying the router and using a prepay phone SIM in it. Plus there is technical support, which they will not provide to those using a phone SIM in a router.

With prepay, one needs to top up every 28 days, so there are just over 13 top-ups per year (365 / 28 = 13.04). 18 months would require at least 20 top-ups, i.e. €20 x 20 = €400.

This 18 month contract will cost €30 x 18 + €1 sign-up admin charge = €541.

Although the 18 month contract is €141 more expensive, it includes a free Huawei B525, which costs £150 new on Amazon.

There are a few catches to watch out for. Network performance can change a lot in a few months, which can be a right pain if it happens near the start of the contract. Going over the 750GB limit can result in a large bill, which cannot happen with prepay. Their router is network locked, so no ability to pop-in another provider's SIM during downtime or network issues.

For example, there were periods where their network got so bad in my area that streamining, Skype, etc. were practically unusable after 8pm. After whatever upgrade they did around September, their network has been performing fine, but who knows how long for with the network load this plan may add. Now it's Vodafone that I mainly hear people complaining about their speed, mainly due to them lacking 4G coverage in this area.

Tzardine

I signed up and picked up the router in store today. (B525)

I was pleasantly surprised to see that it comes with the two external antennas. They are big enough. I wonder if they will make a difference. I will let you know later when I get home.

theduffer

editorsean wrote: »

For those that don't already have a router, it's pretty good value compared to buying the router and using a prepay phone SIM in it. Plus there is technical support, which they will not provide to those using a phone SIM in a router.

With prepay, one needs to top up every 28 days, so there are just over 13 top-ups per year (365 / 28 = 13.04). 18 months would require at least 20 top-ups, i.e. €20 x 20 = €400.

This 18 month contract will cost €30 x 18 + €1 sign-up admin charge = €541.

Although the 18 month contract is €141 more expensive, it includes a free Huawei B525, which costs £150 new on Amazon.

There are a few catches to watch out for. Network performance can change a lot in a few months, which can be a right pain if it happens near the start of the contract. Going over the 750GB limit can result in a large bill, which cannot happen with prepay. Their router is network locked, so no ability to pop-in another provider's SIM during downtime or network issues.

For example, there were periods where their network got so bad in my area that streamining, Skype, etc. were practically unusable after 8pm. After whatever upgrade they did around September, their network has been performing fine, but who knows how long for with the network load this plan may add. Now it's Vodafone that I mainly hear people complaining about their speed, mainly due to them lacking 4G coverage in this area.

Hi EditorSean

I have a quick question as a prepay 3 user that you might be able to answear...
If i have good 4G coverage and if i was to switch to the broadband offer, would i be using seperate 4g connection and therefor less prone to slow down during peak times. Im assuming i could use my existing modem...

editorsean

Unfortunately that is not the case, at least not like when I carried out tests a few years ago.

From my own testing with this 750GB contract SIM against a prepay phone SIM, the performance appears to be identical using the same antenna / router set up. Traffic prioritisation is also the same, where certain services such as Google/YouTube and Microsoft get higher priority.

Download test example from Heanet vs Google Drive:


For YouTube fans, check that the video resolution does not exceed 1080p. I've seen it automatically switch to 4K, which very rapidly clocks up data usage on long videos.

There are two other small benefits I've seen - The contract SIM gets a public IP address that can accept incoming connections. It also does not appear to get booted off the network intermittently like what I've seen with using a prepay phone SIM in the router. When this happens, the Internet connectivity would drop until the router was switched off for several minutes.

As another mentioned above, they supply two rabbit-ear antennas with the Huawei B525. There is no VoIP menu in the router, unlike my B593s-22, so it appears that Three removed that feature.

Zimmerframe

editorsean wrote: »

For those that don't already have a router, it's pretty good value compared to buying the router and using a prepay phone SIM in it. Plus there is technical support, which they will not provide to those using a phone SIM in a router.

With prepay, one needs to top up every 28 days, so there are just over 13 top-ups per year (365 / 28 = 13.04). 18 months would require at least 20 top-ups, i.e. €20 x 20 = €400.

This 18 month contract will cost €30 x 18 + €1 sign-up admin charge = €541.

Although the 18 month contract is €141 more expensive, it includes a free Huawei B525, which costs £150 new on Amazon.

But the prepay version, has one good advantage, you can buy €20 of music, movies or apps from the Google Play store, so technically:

It's a "spend €20 in the Google play store every 28 days and get unlimited broadband free offer.

Nolars

Zimmerframe wrote:

It's a "spend €20 in the Google play store every 28 days and get unlimited broadband free offer.

Zimmerframe wrote:

But the prepay version, has one good advantage, you can buy €20 of music, movies or apps from the Google Play store, so technically:

Do ya have to take the sim out every time to use it on the store ?

Genghis

Does anyone know if Three allow VOIP?

I know they block it on their locked router provided with the 18 month plan on this deal; I have my own router and am considering the 30 day plan but would need VOIP.

Genghis

Mr.S wrote: »

Really, they block VoIP on supplied routers? At one point Three where heavily advertising free data when using Skype, would be strange for a total 360 on that.

I can't imaging why they would block VoIP the 30 day plan, apart from getting people to sign up to the longer one - but that's a strange incentive.

I'm going by editorsean's comment a few posts up and also by research I did a year ago when buying my router: I didn't buy from 3 as they network-lock the router and they don't have physical RJ11 port for phone line (to use VOIP).

