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    3G access

    Discussion in 'Networking and Wireless' started by opus567, Mar 23, 2011.

  1. opus567

    opus567 Notebook Consultant

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    Looking for USB 3G access that can be purchased as needed (for a day or a week or whatever). Is this available somewhere? Thanks!

    Steve
     
    opus567, Mar 23, 2011
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  2. reb1

    reb1 Notebook Evangelist

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    I know you can purchase on a month to month through the 3g store. I would contact them about your question. They also sponsor the EVDO forums. You can find allot of info there.
     
    reb1, Mar 23, 2011
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  3. ssssssssss

    ssssssssss Notebook Evangelist

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    It surely is, although it would help to know which country you intend to use it in.
     
    ssssssssss, Mar 23, 2011
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  4. opus567

    opus567 Notebook Consultant

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    Oops, sorry - this time it's Ireland
     
    opus567, Mar 23, 2011
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  5. ssssssssss

    ssssssssss Notebook Evangelist

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    Wireless mobile broadband at home and out and about - 3Broadband

    (that Google thing is amazing, isn't it?!)

    You want 3Pay (towards the bottom), not Pay Monthly - although it's worth pricing up the Pay Monthly since they give you the dongle free. Not sure what the minimum contract is though.

    Other mobile providers will also offer 3G data plans, but I'm not sure whether they do PAYG like that, so check their websites.
     
    ssssssssss, Mar 23, 2011
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  6. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    Do you really need the work-everywhere-without-question 'service' that a 3G/4G dongle might give you or do you just need a surer way to get broadband hookups when needed?

    Why not look at the commercial wifi providers like Boingo, IPass, etc?

    Lots of 'free' wifi hotspots are in reality either Boingo or IPass hotspots. Free service to Joe Walkin is metered and throttled while subscriber services run at full speed.

    My Boingo account (unlimited/un-metered downloads at full wifi speeds) costs me $7- a month. The locator application supposedly has over 400k hotspots in the US (more every day) including most all airports, etc. B is also available world-wide when/if I need it for an additional $10- a month as I need/use it. My costs are from a subscription I started in 2008. Current prices are higher.

    IPass advertises over 250k hotspots worldwide on top of their 3G/4G hookups. I have no idea what the coverage overlap might be between B and IPass or any of the others.

    I think that the new subscriber cost for B is $10- a month with international on-demand access another $15- a month.

    Both B and IPass are members of the new wifi alliance / wifi certified marketing co-op.

    In any case the price differences between paid wifi network access vs a 3G/4G dongle (and a cellular data plan) makes the wifi come in at about 25% less. The speed differences between a wifi hotspot and a 3G/4G dongle are well known.

    So I guess what you're paying for with a 3G/4G dongle would be greater accessibility, anywhere the cellular network has been upgraded to 3G/4G data.

    Free? There are any number of web sites that collate crowd-sourced reports of free public wifi availability.
     
    newsposter, Mar 23, 2011
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  7. opus567

    opus567 Notebook Consultant

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    I'm mostly interested in access from hotel rooms. Wonder if signing up for Boingo would pretty much guarantee that...
     
    opus567, Mar 24, 2011
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  8. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    look at the hotels you use to see if their hotspots are from Boingo, self-managed, or ???

    many of the national/international chains of hotels also offer faster wifi access to their rewards program members while throttling everyone else.
     
    newsposter, Mar 24, 2011
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