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2wheeler
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11-01-2015, 10:46 AM
1

Broadband by dongle.

Anyone out there tried using a dongle and/or mobile as their internet connection? I´ve just got rid of TalkTalk and my landline phone and just use GiffGaff on my computer and mobile at a total cost of £12.50 a month instead of the ever increasing BT rental of around £16 plus call charges plus £2.50 or more for broadband. True I´m limited to 1 Gig a month internet at that price, but that´s about all I use, so no problem there. Can be a bit slow at times but still usable. Comments welcome.
Julie1962
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11-01-2015, 10:48 AM
2

Re: Broadband by dongle.

My husband uses one for when he is out and about at work, we took it on holiday a couple of times, too slow, too unreliable and too limiting for our main service.
Patsy
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11-01-2015, 10:54 AM
3

Re: Broadband by dongle.

Used the dongle for a while - not happy with it so - we went to Plus Net, they provide the wireless box and we get unlimited usage for £12.49 a month. No phone service with that .... Very good though
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Tachyon
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11-01-2015, 05:27 PM
4

Re: Broadband by dongle.

Far too slow and unreliable for serious or heavy use. I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole, personally, because I must download between 20 to 30+ gig a month.

That said I've known a couple of people who didn't class themselves as heavy users of the Internet and they were glad to finally get rid of broadband via dongle.
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Barry
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North Notts
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11-01-2015, 05:38 PM
5

Re: Broadband by dongle.

My wife had one for when we were caravanning but the service was useless unless you could find the mast and sit under it. Thankfully now most sites have wifi.
2wheeler
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12-01-2015, 11:47 AM
6

Re: Broadband by dongle.

Thanks for the comments - sadly all negative with no real discussion on alternatives to the ever increasing rental of a BT line (and cable) so I guess i´m alone in finding the freedom very liberating, and cheaper. There´s obviously folk on here far wealthier than me!
Claire
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17-01-2015, 02:26 PM
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Re: Broadband by dongle.

I use the Thee network with a Samsung S3. Contract was £31 per month for unlimited internet and tethering (phone as a wi fi hotspot for internet on laptop) plus more phone minutes than I could ever use.

Now they are changing the contract and internet will be unlimited on the phone. Tethering limited to 5 Gb per month. Unlimited phone calls and texts. £25 a month.

I move around a lot and rarely find no signal, and then it usually means moving a few yards to get one.

I spoke to the Tree helpline people and they said that it is possible to feed the phone display thought a TV or computer monitor, to connect a keyboard and maybe a mouse via bluetooth connection and that they would not class this as tethering.

Not found out how to do it or if they are right yet so if anyone has any clues would love to hear!

Still looking round to see if there is a better deal out there but not found one yet.
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Jazzi
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17-01-2015, 09:50 PM
8

Re: Broadband by dongle.

I moved from Three, as apart from being expensive each month (my neighbour wondered why I continued paying over £35pm) but I also struggled with signal coverage. Usually non existent in some parts of the UK...even built up towns!
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cranberry
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17-01-2015, 09:58 PM
9

Re: Broadband by dongle.

I had a dongle for about 6 months when we moved house and didn't want a telephone line straightaway, we were having a lot of work done, I was happy with it, never had a problem with a signal. It was O2, don't think they do it now, shame really. Only cost about a tenner, I think.
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Wollongong, Australia
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17-01-2015, 11:56 PM
10

Re: Broadband by dongle.

Originally Posted by 2wheeler ->
Anyone out there tried using a dongle and/or mobile as their internet connection? I´ve just got rid of TalkTalk and my landline phone and just use GiffGaff on my computer and mobile at a total cost of £12.50 a month instead of the ever increasing BT rental of around £16 plus call charges plus £2.50 or more for broadband. True I´m limited to 1 Gig a month internet at that price, but that´s about all I use, so no problem there. Can be a bit slow at times but still usable. Comments welcome.
Just about every senior in Australia has been using such a dongle for years - especially those who only use the Internet for email and the occasional FB post. Currently they are being weened off them to use their mobile phone as a hotspot instead - cheaper because you only need and pay for one SIM card.

The UK was a long way behind with their mobile network. I couldn't believe how hard it was to get a SIM card just for data when I visited a few years ago.

My brother (he was an engineer with Cellnet) said it was because they had under invested in capacity and demand had outstripped supply so they tried to restrict the growth of data over the mobile network. Obviously long since rectified but, at the time, it was a lack of understanding of the actual capabilities of the network and they were blinkered to the supply of phone calls. They hadn't understood, for example, that each vending machine would need its own SIM card to call home when it needed refilling.
 
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