I suppose my question is if they provide no port and remove VOIP in the menu do they go the whole hog and block VOIP on the network too.

editorsean

As far as I can tell, they only disable the router's built-in VoIP menu. Standalone VoIP hardware and softphones (e.g. CSipSimple Android App) work fine even with this router.

I reconfigured an old Vomino Grandstream adapter with my Blueface account and plugged a corded phone into it. It rings when I dial my 076 number and similarly, it rings out fine. The call sound quality seems to be fine also.

One thing I did do is disable "SIP ALG" as I've had issues with Eir's routers causing VoIP issues with this enabled. To disable it on the Huawei B525, go into the Settings menu at the top, into Security -> SIP ALG Settings on the left, clear the checkmark for "Enable SIP ALG" and click 'Apply'.

Genghis

Thank you editorsean very helpful

givecredit

Genghis wrote: »

Thank you editorsean very helpful

Always very helpful information from editorsean.
My internet speeds jumped from average 4mb to average 60mb overnight thanks to his posts here on board s and his very helpful blog here

https://editorsean.com/articles/large-4g-plans-home-broadband-ireland/

brendan86

I don't know why people here saying about them cutting your speeds on prepay if you abuse your (all you can eat data).. change your SIM card ever 3 months or whenever.. sim cards are free.. or they cost 20euro and you get your 20 credit for the month.

Jurgen Klopp

Does anyone have a link to getting a free 3 sim so I can test speeds or do I actually have to get 20 credit to get a sim

TimHorton

Jurgen Klopp wrote: »

Does anyone have a link to getting a free 3 sim so I can test speeds or do I actually have to get 20 credit to get a sim

You need credit to check the speed

Tzardine

Sign up for the 29 euro deal online. You get 14 days to test it out. You can return it no problem any time during the 14 days

georgewickstaff

Hi all

I have just signed up.

Currently have a 30mb Digiweb metro connection which is groaning and creaking under the strain of multiple youtubers.

My idea is to use the Three Broadband 2 as a secondary network.

1 - Obvioulsy it is incredibly important to monitor usage. How easy and accurate is this on the modem? Can I bridge the Hauwei to my current router which does record usage (Google wifi)?

2 - If i can get even 10mbs at peak times I will be happy enough. Not really going to use it for HD streaming or 4K viewing but just to have a lag free connection would be very nice.

Will update you all to let you know how its going. Based Co. Louth so rural user..

Best wishes

TimHorton

Signed up Friday , Modem/Sim delivered by Nightline at 9.30AM
Been using it since then and so far so good ,

Tzardine

georgewickstaff wrote: »

Hi all

1 - Obvioulsy it is incredibly important to monitor usage. How easy and accurate is this on the modem? Can I bridge the Hauwei to my current router which does record usage (Google wifi)?

Huawei have a good app that lets you manage the modem. You can set up your monthly allowance and monitor it. You can also set up warnings at certain points.

CeilingFly

Mast siteviewer from comreg will give you exact locations of masts and wheteher they are 4g enabled (LTE)

https://www.comreg.ie/industry/radio-spectrum/site-viewer/

I found the my mast is closer than I thought - and explains the speeds I get (50mbs off peak) from three.

tobdom

Would anyone have any insight or maybe have heard how long this deal will be offered for? When will the promotion end?

It could be a great option for us when we move house in a few months, and I'd hate to miss out on the deal (if this is a viable option for us, need to do some more research), so I'd sign up anyway - but the longer I could leave it the better......

georgewickstaff

Next day delivery. Ordered lunchtime yesterday got at 4pm today.

Currently veering between 7mbps and about 10.48mbps at 19:43 - more or less peek time.

Probably be happy enough with that. My Digiweb connection is 2.4mbps so it shows you what I usually have to deal with!

georgewickstaff

As I posted it has gone down to about 3.35mbps which is not worth the extra 30 a month if it stays like this until midnight!

Will keep you updated

kevovek

Thats been the case with my prepay sim for the last 2 months. Was hoping availing of this deal might help that but it probably wont

CeilingFly

georgewickstaff wrote: »

Next day delivery. Ordered lunchtime yesterday got at 4pm today.

Currently veering between 7mbps and about 10.48mbps at 19:43 - more or less peek time.

Probably be happy enough with that. My Digiweb connection is 2.4mbps so it shows you what I usually have to deal with!

Locate the mast you are on and ensure the modem is beside / close to the window with best directional sight of the mast.

For me, if I have the modem at one side of the house, it is getting about 10mb at present. Move it to the other side and its getting 13-14mb.
This morning at 6.30am I got 53mb!!!

georgewickstaff

I have installed the app etc,

I want to really protect myself against going over 750GB. When does the data allowance run from?

Calendar month? Date you turned it on? Is it 30 days or a calendar month?

I will contact three but for some reason my email address I signed up with will not allow me to log on to mythree.ie

Thank you

TimHorton

georgewickstaff wrote: »

I have installed the app etc,

I want to really protect myself against going over 750GB. When does the data allowance run from?

Calendar month? Date you turned it on? Is it 30 days or a calendar month?

I will contact three but for some reason my email address I signed up with will not allow me to log on to mythree.ie

Thank you

If you check the SMS section on the Modem you will see your MyThree Password , It registered for me on the 2nd attempt