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T-Mobile Launches £2 Per Day Mobile Broadband
Mark.J writes "ISPreview reports that T-Mobile UK has launched an interesting range of new off-the-shelf Mobile Broadband products that do not require customers to sign-up under a long-term contract. The pay-as-you-go (PAYG) style products cost from only £2 per day for 'unlimited' access (3GB Fair Usage Policy applies). To access T-Mobile pre-pay Mobile Broadband, customers simply need to purchase a USB (Modem) Stick 110, which includes a memory card, for just £49.99 and plug it into a laptop to access their favourite websites. Credit can be topped up direct from the laptop and customers are able to select whichever package suits them at the time." For American readers, that's about $3.66 right now -- plus shipping yourself to the UK.
Assuming you check your webmail once a day on your phone, the daily rate will run you 60lbs a month.
The only package that really makes any sense is the 30 day plan:
30 Day
For customers that will use mobile broadband regularly but do not want to commit to a year-long contract, Mobile Broadband 30 Day is the option. Mobile Broadband for thirty days offers unlimited broadband access for only £20.
Still, you're living in the UK, so it's not all wine and roses.
I think it's aimed at occasional users. I like the idea that I can pay a couple of quid and use when I'm travelling occasionally. However, what puts me off is the outrageously expensive USB stick you need to get. It claims to be a 'memory stick' as a well as a modem but it is really a microSD card adapter and it does not appear to come with a card. I would not pay more £20 for such a device.
Because any self respecting nerd would use the Internet more than 10 days out of a month
If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we shoot people for Apollo-related non-sequiturs?
I'd want to use the USB model with my Eee PC which has the standard Xandros OS installed. I wonder if it will work?
This is a good deal for travelers and occasional users; the alternatives are roaming or WiFi hotspots, both of which are much more expensive. If you use it more frequently than a few times a month, you can get much cheaper subscriptions.
I'd love to have this deal available in the US. Right now, I need a monthly subscription even though most of the time I just use WiFi at work and at home.
Orange provide a similar service for £1/day on their pay as you go service, though they specify it's not to be used with a personal computer (though they have no real way of telling if you use a user agent program). The limit per day is 20MB.
I've used it with my E61 and PuTTy on many occasion, and because I don't use it every day it's still cheaper than a contract.
For short term use, Orange has had £1/day, £5/week for longer than I can remember. All you need is a Bluetooth capable 'phone which acts as a modem, and that's pretty much ubiquitous outside of the USA (unless you buy a crippled iPhone, of course).
What definition of broadband is being used here?
"Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
Using a similar service from Vodafone here in Spain, where I'm staying for a couple of months. 59 Euros per month, unlimited usage, no contract. Just showed my drivers license, and purchased the Vodafone USB HSDPA/3G modem stick and they activated my subscription in the store. Works amazingly well, able to reach download speeds of 1.5 mbit, and coverage almost anywhere.
What I found particularly interesting, was how much bandwidth you use with just "minimal" use, ie. having it plugged in all day while working for emails, using Web sites and various company Web apps. So far, in 20 days this month, I've used 1.2 GB of data. A lot more than I would have guessed. .. and nope, no movie or music downloads.
Here in finland you get usb 3G modem and unlimited traffic @ 384kbps for 9,80euros /month
We've had something like this in Egypt for a while now, probably in response to the limited availability of broadband internet through DSL at one time. Vodafone Egypt does a 3G service for mobile devices and you can buy both USB and PC card adapters. The problem is similar though, the hardware is prohibitively expensive--equivalent to 500USD--and the service isn't really intended to be used regularly. It costs 1LE per MB tranfser (about 0.20USD) or you can buy a plan which includes up to 5 GB transfer per month for about 500LE (100USD). Kind of on the expensive side in the end. There are several other providers here now doing similar things, but their prices are almost exactly the same across the board.
If you don't know what you're doing, you can't make mistakes.
This seems like a terribly 'advertisy' to discuss the added cost of an antenna/modem. In fact the whole summary sounds like a press release. Is this just copy and paste, or are we merely allowing marketers to post stories now?
