Mobile Broadand, what are the options?

learnerplates

First of all is mobile broadband as great as it sounds? can you get similar speeds to that of landline broadband and does the coverage depend on location or is it the same across the network?

Who are the present providers?

I hear O2 are coming into the market, any word on what they're going to offer?

JNive

you CAN get similar speeds to those over fixed lines ( cable/dsl ) however due to the nature of wireless, even if on an HSDPA cell at 3.6mbps, your speeds could go up and down between 700kbps and full 3.6mbps pretty easily. so its not designed for
a) professional gaming ( on HSDPA you can expect pings to ireland etc of around 100-200ms )
b) Running any sort of server ( due to erratic bandwidth availability )
c) Dependable / stable transmission times ( trying to download a large file and be confident of when it will finish lol )

But anyways, your service on any one network depends on what degree of deployment they have done, like whether you are in a 2G-only area, or if its a 3G area, or perhaps if you are lucky enough the HSDPA ( 3G+ ) ones.

In general, Vodafone and O2 cover Dublin, Cork in HSDPA completely, 3G in all cities and major towns.

HSDPA along arterial roads and motorways ( Vodafone have HSDPA in Kerry towns etc also and many other towns, you can check their coverage map, i use HSDPA on vodafone myself when im in Listowel ).

You can also get the services from 3 , however be careful of what one you use, as the cheaper and larger cap product allows you to use the 3 network only , and as they have the least coverage outside dublin, if you want to use it in Galway etc, it might not be for you )

O2 are coming to market and they will be providing USB Modem & Router solutions initially [ fingers crossed as they say ].

learnerplates

It's online for browsing the web right now. Someone I know cannot get broadband with a landline or even with the wireless solution from Digiweb or whoever that was, so mobile would appear to be the way to go. 700Kps is still pretty good for browsing.
By USB modem and router, I guess you mean you can setup the mobile connection in the same way as your broadband connection with wireless router for transmission around the house on more than on PC.

Any idea when 02 is coming out?

Onikage

JNive wrote:

You can also get the services from 3 , however be careful of what one you use, as the cheaper and larger cap product allows you to use the 3 network only , and as they have the least coverage outside dublin, if you want to use it in Galway etc, it might not be for you )

You can get HSDPA from 3 in Kilkee (population 13.5)

I think Galway might have slightly better coverage

niallb

learnerplates wrote:

... 700Kps is still pretty good for browsing.
...

700 is optimistic.
If you're not getting over 1Mb, you'll be looking at about 350k.
If you're not getting that, it'll drop quickly to about 144k, and then outside
3G areas to about 40k. There's a lot of non 3G areas, particularly with 3.

learnerplates

I won't jump the gun just yet, I think I'll wait to see what O2 can come up with, surely at this late stage it will be better than Vodafone and 3.

ElNino

I have the O2 HSDPA USB modem which I have been trialling for a couple of months. I understand that they will be on sale from the beginning of July. Pricing and data allowance details haven't been released yet.

I can get a stable 2.2mb on it at work but I only have GPRS coverage at home so it is of limited use at the moment if you are in the sticks.

The modem is made by Huawei who I believe also supply the Vodafone and 3 modems.

JNive

lol, where would that be then :-) it did a flat 2.9mbps sustained on vista for me in O2 roflmao.

Anyways, Yes the original Launch is July HOWEVER there is a certain issue not related to th technology which might push that to the middle of July, time will tell

learnerplates

Mid July,another month, hopefully worth the wait. I guess O2 will advertise speeds of more than 4Mbps or something but in reality would not go anywhere that as with the other providers.
I guess we'll wait and see, in the meantime I should probably find out my local masts capability, will O2 give me this information?

adaminho

learnerplates wrote:

Mid July,another month, hopefully worth the wait. I guess O2 will advertise speeds of more than 4Mbps or something but in reality would not go anywhere that as with the other providers.
I guess we'll wait and see, in the meantime I should probably find out my local masts capability, will O2 give me this information?

O2 will be launching at 3.6Mbps rising to 7mbps by December. Coverage is at 60% population wise curently rising to 70% at launch and 80% by 31st of December (Com Reg requirement).

