Dongles!

[Jade-clothing]

Does anyone know anything about dongles?
How reliable they are, what's the best and most reasonable?
I'm with Orange for my phone so could get one with my plan but is there a better deal?
Moving on monday and really don't want a phone line as I would never use it but really need the internet straight away with running an online business!

 

[hop]

I have had many dongles and generally buy them from 3 on a yearly basis. This way you pay a one off fee and have a data allowance which is valid over 12 months. If you take out a contract you have an allowance of x megabytes a month. Therefore a one off yearly fee is better since the data allowance is valid over the entire year and is not apportioned over 12 months. Therefore you can store up your allowance.

If you have a smartphone it may be cheaper to teather your phone to your computer.

I have found that the dongles worked well and suited my needs, however if you want a business contract any mobile firm will try and rip you off. The best strategy is to take a contract in your name (and ensure that the first payment clears) then after the first invoice phone up and ask to have the address changed and get your business name prefixed to the address.

The principle applies to mobiles (I assume you runs a ltd). If you are a sole trader then things may work differently.

 

[Jade-clothing]

Thanks for that. I've actually just researched it and found that broadband through a router is the same price with Talk Talk as a dongle through Orange so going with that so I can use both the laptop and PC through it. Only problem is it doesn't go live until oct 26th!!! No idea how I'm going to run the business in the meantime. I'm a sole trader and work from a home office so no problem putting things in my own name.
If anyone has a dongle I can borrow for the few weeks before I get set up I'd be very grateful!

 

[Ecker]

I've been with "3" for over 4 years now and they have gone from strength to strength. The last dongle I had was the ZTE 2 aerial device which at the time of responding to you: 05:29 on saturday 15 September, using "Speedtest", was downloading at: 5.08 megabits per second and uploading at: 1.57 megabits per second in a ground floor flat at Peter James Court. I am currently paying £15 per month plus vat for an allowance of: 15 gigabytes. If you would like details of other times during the day, let me know. If you haven't used a dongle before, you should be aware of their limitations; they are best used on upper floors of buildings and in a window and certainly away from thick walls. You should also expect a reduction in the figures quoted for the Speedtest if you live in a narrow street or your home is near large trees or weather conditions are bad. As far as I know, all suppliers will provide you with a short usb extension cable which is intended to reduce the interference from your computer and is well worth using. I currently use a 3 metre Belkin usb extension cable to get the dongle as high as possible in a window, don't be tempted to use more than 1 extension cable, the reception will suffer.

Perhaps a bit more information than you needed but, I hope it helps.

 

[Wormella]

I had an 02 one, it6 did work well, but I didn't really use it enough to justify the monthly cost.

 

[tek-monkey]

Have you got an old android phone knocking about? If so it may be cheaper to get a payg simple and plug it into that? There used to be 3gb simple on ebay for a tenner or so, depends how heavily you use it. It must be a mobile broadband simple though, a lot of networks now stop you tethering on phone contracts.

 

[Bob]

I got one a few weeks ago from Carphone Warehouse, it's on T mobile and cost me £30 for 3 months "Unlimited" We've managed since August 16th but now is saying we've breached the fair use policy - there have been a couple of itunes downloads but nothing major so it seems their unlimited broadband is in fact very limited. It's still letting us use the internet but has a fit if I have too many windows opena nd we can't download or watch video's.

Signal is great, even right out in the sticks and it seems to be good value for money - just depends what you do on the internet.

 

[tek-monkey]

Want it free? Or even get paid for it?

Sign up to topcashback if you haven't already
Activate your account (you'll get an email)
Go back to topcashback, log in if you aren't already, and search for three.
Scroll down and click the button next to PAYG Mobile Broadband
From the Store menu at the top select Sim Plans for mobile broadband
Scroll down to the PAYG 1Gb for £10.49 and buy that.

It takes 2-3 months, but they will pay you £12.62 for each £10.49 SIM you buy (one per transaction). I've ordered one and its tracked, I have it and its working fine in an old Motorola Milestone. You just tether it as a portable wifi hotspot.

 

[Jade-clothing]

Moved into my new flat today and went and got an Orange dongle to keep me going until the Internet is installed - seems great so far - I'd say its actually quicker than the virgin broadband I had before!

 

[John Marwood]

Moved into my new flat today and went and got an Orange dongle to keep me going until the Internet is installed - seems great so far - I'd say its actually quicker than the virgin broadband I had before!

Howsyadongledoingduck?

 

[Jade-clothing]

It's going to be a redundant dongle in a couple of days as broadband is going on but it's served me well thanks

 

[John Marwood]

excellent

can they be used on an old PC?

 

[Jade-clothing]

excellent

can they be used on an old PC?

As far as I know - as long as you have a usb connection. Mine is going to be redundant after today if you want to try it out? It's got 2 and a half months unlimited connection left on it then after that there is a top up card so you can buy more credit.