Incidently, I won't be signing up. Last time I tried to change the credit card which I use to pay for top-ups, I was told that I would have to speak to someone personally. And that this would cost me 25p for a support call. On principle, I refuse to pay t-mobile for calling them to pay them. Instead, I will be switching to another provider, just as soon as my current credit runs out.
I forgot to mention that it often happens that when you sign up for this service, you will receive a huge bill for the first month for overage, which you may or may not have actually used. This has been a kind of common gripe from users here.
If you don't know what you're doing, you can't make mistakes.
Prove to the client that the Internet is not down. Please lets upgrade the blinking blue box.
"If you use more than your fair use policy amount, we won't charge you any more, but we may restrict how you can use your plan, depending on how often you go over your amount and by how much"
Is anyone on /. going to sign up to something so vague?
3gb a day is more than enough for me, if that was about half the cost and 2/3 the bandwidth it'd seriously be worth considering to replace my standard ADSL internet connection.
I can put up with all the 'only £1.99 a day!' and 'from just £49.99' style marketing speak. It's jarring, but at least it's not dishonest.
However I am absolutely sick of hearing 'Unlimited usage! (fair use policy applies equal to 3Gb of data in any 28 day period subject to change)
I'm happy to pay for a 3Gb per month limit. I'd be delighted with an unlimited usage package. But I am fed up with providers advertising 'unlimited', when it is is clearly, unequivocally, NOT unlimited!
I'd urge any UK readers that agree to generate a gentle trickle of complaints to the Advertising Standards Agency and the Office of Communications.
If you actually check T-Mobile's site instead of reading the article you'll find no use of the word "unlimited" anywhere on the pages.
In fact next to each plan it lists "3GB fair use amount - without any run-on rates."
In fact the only reference I can find to "unlimited" broadband is on ISP Review.
Very cheap compared to New Zealand http://www.vodafone.co.nz/mobile-data/3g-broadband-plans.jsp Broadband Pro plan will cost you $69.95 NZD (48 USD or 24.21 UK pound) a month on a 24 month contract, with a 3GB cap per month
Having a house out there, in the middle of nowehere without even a landline, this is just the sort of thing I've been waiting for. Can you tell me the name of the service and what the price of the modem stick is? Thanks
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
For American readers, that's about $3.66 right now -- plus shipping yourself to the UK.
CLEARLY worth the price, considering the benefits of leaving the US. ;)
Check out the Vodafone.es site. "Internet Prepago" Got the Modem USB K3520 for I think 70 Euro, and then just purchased the plan "1 month" for 59 Euro. They have plans for 300 MB, 1 GB etc, if you're not a heavy user. I purchased this in a Vodafone store in Spain.
It does GPRS, 3G and HDSPA, so as long as there's Vodafone GSM coverage, you should be able to get an Internet connection, but the GPRS is dead-slow.
The UK is lagging behind on wired broadband infrastructure, but its phone infrastructure is pretty decent. At some point could the country go truly wireless?
If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we shoot people for Apollo-related non-sequiturs?
Funnily enough I was sitting in a busy part of North London yesterday with 4 bars of 3G connection, trying to browse two sites, BBC news and Slashdot. The performance was terrible - extremely slow page loading, total drop-outs and random disconnects from the server. In no way can this be compared to ADSL/broadband.
Rich.
libguestfs - tools for accessing and modifying virtual machine disk images
I've been using my Nokia phone with a data "bono" - 1GB for 60 euro. As said, it's surprising how quickly it goes. Just loading the BBC homepage is 250kb.
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
I've been using my Nokia phone with a data "bono"
A "Bono"? Does this mean that U2 are getting into the telecommunications business?
;)
Actually, I shouldn't be surprised- The EDGE has already done a great job in prolonging the life of GSM networks
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
Orange Austria (until recently known as One Austria) has a far better rate to offer:
1 Euro per day
(1 Euro pro Tag)
No fixed mothly fee, no activation fee.
http://www.orange.at/Content.Node/mobiles_internet/mobiles_internet_pro_surftag/index1.php
Anyone else read this as a dollar a gigabyte monthly?
Unlimited (but a 3 gig a day cap applies)
When did unlimited become a daily limit?
--Toll_Free
Or £5 for the whole week. They used to restrict it to GPRS, but it's worked with 3G/HSDPA phones for a while.