Davy

that does sound good, i like to get more info on it,, have o2 released much about it?
I'm in the middle of renewing my contract on three, but thinking maybe going back to o2

adaminho

davton wrote:

that does sound good, i like to get more info on it,, have o2 released much about it?
I'm in the middle of renewing my contract on three, but thinking maybe going back to o2

I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you!;)

Sponge Bob

o2 will have to launch a price plan which will offer 3.6mbit (nominal) with a 10gb cap for €20 a month in order to MATCH the 3 offer .

Not a chance ...bar the nominal 3.6mbit !

Davy

adaminho wrote:

I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you!;)

ah go on,,,,:p

"Not a chance ...bar the nominal 3.6mbit !" i suppose very fair point,, mite get the x-series on 3 instead then, same price and out sooner

Sponge Bob

Beware of dreadfully cacky 3 firmware. Fortunately if you get a NOKIA N7x or N9x its easy to debrand ( not unlock ) the phone which removes the cacky 3 menus and allows you to upgrade your firmware properly from Nokia .

Check you can debrand before you get landed with a phone . eg

http://clear-nokia.blogspot.com/2007/05/nokia-n95-debranding-guide.html

JNive

in the meantime I should probably find out my local masts capability

PM me your location and i can check this more throughly for you.

As for matching 3 i think if they get even 'close' to the package they are offering technoligically wise, i think people agree it would probably be better value considering O2 'generally' tend to have better customer service and technical support compared to 3 :-).

Davy

JNive wrote:

PM me your location and i can check this more throughly for you.

As for matching 3 i think if they get even 'close' to the package they are offering technoligically wise, i think people agree it would probably be better value considering O2 'generally' tend to have better customer service and technical support compared to 3 :-).

ye i think most people know o2's care is the best, but if the price isn't right, will people move

JNive

move ? its a tough one, however be aware that the current customer base of O2 is far greater to that of 3, so the initial focus would be on enriching the offering to customers with them already to retain them and help revenue stream, while at the same time hoping to bring in customers from other mobile networks due to the all-in-one package and also people who might not be with a mobile network at present and just cant get broadband at home etc.

adaminho

JNive wrote:

move ? its a tough one, however be aware that the current customer base of O2 is far greater to that of 3, so the initial focus would be on enriching the offering to customers with them already to retain them and help revenue stream, while at the same time hoping to bring in customers from other mobile networks due to the all-in-one package and also people who might not be with a mobile network at present and just cant get broadband at home etc.

O2's offer will give discounts to those who are either an existing bill customer or are conecting to an o2 voice tariff as well as Broadband.

davton wrote:

ah go on,,,,

It's not confirmed yet so I wont get your hopes up. It will be close to 3's offer though. It's looking around mid July to launch as training is being rolled out to the stores at the moment.

learnerplates

Whatever happens it's great to see there is a real alternative to landline base broadband, I hate to see Eircom getting fat on work done 20 years ago and already paid for by the EU.
adaminho and co please keep this thread posted on updates.

Sponge Bob

Everybody has better customer care and tech support than 3 .

O2 have very good customer care but I found their tech support indifferent ( at best) compared to vodas .

jimmy2shoes

i believe o2's download cap will be around 6gb per month. not sure on pricing yet, however there will be a fiver off if you bundle it in with a contract phone as well. i reckon o2 have been panicking over the last few days since 3 brought in 10gb's for €20. i don't even think they know what its gonna cost yet.

Davy

6gb isnt that great is it,, and bet it wouldnt be cheaper than €20??

three wins this round i think

Marlow

JNive wrote:

You can also get the services from 3 , however be careful of what one you use, as the cheaper and larger cap product allows you to use the 3 network only , and as they have the least coverage outside dublin, if you want to use it in Galway etc, it might not be for you )

I've seen up to 1.5 mbit on 3 in the Galway area, between 300-400 kbit in rural areas of Co. Galway.

The only thing, where I don't would recommend this as a broadband replacement is, that I've never seen more then 60 kbit upstream and you'll get assigned private ip's, which prevents you from certain services.

