melaniepittam

I have just been looking at modems today in the UK (3G, Vodafone, T-Mobile, etc). Apparently you can just plug them into your laptop and away you go (or your PC) - it's like using your phone as a modem but cheaper (you use a plug-in USB device instead).

The deals I saw today were £15/month and you get 3gb of downloads per month. With 3GB you could download 200 tunes and 100 video clips, send 2000 emails and surf for 100 hours.

Downside is 24 month contract. You can get 12 months or 30 day contract, but you then have to pay for the modem and more for the contract (which is obviously worth it if you intend to only use it in the short term - Modem cost is £99 and £20/month if you have the 30 day contact).

My thinking is if they do this in Oz then it would be a great way of using the internet in the short term and also good if you have to wait for the internet to be provided when in your long term accommodation.

Is it available in Oz and is it a good or bad idea?

Thanks
Melanie

ozzieclare2b

we are looking for short term connection for here in uk. I have bt broadband but the feckers wont let me move it to mother in laws phone line unless we either put the line in our name or put boradband in hers which means a new contract:curse:. To break the contract will mean we will have to pay another £200.

Have seen a few deals around but it will have to go in mils name not ours so that is going to be fun getting her to try and sort it otherwise its a case of doing without but the run up to going to oz will be when we need it most nothing is straighforward is it!!

melaniepittam

No, as you say, nothing is straightforward!!!

Might be worth looking at buying a modem (£99) here on 30 day contract, then maybe be able to use the same modem with a new contract in Oz if it's with the same provider.

A long shot I know, but maybe worth a look.

How long have you got till you go?

Melanie

What about dial-up - slow I know but ok for short term.

ozzieclare2b

been trying to see if o2 offer anything similar but looks unlikely. could try a dial up connection i guess

Pollyana

Doubt very much that Aus is that advanced yet.......

quoll

I was talking to the 3 man about this just the other day but in reverse.

Modems, like phones are locked to the provider and the providers whilst having the same name in the two countries (vodaphone, 3 and Virgin are the ones that spring to mind - we dont seem to have O2 any more!) they are quite different companies. The 3 man found out for me that you can get the modems unlocked by calling the company but I have yet to discover if that is true. He was very surprised that they could be unlocked!!!

I am not sure about PAYG schemes here although I know that you can do it in UK. I think if I wanted to do it in UK I would need to still pay another L99 for a sim card even if I had my own modem.

It is definitely cheaper to get a 24 month contract - you would pay about $30 a month for the 24 months for a couple of gb. Only disadvantage is that the broadband coverage is still quite limited - only major metropolitan areas so you would need to check out the coverage maps very carefully. Whilst Canberra and Melbourne are OK I wouldnt get coverage if we go to the inlaws place down in Ballarat for example.

ozzieclare2b

just haook at 3. Think i am going to buy a dongle then top up every month until we go to oz. 3 network also covers oz but they dont have payg there just contract, so can always flog the dongle later on on ebay. That way we stay connected and dont have to worry about contracts

quoll

Your UK dongle wont work in Aus unless you can get it unlocked. 3 here is a totally different company.

ozzieclare2b

just spoke to 3 and they said it will work in oz but oz dont do payg would have to top up from uk. Might bob in to a 3 shop sometime and have a proper look

ozzieclare2b

how would u unlock a dongle lol

Hutch

If you're going to get mobile Internet over here, then you're best off with Telstra Next-G - Voda and Optus have pathetic coverage levels in comparison. You can use a PAYG sim to access the Internet, but it's not very cost effective.

melaniepittam

how would u unlock a dongle lol


gawd knows!

ozzieclare2b

Hutch it will only be a short term solution, its more for when we move into mother in laws in a couple of weeks until we get to oz, at least i know it will work there though even if its not the greatest to start with. as long as i can get to my emails i wont suffer

quoll

According to the 3 man you just have to have it connected to a computer and they will talk you through how to do it. As I said, not tried it myself. If you are going to use the UK account then you will have to pay international roaming fees and that is very$$$$$.

HUtch is right, Telstra have far and away the best coverage and some of the other networks actually hop off onto the Telstra network if they dont have coverage and it costs a mint because it is charged differently.

melaniepittam

Thanks for info. Just looked up Telstra Next-G and it looks like you're paying about £164 for the fast USB modem, and £54/month for 3GB/month download. (Expensive, but maybe worth it when going to a new country to live and the hassle it will save)! - comments please

The contract is for 12 months, but it says that you can change your plan free of charge at any time, so I'm assuming that when I find permanent accommodation, I would just be able to change to a normal internet connection FOC - or do you think this would this be classed as a completely different type of contract?

One other question - Does anyone know how much data allowance is used when using skype?

Thankyou

Melanie