Here in Singapore, we pay about SGD$24.90(US$18) every month for 3G service, which includes 2Mbps downstream and a 50GB monthly cap. I suppose its rather reasonable as its really convenient to listen to the internet radio stations on my iPhone as well as checking my email while I'm in the train.
I have broadband at home and an unlimted (yeah right) data plan on my phone, but it doesent allow tethering which is annoying. Id like service that i could use on my laptop but as i only use it once in a blue moon its not worth a subscription. This would seem like a nice solution but i would prefer it done by the GIG, say a fiver for 5 gig with no time limit, once that limits been used you just top it up.
Well, Bart, your uncle Arthur used to have a saying: "Shoot 'em all and let God sort 'em out."
This sounds like a very cool service.
People who like these things might consider using it with a Toshiba G450 phone. This phone weighs only 2 ounces, has no camera, no LCD (OLED display) but is quad band and allows you to make phone calls while connected to the Internet.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
I use Three UK, pay £5 for 30 days with a 2GB limit. If you go into a Three mobile shop in the Uk and ask for a broadband package for your laptop they will try to sell you the £10 per Month 1GB limit version. However if you get a mobile phone with Bluetooth support (for example the E65 or E61i) you can pay £5 for mobile data and get a months Internet access, the limit is 2GB (or perhaps 3GB). The other cool things is that it is on Pay-As-you-Go. You can then use the Phone as a internet access point for you laptop using the cable or BlueTooth and have full access to the internet (as long as you have a signal) for £5 a month with a download limit of better than most home Broadband suppliers.
I'm not sure which part of the world you live in where you are ok with throwing away $100 USD per month for internet on your phone
Firstly, this includes a USB modem which obviously is geared toward computers... not just phones. So, I'd like everyone to think less narrowly and imagine the applications of PAYG-Internet outside of mobile phones. Secondly, why is everyone complaining that one day of access at ~$3.60 is ~$100/mo? They aren't charging you $100/mo... They are charging you $3.66 USD PER DAY. If you choose to use it 30 times a month and get billed $100, then congratulations - you got what you paid for. If you plan on using this daily, you really need to get yourself A REAL DATA PLAN, which costs $50 in the U.S.
In Asia I pay a little over $30 USD per month for unlimited data on my phone
Also, you pay $30 USD for your data plan, but the exchange rate in China is almost 7 to 1, Korea is about 3:1, Hong Kong dollars and Thai Baht are about 8:1 etc... The most reasonable exchange rate I'm aware of is in Singapore dollar, which is worth about 0.7 USD. Unless you're living in Singapore, $30 USD sounds like a bad deal for anyone living in Asia. If you DO live in Singapore, then the price sounds just about right.
Fact: Everything I say is fiction.
Uuuuu... even mexicoÂs Telcel company offers that.
5$ for a day or 80$ for a month of unlimited BB access.
That's around 27 kg. Seriously, if you write "lbs" for pounds sterling, then you're a fucking idiot.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
I write about the pre-paid mobile Internet here on my blog.
Basically, it's 1 Gb for 20 Euros, without a contract. And it works with the eeePC without problems.
Paul Gillingwater
MBA, CISSP, CISM
Sounds like a decent deal. AT&T wants $60/mo for 5GB of HSDPA, which is cheaper than the £2/day T-Mobile plan but more than the £20/mo T-Mobile plan.
The big advantage with the £2/day plan is for casual users. Airport Wi-Fi usually costs more than that ($10) in the US, although some airports (Denver, Las Vegas) have free Wi-Fi.
Anyone know of similar offers in France? I am going to be there (as well as Italy and Switzerland) shortly and need some way to get online for a reasonable price. In Switzerland I found Sunrise which has a CHF3/hour deal, not exactly bargain-basement but within my price range.
"Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it." -- GBS
Vodafone £15 a month (3GB download limit) Orange £15 a month (3GB download limit)
Try again. Those are contract plans. Orange requires an 18-month commitment, and Vodafone 24 months.
This is zero-commitment.
I've used the T-Mobile web n walk offering, thats 4 quid a month, does anyone know the difference between that and this deal? cheers!