If you want mobile broadband for browsing, research, IM, email and download of documents, this is definatly a viable option.

If you want P2P, gaming, VoIP etc., I wouldn't recommend it, if you have another option like fixed wireless or DSL.

/Martin

JNive

that I've never seen more then 60 kbit upstream and you'll get assigned private ip's, which prevents you from certain services.

As far as i am aware, you are assigned public IPs from O2.
Also regads pricing, i am not too sure on caps etc, this is the stuff which is being finalised at the moment.

Pricing however will be EUR120 ( i think ) for the USB Modem, and EUR40 / month for the broadband service, and if you also have a voice account with them, this is dropped to EUR30 / month.

Sponge Bob

I would match 3 on price and cap IN A BUNDLE , eg €19.99 a month incl vat

I would then charge €24.99-29.99 unbundled or to a speakeasy customer.

As o2 have a large prepay base I would invite O2 to be the first operator to do payg 3g at €29.99 a month but with a full price modem ...say €99

Marlow

JNive wrote:

Pricing however will be EUR120 ( i think ) for the USB Modem, and EUR40 / month for the broadband service, and if you also have a voice account with them, this is dropped to EUR30 / month.

Sounds similar to Vodafones current deal:
33.05 EUR/month, 5 GB cap, 0.10 EUR/mb after that. All prices ex. VAT,
so incl. VAT we're talking:

40 EUR/month and 0.121 EUR/mb after the 5 GB.

The original unlimited service is not available for new customers anymore as far as i understand.

no match for 3's 20 EUR/month, 10 GB and 0.05 EUR/MB afterwards as a standalone service for data only.

/Martin

JNive

except as i said, you get a public IP, routing via Esat/BT and Verizon, and as far as i believe the prices i quoted included VAT, but again all this is not finalised yet and wont be up until launch time.

There definitely was discussion occuring when 3 dropped their price, and there are a few points of the service offering still undecided uncluding exactly what forms of upgrade paths there might be etc etc. but at the end of oit all, im sure it will be a pretty complete offering.

adaminho

JNive wrote:

As far as i am aware, you are assigned public IPs from O2.
Also regads pricing, i am not too sure on caps etc, this is the stuff which is being finalised at the moment.

Pricing however will be EUR120 ( i think ) for the USB Modem, and EUR40 / month for the broadband service, and if you also have a voice account with them, this is dropped to EUR30 / month.

O2's pricing and caps haven't been finalised yet. It's looking like €30 a month with a voice plan and the same limits as 3's offer. What sets it apart is the offer of 7mb download speeds by the end of the year. Yes 3 have cheaper deal but I think you'll find that in the long run you'd be better off with O2.

Sponge Bob

adaminho wrote:

I think you'll find that in the long run you'd be better off with O2.

I think NOT! if you live in a rural area. o2 currently have the smallest 3g network in terms of geographic coverage .....so small that they do not even publish a 3g coverage map adaminho

Voda has the most honest 3g coverage map .

3 have similar coverage to voda but their map is BS

All 3g operators tend to serve the same areas in most cases .

I personally recommend that anyone ( with no FWA options or DSL) who can get a 3g signal off 3 today should simply go with 3 today.

They can check in on o2 again when the years contract is up.

Will o2 have a 14 day trial by the way ???

JNive

but again all this is not finalised yet and wont be up until launch time.

<-- exactly what i said lol.

Whether its available to Speakeasy customers, no idea.
Whether there will be a trial, no idea.

As for coverage, CURRENTLY, they are behind in terms of rural areas, however what do you expect, its not even launched yet :-)

Sponge Bob

JNive wrote:

As for coverage, CURRENTLY, they are behind in terms of rural areas, however what do you expect, its not even launched yet :-)

Of course its 'launched ' or o2 would be in breach of their licence obligations , the o2 3g 'signal' has around for at least 2 years now ....but not out the country obviously

HSDPA is a software upgrade to these existing masts .

JNive

well yeah i was referring to the HSDPA service as opposed to 3G :-).

watty

O3 3G & HSDPA here in Midwest.

Marlow

watty wrote:

O3 3G & HSDPA here in Midwest.

