Vodafone Mobile Broadand Up For Renewal

BillHicksRIP · 18 Mar 2010 at 14:01

I've been on Vodafone's 3GB mobile broadband package for 18 months now which mean's it's renewal time. I've got the older USB modem stick and have noticed there's a newer 'Pro' model, but they want another 18-month contract and £25 a month for 5GB. I rarely go over 2GB's usage a month so the 5GB incentive isn't worth it for me. Am wondering if the newer model will get better download speeds or will it be the same as my current model does any one know? Not aware of competitor's products, but have found Vodafone's reception to be fine in most places.

CooK1E · 18 Mar 2010 at 15:14

We did some testing for work and found that the Orange 3g network was the best round where we are (Bath). Although I'm not sure on the deal they offer they may be worth considering, especially if you are pretty limited on the amount of bandwidth you are going to be using.

BillHicksRIP · 18 Mar 2010 at 17:43

I'll take a look at Orange - thanks!

Gribs · 18 Mar 2010 at 18:02

I'm sat in Frome at the minute using 3 3g internet and it seems to have reasonable coverage. It's also fairly cheap at £12 a month for 5gb after cashback.

BillHicksRIP · 18 Mar 2010 at 20:23

Hmm. Orange are selling some new dongle - the 515M - that's supposed to give you a better connection with it's aerial booster. http://shop.orange.co.uk/shop/mobile-broadband/products-and-prices#mobilebroadband. Anyone used one of those yet? A 12 month contract for 3GB is £18, which is fine, but it also says "Early Bird - unlimited off-peak usage between midnight and 9am". I wonder if that means you can download what you like between those hours without affecting your 3GB a month allowance?

CooK1E · 18 Mar 2010 at 21:34

Gribs said:
I'm sat in Frome at the minute using 3 3g internet and it seems to have reasonable coverage. It's also fairly cheap at £12 a month for 5gb after cashback.

I have to be honest - we didn't include 3 in any of our tests. That said my friend has a 3 phone and its shocking, so I'm already opposed to them before we start!

Gribs · 18 Mar 2010 at 22:31

CooK1E said:
I have to be honest - we didn't include 3 in any of our tests. That said my friend has a 3 phone and its shocking, so I'm already opposed to them before we start!

A few friends used 3 5 years ago and it was awful. It seems ok phone wise these days (my phone is with o2 though, friends use 3) and so far my experience of mobile broadband is fine. I've only used it near large towns/cities so far though.

CooK1E · 20 Mar 2010 at 16:33

Gribs said:
A few friends used 3 5 years ago and it was awful. It seems ok phone wise these days (my phone is with o2 though, friends use 3) and so far my experience of mobile broadband is fine. I've only used it near large towns/cities so far though.

Some of the places we tested were quite out in the sticks so I doubt that they would have been a viable choice for us. Plus we used the original maps from OFCOM as a point of reference before starting the tests.