brian.w

Got myself one of those mini notebooks recently and a payg 3 mobile broadband dongle modem,i plan on using this modem within the uk,but when i head to australia in jan to validate my visa in jan also to use my modem and notebook over there.
I was wondering as its 3 and from the uk i heard that there is no extra charges for using within australia as its a siter network or same.
Is this right and also has anyone used or done this in what i want to do above,is there settings to change and if so anyone got a step by step in what needs done.
Is it a case of just topping up when i am over there with credit online etc.

Or am i going to be charged lots when using it over there,any advice would be great.

What like is there coverage in perth,australia?

Fleaflyfloflum

No chance!

I did the same when i was over there this year. I have a new laptop and 3 dongle. When i got back to Sydney I went in and asked them. They say no, you have to buy one of theirs
Makes me so cross, but we have been living here for years anyway so have broadband at home so i told them to stuff it and will just wait till i go back to UK after christmas and start using it again. (we are going back for good)

brian.w

but does it not say you can use 3 moble modem overseas why would you need to buy another when you already have one with 3,its the same company and it says you can use overseas with there sister companies for no extra cost,big reason why i went for this modem by 3??

Fleaflyfloflum

Phone them and ask then. But that is definitely what I was told in store here in Sydney. I dont really need to use it so did not press the issue too much.
Admittedly the shop assistant was a teenage Asian girl who looked somewhat aloof as i wasnt going to spend my money in there, so double check.

The Bloke

If you had an issue with the advertising by 3 UK, have you taken it up with 3 UK or the appropriate regulatory authority?

The Bloke

As the 3 b/band signal is carried on the Optus network, it has to be compatible with the Optus Network. According to the 3 UK site, UK internet/data transmissions from Australia is not compatible on the PAYG or monthly contract with Optus. Also you may not realise that the 3/Optus coverage is not available everywhere in Australia.
If it is anything like my mobile phone that I had set to autoroam, I'll assume that you'll have to contact your intial ISP (3UK) provider to arrange the function to be activated, so you can access the other providers here.

http://www.three.co.uk/personal/help....omp?cid=31224

http://www.three.co.uk/personal/help....omp?cid=31224

bu1lder

No 3G from 3 in wa. Its all on the east. That's my experience anyway.

fa kin su pa

I also have 3 dongle for broadband. We are moving to Sunshine coast and have been told it is FREE to use? I would like to be reassured though first?

Lee Family

3 will tell you the moon is made of cheese if it will get them a sale , i have a 3 skype phone, works great in Uk would not work in Oz when i was over to validate.

quoll

LOL I seriously doubt that! Nothing is free.

I have been told by 3 that you can actually get your dongle unlocked by phoning the customer care line and then you can get an Aussie sim from 3 - not sure if they have payg but Telstra do apparently. However, the advice from 3 booths seems to be as variable as the weather so I have no idea whether that is the truth or not - they did call someone to find out though.

Also, not sure how good 3s coverage would be on the sunshine coast for anything - they do tend to restrict themselves to metropolitan coverage.

spottydog

3 Australia have just launched a true PAYG for mobile broadband so you can just buy a sim and top up vouchers if you have an unlocked internet key. Their website also has a service availability section where you can check down to street level if you have reception. I'm using the 3 mobile broadband to type this (have set up the key into one of the 3 wifi routers so we can share the connection) and so far all is going very well but I'm in Sydney where coverage is good.

To the OP, multi-national companies are generally set up as separate entities so I would be surprised if you can use a 3 UK key over 3 Australia without roaming charges so would suggest getting confirmation in writing if this is the case prior to visiting Australia so you can prove via small courts on your return to the UK if they charge you.

savanna454

Not correct!

http://www.hutchison.com.au/hutchiso...essrelease.pdf

Optus is owned by SingTel and is a separate Telco and network from the
'3'/Telstra 50:50 joint venture which was Australia's first 3G network. '3' is part of Hutchison Whampoa a hugh HK based International Telco.

Optus sells capacity on its network to resellers like Virgin (also now a SingTel company) Dodo Soul etc consequently the Optus network suffers from overload IMO.

The prepaid wireless broadband service is newish to Australia and I've been using/have used Optus, Virgin & '3' sims in my E169 modem.