Eh ? Is that a merger of O2 and 3 ?

/M

ElNino

Some more information on the O2 HSDPA offering

O2 are set to launch a successor to the data card that it has been selling for the last number of years. The new “Broadband Modem” is going to offer real Broadband speeds with no line rental or setup costs. The new product will be initially aimed at the business market, offering the opportunity for employees to now get very fast internet connection speeds while out of the office.

With speeds of up to 3.6Mbps it is faster than most home broadband speeds or wireless broadband speeds that you get in airports or hot spots around the country. This speed is nearly double the old data card speed and will offer many benefits to the business community. O2 have invested heavily into their new HSDPA network and aim to increase the speed later in the year to an unprecedented 7.2Mbps.

With the new speeds of up to 3.6Mbps, O2 will now have two products that will provide these connection speeds; the Sierra Wireless 850 data card and the new O2 Broadband Modem. The new modem brings many new features;

• Initial speeds of up to 3.6Mbps, 7.2 later in the year. (3 network operates at the same speed, Vodafone is only 1.8Mbps)
• It has a USB connection and therefore will work in all new and old laptops.
• Its plug & Play and connects in seconds
• No software to download from a disc
• It is Apple MAC compatible
• Works with new Windows Vista
• As it uses a USB connection it could also be connected to a PC to offer backup if the internet went down.
• Very portable
• Download limit of 6Gigabytes (old card was 2.5G)



Broadband take up in Ireland is well below the European average. Many households and businesses can still not receive Broadband connection and it is a possibility that this new offering from O2 will break this mould. When O2 launch Broadband in early July it will have 70% population coverage, with it expanding to 80% population coverage by end of 2007 in line with a COMREG regulation set for the networks.

No confirmed pricing yet but there may be a discount if you have your phone with O2 also. Despite what they say I have heard that 2.8mb is the fasted achieved speed to date. July 2nd is the launch date.

JNive

No confirmed pricing yet but there may be a discount if you have your phone with O2 also. Despite what they say I have heard that 2.8mb is the fasted achieved speed to date. July 2nd is the launch date.

Ive personally got screenshots of it doing 3.2mbps on vista

Also where was that written out of interest :-)

el diablo

well this o2 offer looks very interesting. I'll definitely consider it. It's time I dumped NTL (:mad:) as my broadband provider and anyway I am looking for a more mobile alternative...

please keep us updated here, folks...;)

ElNino

JNive wrote:

Also where was that written out of interest :-)

http://www.commercialwireless.ie/news/2007/jun/o2_broadband.shtml

ElNino

JNive wrote:

Ive personally got screenshots of it doing 3.2mbps on vista

The most which I have got personally is 2.6mpbs using XP.

watty

Why have 1 user @ 7.2Mbps when you could have 4 @ 1.8Mbps?

They are more interested in user capacity than peak speed in the real world.

JNive

Service Launch date: July 2nd
Commencement of Service Advertising: July 9th

If you want to find out if your area is currently covered by the 3G network, send me a pm.

Dont ask about pricing/tariffs/bundles

learnerplates

So it's here, any good is it. I think I'll have to get it.

By the way I've heard a couple of lads got fired from O2 cos of a thread like this on boards, probably this one, unfotunate.

el diablo

learnerplates wrote:

So it's here, any good is it. I think I'll have to get it.

By the way I've heard a couple of lads got fired from O2 cos of a thread like this on boards, probably this one, unfotunate.

but why were they fired?

anyone tried the mobile broadband service from 3?

Marlow

el diablo wrote:

anyone tried the mobile broadband service from 3?

Read this tread and others in the Broadband section, plenty of feedback on 3 around.

In regards to speeds, maybe fixed wireless providers should start a marketing campaign themselfes, the same way as the 3g networks and just drop the limitations for each customer: Up to 20 mbit/s speeds (depending on distance from basestation, signal, weather and amount of users on same sector )
The results will just be a support mess and a lot of disappointed customers, that never see 20 mbit/s, because no provider will provide point-to-point infrastructure for each customer, unless we're talking custom deals like uncontended bandwidth. The average residental customer already complains about the current installation fee's.

/Marlow