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That €20 Unlimited Broadband from 3...

  • 16-11-2011 11:46am
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 17,848 ✭✭✭✭


    Hi,

    I know its probably been discussed but its impossible to search when the network is called 3 :D

    Can anyone answer me some simple questions if they get a chance please?

    1. Does it work first of all or is it a disaster? Im in Bray half the week and south galway for the other half which looks okay on their coverage map.

    2. I know I wont be torrenting (or will I?) if I tether it to my laptop but can I watch Youtube and browse places like Reddit and boards without difficulty?

    3. All I do is call them on 1913 and say I want to switch my number then pay them €20 a month direct debit or is it more complicated?

    4. Do Meteor do anything that comes close to this price because the Meteor 3G dongle that I use in emergencies works very well out in the middle of nowhere.

    5. Whats the catch? There must be one...

    Sorry if we're covering old ground but this would be a huge help to me if I could get it working.


Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,683 ✭✭✭Kensington


    I don't think Three do unlimited broadband for €20 a month?

    They do "unlimited" mobile data (15GB FUP) for prepay customers for €20 a month but you can only use the data on your phone, you can't "tether" it to a laptop, use personal hotspot, wifi sharing etc. so it won't work for what you seem to be intending it to do I'm afraid!


  • Registered Users Posts: 17,848 ✭✭✭✭Thargor


    Can it be tethered though even if its against the contract or whatever? I just need to do that on Fridays and Saturdays, I have my normal broadband every other day but I need broadband for work at weekends and sometimes out and about during the week.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,683 ✭✭✭Kensington


    They say you're not allowed tether on prepay and they can cut you off if you are, but they don't disable it and I've not heard of anyone being cut off so far...


  • Registered Users Posts: 17,848 ✭✭✭✭Thargor


    Good stuff thanks Kensington.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,279 ✭✭✭-=al=-


    for 20 quid its probably a 15gb limit and id avoid 3 personally!

    meteors payg dongle is like 2.99 a day or 7.99 a week afaik and has far superior connection than 3, but thats all totally location based ayda yada


    How could they know if you tether to your laptop?


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  • Registered Users Posts: 17,848 ✭✭✭✭Thargor


    Thats what I wanted to know, my Meteor dongle works very well but Im paying the same per month for it and its a pain connecting it to get online when Im out and about, if I had it on my phone it would be so much better.

    Arent 3 in charge of the rural broadband scheme? Have you any experience of them beside the complaints forum here which is obviously very biased...


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 25,234 ✭✭✭✭Sponge Bob


    Depends where you are, on some masts it is great and others are grosssly oversubscribed as is the nature of the technology.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,279 ✭✭✭-=al=-


    yeah they're in charge of the NBS but if the signal is abysmal for you out in the sticks they will install some antenas to try and sort it, its not broadband and isnt reliable

    ive 3 and meteor connections here and meteor wins hands down everytime, ping is always faster and download speed is significantly different with not much of a change or drop during the more busy times of the day/week

    It may be different to someone who has a 3 phone but dont see what much difference that would make still using th same connections... If its any help i sometimes tether my meteor phone to my laptop and the dongle works better on its own

    I don't mean to talk about me n all that jazz but thats just my experience with 3 and meteor in west dublin

    im just not looking forward to christmas since every tom dick and harry has a smartphone now... gona be unbearable for people who rely on 3g midband for their internet connection


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,078 ✭✭✭Hal Emmerich


    Is 3 Midband the same as O2 Midband?

    3g, HSPA, WCDMA and all the abbrevs confuse me.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,279 ✭✭✭-=al=-


    all the same mobile interect midband connection shizzle


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  • Registered Users Posts: 17,848 ✭✭✭✭Thargor


    Went into 3 on Grafton Street yesterday and they took all my details down and gave me a new sim and said wait an hour and my O2 will go dead and just pop the new one in and away I go but I waited 24 hours and nothing happened so I rang up their tech support and a very cheerful Indian guy set it up for me there, just had a quick test there Youtube, Boards, IGN, RTE.ie all perfect on the phone, cant complain about speed at all.

    Then I tried tethering and thought it wasn't working after setting my new Xperia Play up as a wireless hot-spot, thought it wasnt working because the yellow triangle that appears on the taskbar in Windows when theres a problem with the router is there and hovering over it with the mouse it says no access but when I actually tried browsing it was working, and not just working it was seriously fast, web pages appear like Im changing channel on the tv, Youtube videos just start playing with no issues and no loading, likewise for TV3 and RTE Player, on my first go with it connected wirelessly to my phone its completely superior to my Meteor dongle and now Im saving the 20 quid a month I was paying to Meteor and I have unlimited internet for when Im out and about.

    This is all just a 1 hour test on a Sunday afternoon in Bray but Im in shock to be honest, it just works exactly like I hoped it would, thanks for the help everybody, the true test will be in the arsehole of nowhere in South Galway next weekend but I cant fault it so far.


  • Registered Users Posts: 17,848 ✭✭✭✭Thargor


    I use newsgroups for my downloads because I download a lot and they always max out your connection with no uploading like torrents and I just put one going there while it was tethered to the phone to see if 3 throttle that kind of thing, nope, 250-300 kb/s! On a mobile broadband connection this is spectacular.


  • Registered Users Posts: 17,848 ✭✭✭✭Thargor


    The final test, in the middle of nowhere down near The Burren where the scary cave episode of Father Ted was filmed and its no different from Bray whatsoever, that was unexpected because you still have to stand up and move around the room when your on a mobile around here to stop the conversation breaking up, even the tv reception is a pain in the ass here. Im downloading Boardwalk Empire at 150 kb/sec right now, Youtube is perfect, websites load instantly, browsed all the way down on a Citylink bus and it was perfect aswell.

    Couldn't be happier tbh, 3 should pay more attention to their board here because all the horror stories are putting people off, I would have gone with one of the other providers if there had been a deal anywhere near as good as this on offer anywhere but Im so glad I didnt now.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,279 ✭✭✭-=al=-


    A non horror story! :eek:

    Good stuff glad it works, real test is to see how it will handle over the holidays

    I don't really like being on 3 myself but it's always worked, the ping just sucks balls during busy times


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 177 ✭✭LaFlammeRouge


    Can you be on Vodafone for calls/texts and then sign up for the three broadband package? Do you have to change phonecall providor to get a mobile broadband plan.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,038 ✭✭✭Nothingbetter2d


    three's broadband comes with its own sim card and usb dongle... it has nothing to do with your phone


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 25,234 ✭✭✭✭Sponge Bob


    The answer is yes but they need a Dual Sim phone. Many 3g phones do exactly what a dongle does.


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