I would add that my modem (Virgin branded) is unlocked and can work on any network apart from Telstras Next G (850Mhz) but there's a good chance that as the OP has a '3' modem this could work here - IMO worth bringing and buying an OZ sim kit but........

If the OP wanted to be 100% sure it would be worth checking pre-departure if your modem is 'unlocked'. Look at your '3' UK T&C's. You really don't want to roam using UK '3' on OZ '3' which is likely to be expensive. An OZ '3' sim is the way to go.

The OP can walk into any '3' outlet on arrival (as I did) and buy a PAYG sim starter kit for $9.95 activate online (ID & starter pack details) and 100MB is credited for immediate use. You can be up and running therefore in minutes and 24hrs later the account is fully active allowing registration on 'My 3' for account usage/topups etc.

Topup can be by cc or buying vouchers at many outlets. $29 buys 2GB for use in 30 days. There are other data prices/options. Unused data rolls over as long as the account is topped up within the 30 days.

Further details here:

http://www.three.com.au/cs/ContentSe...=1221530699083

Configuration is easy and details are under BYO Modem but with a '3' modem this may not be necessary. '3' have used in OZ the E220 (soap on a string!) E169 and currently the E160 which is $129 as a modem starter kit

Coverage is great in the cities (I'm in the burbs 3109 - East Melbourne) but poor in the country areas - the modem roams using Telstras 2G GSM network. This is slow & expensive but this can be prevented by selecting UMTS only.

BTW the default on '3's modems out of the box is autoroam is disabled anyway so they use 3G or nothing.

Speedtest.net shows down 2500kbps/up 350kbps and the connection is pretty stable.

As has been said many times on BE a very useful source of info is Whirlpool.

Do a search on the wireless forum:

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-threads.cfm?f=18

Best of luck - you'll be right!

Fleaflyfloflum

Sorry, I thought the OP was asking about using the modem and sim from UK, not swapping and buying a prepaid sim over here.
Prepay wasnt operational when I asked.

savanna454

No worries - you're right!

Prepaid wireless broadband is very new in OZ only available for the last couple of months and the '3' version only for about 2 weeks.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum....cfm?t=1083923

In view of this it is unlikely that anyone has tried this........then again?

However I was suggesting that for only $9.95 it might be worth the OP trying out an OZ sim only starter kit in his modem.

Two things could happen:

1) It works

2) Its 'locked' to '3' UK in which case when the OZ sim is inserted it will prompt for a pin which is usually a 6 figure number - hence worth checking with UK '3' if the OP wants to be 100% sure.......

A mate is using an old UK Voda E220 soap on a string dongle on '3' but he got it unlocked before coming.

Failing all of this $129 or about £55 for the OZ modem is not a lot of wedge for the convenience of having wireless broadband soon after arrival

brian.w

So PAYG sim starter kit for $9.95 with 3 is the way to go then?like buying sim cards for mobile phones etc can these be purchased on ebay say or online where i could buy one before i was in oz,saving me having to then get it when over there,no worries i could just get it when i am there but if its possible to buy from the uk and even if i had send from oz to uk then fine,so what would i need to look for the exact item?
Also i take this is just like having a mobile and taking your mobile overseas and having it unlocked,who unlocks these,can they be unlock easy and where or who would be able to do succh thing,does this affect its workings if i had unlocked when i came back to uk to use again?
If like a mobile phone i cant see it being a problem as my mobile is unlocked and i can enter a oz or uk sim no problems,so i take it the same goes for this modem.

So did someone say that there is payg sim for mobile broadband there,its just i thought they had maybe not had that yet over there.

If i could know the required sim pack required for my e220 modem on 3 and how to unlock then i am pretty much sorted,if all fails as one says i can always buy new there,but are they using payg there yet?with this modem.

If i had been moving to oz for good then yes i would probably just get one there new,but as i am still in uk and not heading to oz for approx a year to live but just for a months holidays i would rather i be able to use my modem i have just purchased now and here in the uk and say sell it when i maybe move to oz for good,but saying that if i get it unlocked and get that sim as mentioned then i can take it will me and not need to buy another.

As for the coverage on a street,got a link to that,i hear that there is better coverage in east coast,wanted to see how coverage was in perth.

Thanks all some usefull info in some replys.